Sandite Volleyball Places Third at Claremore, Evyn Morrow Named All-Tournament

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Evyn Morrow has been named to the All-Tournament team at both tournaments this season. (Photo: Charity Emigh).

The Charles Page High School volleyball team (11-7) entered the 6A rankings at No. 16 on Monday after going 5-3 on the week and finishing in third place at the Claremore Tournament on Saturday.

The Sandites suffered a close 3-0 loss to Union (3-6) in a conference match on Tuesday, then went 2-2 on Friday.

In the first match of the tournament they won 25-10 and 25-16 against Collinsville (4-18), but fell 25-23 and 25-12 in a Highway 97 Rivalry match with 5A No. 4 Sapulpa (17-7). They’ll get the opportunity to pay back that one, however, when they host the Chieftains on September 26th in conference action.

“We didn’t play our best,” said head coach Skylar Jackson. “One of our six rotation players got injured in the Sapulpa match. But the girls did pretty well picking up the slack with new people in new places.”

Sand Springs got back in the win column with a 25-22, 25-18 win over 5A No. 11 Edison (12-8) before falling 25-18, 25-23 to 5A No. 3 Claremore (18-3) in a battle of spouses, as the Zebras are coached by former Sandite head coach Derek Jackson, current coach Skylar Jackson’s husband.

On Saturday the Sandites went 3-0, winning 25-18, 25-11 against Memorial (3-8) in the first match of the day.

Next they won 25-18, 25-22 against 4A No. 7 Verdigris (12-7) in a match against another former Sandite head coach, Caleb Horton. Finally they won 25-10 and 25-9 against Will Rogers (3-12).

“Winning is important and we are in a very, very tough conference,” said Jackson. “At the end of the day you have to figure out how to win…having more opportunities in front of us in one weekend is good for our confidence.”

Evyn Morrow picked up her second All-Tournament accolade of the season.

“She’s super devoted and works hard nonstop,” said Jackson. “She’s just one of our strongest leaders.”

Also impressing throughout the tournament was freshman Adelynn Ray, who recorded 7 aces in the final match against Rogers.

“The best thing about Adelynn is she just loves to play volleyball,” said Jackson. “It doesn’t really get too big for her, and for a lot of underclassmen that’s one of the worries is that they’re not going to handle the pressure. The pressure doesn’t exist for her and she’s just out there playing ball.”

Sand Springs will take on another top 5A team in No. 5 Regent Prep (8-4) Thursday on the road before hosting 6A No. 7 Owasso (6-3, 2-0) in a return to conference action on September 7th.

Sandite Volleyball Falls 3-0 to Union in Thriller

For the second match in a row, the Sandite volleyball team played excellently as a team but just couldn’t quite find an answer for their opponent’s star power.

Last week it was a 3-2 heartbreaker to 5A No. 11 Booker T. Washington (5-2, 1-1), whose sophomore star Arriana Brown put up 29 kills.

This Tuesday it was a 3-0 sweep by Union (3-5, 2-1), whose senior star Brittney Smith recorded 22 kills.

Sand Springs dropped to 5-5 on the young season and is 0-3 in conference play.

The RedHawks jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the first set but the Sandites battled back to take a 10-9 advantage on a kill from Brooklyn Shope.

The most the Sandites would lead was 12-10, however, before Union went on a nine-point run.

Sand Springs got the side out on a kill from freshman Adelynn Ray, who has been showing high potential this season. The visitors made the rest of the set competitive but couldn’t quite dig out of the hole, falling 25-18.

Game two was neck-and-neck from the very start with 12 tie scores and six lead changes. Neither team led by more than a point till Union went up 8-6, but the Sandites responded with a three-point run and an ace from Evyn Morrow.

The RedHawks finally began to build momentum late in the game on a deadly combination of low set-pieces by Jayden Smith (each team had their own Jayden Smith) and hammer-fist kills by Brittney Smith that were nearly impossible to dig.

After falling behind 21-16, Sand Springs clawed its way back with kills from Claire Day, Ray, and Averi Tippit before Alia DeBerry served an ace to tie it 22-22.

Brittney Smith and Ray traded kills to tie at 23-23 and again at 24-24, but Brittney Smith got the final kill of the set and Jayden Smith served an ace for the win.

In game three Union jumped out to a fast 5-1 lead, Sand Springs cut it to 8-6, then the RedHawks went on a six-point run to make it 14-7.

Day and Shope scored three kills in a row and Morrow added an ace to cut it to 14-12, but the Sandites never could quite tie it up and ultimately fell 25-20 on an ace from Bailee Mueller.

Day led the Sandites offensively with 10 kills, followed by Jayden Smith with 8, and Ray with 7. Hannah McKelvey had 19 assists and Ray had 17. Morrow recorded 17 digs.

Sand Springs will return to action Friday at the Claremore tournament in a battle of the spouses as current Sandite coach Skylar Jackson leads her girls against her husband, former Sandite coach Derek Jackson.

The Sandites and 5A No. 2 Zebras (11-2) will play at 4:00 p.m. but first the Sandites will take on Collinsville (1-13) at 9:00 a.m., 5A No. 4 Sapulpa (11-5) at noon, and 5A No. 12 Edison (8-4) at 2:00 p.m.

On Saturday they will play Tulsa Memorial (2-2) at 9:00 a.m., 4A No. 7 Verdigris (7-5) at 11:00 a.m. and Tulsa Will Rogers (1-5) at 2:00 p.m.

The tournament will be a small world reunion of Sandites as in addition to the Jacksons, former Sand Springs coaches Wally Poplin (Collinsville) and Caleb Horton (Verdigris) have both coached in Sand Springs and Memorial coach Audra Estrada lives in Sand Springs.

Union 3 CPHS 0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-20)
Kills: Union 43, CPHS 40.
Blocks: Union 2, CPHS 1.
Aces: Union 3, CPHS 9.
Errors: Union 12, CPHS 28.

(Sand Springs stats)
Kills: Day 10, Smith 8, Ray 7, Tippit 5, DeBerry 5, Shope 4, Pearce 1.
Assists: H. McKelvey 19, Ray 17, Morrow 2, Smith 1.
Blocks: Ray .5, Pearce .5.
Digs: Morrow 17, Smith 6, Pearce 5, Ray 3, DeBerry 3, F. McKelvey 2, Day 1, H. McKelvey 1.
Aces: DeBerry 3, Ray 2, Smith 2, Morrow 2.

Sandite Volleyball Downs Sapulpa 3-1

Sandite Volleyball defeats Sapulpa in Highway 97 Rivalry play.

The Highway 97 Rivalry trophy is back in Sand Springs.

The 6A No. 15 Sand Springs volleyball team (8-6, 1-4) recorded its first conference win of the season, 3-1, Tuesday night at 5A No. 6 Sapulpa (13-11, 1-4) in a thriller.

After losing the first set 25-18, the Sandites cleaned up their act and won the next three games 25-18, 25-17, and 25-18.

“My husband lost (the trophy) so I had to go get it back,” joked first-year head coach Skylar Jackson after the match. Jackson took the program over from her husband, Derek, who is now at Claremore.

Sapulpa stormed out to an insurmountable 9-1 lead in the first game after four consecutive Sandite attacks sailed out of bounds to kick off an eight-point run. 

The Sandites totaled 11 errors in the first set, while Stailee Heard and Wrigley Adkisson combined for nine kills. Jayden Smith tallied five kills for the Sandites. 

Game two was all tied up at 15-15 till the Sandites ran away with things late in the set. Sand Springs only committed six errors and that proved to be the difference maker. Payton Robbins recorded six kills and two aces for the Sandites.

In game three the Sandites only led 19-16 before winning six of the final seven rallies. Hannah McKelvey’s ace secured the win and this time it was Layla Lenex leading the set with five kills.

Robbins played her best in game four with seven kills and two aces and Lenex won a thrilling final rally on a tipped ball.

Six different Sandites recorded kills in the match, led by Robbins with 20, Lenex with 16, and Smith with 12.

“Our setters do a really great job of making sure all of our hitters are involved,” said Jackson. 

McKelvey recorded a team-high 24 assists and Allie Wright had 18. Olivia DeWitt had a team-high 17 digs and Evyn Morrow added 12.

Robbins was the star of the night with 16 digs and four aces to complement her attacking prowess. 

“She’s the calm in the middle of the storm,” said Jackson. “She’s not a real high emotional player. She doesn’t get real down, she doesn’t get real up. She’s kind of the even tone of our team, so for her to come out and have a good night is important. It’s really important for our team.”

Stailee Heard, an OSU basketball commit, led all scorers with 22 kills, but Adkisson was the only other Chieftain in double digits with 10.  

Sand Springs has now won eight of the last ten meetings with Sapulpa.

“This game is kind of big on its own because it is a rivalry, but we have a tough tournament coming up so it was even more important for us to gain some momentum before going into our tournament,” said Jackson.

The Sandites will play No. 6 Owasso (12-9) at 10:00 a.m. Friday in the first round of the Ram Invitational in a rematch of their 3-0 conference loss. 

They will also play No. 4 Edmond Memorial (16-4) and Southmoore (7-11) in Friday’s pool play. They previously defeated Southmoore 2-1 at the Sandite Invitational.

Bracket play will begin at 10:00 a.m. Saturday with two guaranteed matches.

Volleyball Wins 2022 Sandite Invitational

Courtesy.

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Sandite volleyball team didn’t win its first match of the Skylar Jackson era, but it did win the next six in a row.

After falling 3-0 to Union (1-1) in Tuesday’s home opener, the Sandites bounced back with a 3-1 victory Thursday at Glenpool (4-2) before winning their home tournament over the weekend.

Sand Springs lost close sets of 27-25, 25-19, and 27-25 to Union but won 28-26, 23-25, 25-20, and 25-16 against the Warriors. 

“Union’s really good this year,” said Jackson. “To be new to a program but to have the girls buy in so much and be so close with such a good team, I think showed them that they really are capable of doing a lot of good things.”

Good things indeed. The Sandites won their home tournament for the third time in the past four years, and this time it was against all 6A teams.

Sand Springs (6-2) defeated Ponca City (3-3), Enid (1-6), Southmoore (4-3), Choctaw (5-2), and Lawton (0-7) before falling to Yukon (3-5) in the final match of the round-robin tournament.

“To come out ahead (at Glenpool) and then come in our own home gym and play four matches in one day and win all of those was a good testament to how hard the girls are working and how much they’re buying into what we’re doing,” said Jackson.

Jackson is in her first year at Sand Springs after taking over for her husband, Derek, who left for Claremore. She was previously an assistant coach at Broken Arrow. 

“We served really well yesterday,” said Jackson. “We received really well yesterday also. Today our middles really were able to get involved and when they were, we were firing on all cylinders.”

On Friday Sand Springs won 25-7 and 25-10 against Lawton and beat Ponca City 25-23 and 25-17. The matches against Enid and Choctaw were far closer.

Enid won the first set 26-24 before the Sandites rallied 25-23 and 25-21. They defeated the Yellowjackets 25-22 in set one before falling 25-17 and rallied to win the third 25-17.

On Saturday the Sandites won 2-1 against Southmoore, 25-19, 19-25, and 25-23, to clinch the tournament title by virtue of head-to-head against Choctaw, who also finished 5-1. 

In the final match, Yukon won the first set 25-19, Sand Springs won the second 25-21, and the Millers rallied to a 25-20 victory to spoil the home team’s streak.

“I still think we struggle a little bit with some confidence at times,” said Jackson. “Size-wise, we’re middle of the road 6A and I think just not having the winningest record all the time can be a confidence buster.”

Historically, the Sandites have been one of the lesser teams in 6A, but have finished with winning records in two of the past three seasons.

“I think playing so close with Union and then beating Glenpool and then playing as well as we did shows the girls that we can do those things. But I think that we had a little bit of a slip of confidence there in that first set.”

Senior middle blocker Layla Lenex was named the tournament MVP and senior libero Olivia DeWitt also made the All-Tournament team.

Payton Robbins, a senior outside hitter, was also one of the top contributors for the Sandites. 

“She gets the ball often and she does a good job not only swinging but also in defense and service too,” said Jackson. “She’s really stepped up her defensive game this season and that’s huge for her.”

Knocking off a bunch of 6A teams from the west side of the state should help the Sandites earn a decent place in the rankings next week, but more importantly it’ll help sharpen them up before a busy Week 2.

Sand Springs will travel to Owasso (1-0) for a conference battle on Tuesday before competing at the Muskogee tournament over the weekend.

“We’re going to really work on blocking,” said Jackson.”I think if we’d have been a little bit sharper up at the net today in that Yukon match we would’ve shut them down a lot sooner and gotten them a little bit more frustrated. So we’re going to definitely work on blocking, which will be a big deal against Owasso.They’ve got some big hitters.

“And then working our middles in transition. If we can get them involved, it’s a good day. So we’ve got to be able to get them involved a little more often, even on not the best passes.”

Sand Springs will look for its first win against the Rams since 2017 when the match kicks off Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

Skylar Jackson hired as new Sandite Volleyball coach

Courtesy.

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Charles Page High School volleyball team will have a new coach this fall, but the name may sound familiar. 

Taking over for three-year head coach Derek Jackson will be his wife, Skylar Jackson, formerly a varsity assistant and JV head coach at Broken Arrow. 

“Last summer I had told my head coach at Broken Arrow, ‘hey I think this is going to be my last year. I’m ready to move on and be a head coach,’” said Jackson.

She thought she would have to wait another year or two after finding out she was pregnant in June, but when Derek vacated the Sand Springs job to take over at Claremore, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. 

“I coached quite a few of the Sand Springs kids during the club season and I hated to leave them at the end,” said Jackson. 

Both Derek and Skylar coach for Club Virago. Derek resigned from Sand Springs in December, but by the time club season ended in March, the job was still open. 

“I know a lot of the families, I know the administration. I know there’s going to be lots of support on both sides of that,” said Jackson.

It’s not exactly common for a coach to take over their spouse’s former program - a fact that Jackson is well aware of. 

“It kind of started as a joke. All of our friends, as soon as he left, asked if I was going to go over there and take over.”

“It is unusual. How often does that happen? Would that make the transition harder? Would it make it easier? We talked through it and I chewed on it for a while. I finally just decided the girls deserve somebody who’s going to come in and work hard for them.”

Leaving Broken Arrow wasn’t an easy decision, however. In addition to spending five years on the coaching staff there, Jackson is also a 2011 Tiger alum. 

“It was really hard. Anytime you go somewhere and you’re there for any length of time; you see these kiddos when they’re little and they grow up in your gym. You spend so much time with those people that they become like your extended family.”

“It was definitely hard leaving what I feel like is home, the halls I used to walk as an athlete, and where I got to go back and make an impact as a coach. It was really difficult.”

Jackson is well qualified. As a prep player she was a two-time defensive captain for the Tigers and played in two State tournaments. She competed at the collegiate level at Southern Nazarene University and coached for one season at Will Rogers High School before returning to her alma mater.

One challenge she’ll face at Sand Springs is making the program her own.

“I want the girls to know that it’s not just a continuation of what he left behind. We’re going to do our own thing and we’re going to go make waves.”

Jackson has already taken over coaching duties for the Sandites, overseeing tryouts in May and organizing a summer youth camp that will be held June 20-22. She left Broken Arrow for maternity leave after Spring Break, and visited the Sandites for seventh-hour athletics for the last six weeks of school to get a head start on practices. 

“We’ve been in the gym, breaking things down and working on our fundamentals,” said Jackson. “I tell the girls all the time; if you can do the little things well, it makes the big things easier.”

The Sand Springs program isn’t quite as established as Broken Arrow, which has won a State title and been in the finals as recently as 2019. It is growing, however, and the district added a seventh grade team during Derek’s tenure. 

More and more Sandites are participating in summer club leagues, and several have signed to play at the collegiate level in recent years. 

While most of Jackson’s coaching experience came at the largest school in Oklahoma, her year at Will Rogers has also given her some insight into programs with less of a support structure.

“At Rogers, while there wasn’t a whole lot of district support as far as resources and things like that go, unfortunately there wasn’t a whole lot of parent support either.”

“To go from that to Broken Arrow, where you can get almost anything, and parents are supportive - that’s one of the nice things about Sand Springs. Their parents are just as invested, they are super helpful. Everyone’s willing to do anything you need.”

Jackson plans to continue hosting the Sandite Invitational, which Sand Springs won in 2021 and 2019. One of her biggest goals this season is to win some upsets.

“I want the girls to really buy in that we can do this, and if we work hard and put in the time and the training, that hard work will out-work talent every day. I really want them to buy in that we can be as good as we want to be and that we’re going to be the only limiting factor to our season.”

As for playing against her spouse, that’ll have to wait for a future season. Sand Springs and Claremore aren’t on each others’ schedules for 2022.

Assistant coach Lisa Wright will be returning to the Sandites this season. Broken Arrow assistant Kirstein Mattox will follow Jackson to Sand Springs, and 2020 Sandite alum Raylynn Mong will also be joining the staff.

Sandite Volleyball coach Derek Jackson moving on to Claremore

Derek Jackson speaks to Jacelyn Smith during a match against Broken Arrow in 2019. (Photo by Scott Emigh).

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The winningest volleyball coach in Sand Springs history, percentage-wise, is moving on to greener pastures.

After a three-year stint as Charles Page High School’s head coach, Derek Jackson is moving to Claremore to take over one of the top programs in Class 5A. 

While Jackson has nothing but good things to say about his time in Sand Springs, the Claremore opportunity was too good to resist.

“The biggest thing was just the teaching opportunity that I got,” said Jackson, who has been teaching eighth-grade science at Clyde Boyd Middle School. 

“I went to college for fitness and physical education, and that’s kind of what I’m going to be able to get to teach at Claremore. So I’m excited to get to teach what I actually went to college for, what I think I can do a better job at.”

On top of that, Jackson and his wife Skylar, a Broken Arrow assistant coach, are expecting their first child.

“I think it’s going to be a little less stressful, especially with a kid on the way.”

The two currently live in Broken Arrow, so the commute to Claremore won’t be any worse than his previous drive to Sand Springs. 

The Red Zebras are coming off a 24-17 season and State Tournament appearance under Kimberly Mabbott, who went 30-41 in her two year tenure as head coach.

Jackson came to Sand Springs by way of Clinton, where he was head coach for two years. A Kellyville native, the Sand Springs job brought him closer to home while giving him the opportunity to coach in Oklahoma’s largest classification.

Jackson went 51-49 overall during his three years in Sand Springs. His 19-15 run in 2020 and 18-14 first season rank as the second and third-best seasons in school history.

“I think early on it was just trying to change their identity and how they saw themselves,” said Jackson. 

“They had a couple of years where it was pretty rough there. I don’t think they were excited to take on big challenges like big teams like Broken Arrow and Bixby. So just getting them to the point where they thought they were winners, I think that was our first step.”

This year the Sandites finished 14-20, winning their home tournament for the second time in the past three years. Those are the team’s only two titles since 2010. 

Jackson is the only Sand Springs coach to leave the school with a winning record. Sydney Bond went 7-18 in 2018, Janna Green went 65-78 from 2014 to 2017, and Caleb Horton went 37-93 from 2010 to 2013. Records from before 2009 are hard to come by.

Whoever is next up to the plate will have a solid foundation to work from. 

“I think Rod (Sitton), hat’s off to him,” Jackson said of the Sand Springs Athletic Director. “He really trusted me from the get-go of really everything. I mean fundraising to scheduling to player management.”

“He really trusted me to do just about everything and kind of backed me rather well. So I really appreciate that, and I think it allowed me to be me and helped get those kids and the program where we wanted it.”

“I think I’ve set a lot of groundwork for the next person to come in because of not just focusing on varsity, but you know, really doing a lot of little kids camps and pushing to start that seventh grade program. Just kind of trying to set up long-term success. I think they’ve got a good base under themselves.”

The program has been trending upwards over the past decade, despite the occasional downward swings due to large graduating classes or brutal schedules. 

Claremore, meanwhile, will be getting its new coach sooner rather than later. After closing out the semester at Sand Springs, Jackson will be taking over at Claremore following Christmas Break. 

“He did a great job for us,” said Sitton. “We hate to see him go, but nobody’s going to fault somebody for bettering themselves and going to better opportunities.”