Sandite Volleyball Holds No. 16 Spot in Week 3 Rankings

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The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team held on to the No. 16 spot in the OSSAA 6A coaches’ poll on Tuesday, September 5th.

Sand Springs played only one match last week, falling 3-0 to 5A No. 5 Regent Prep (10-4).

The Sandites are 10-8 overall and 5-4 in Class 6A but is still looking for its first conference win after falling to No. 10 Bartlesville, 5A No. 6 Booker T. Washington, and Union in Frontier Valley action.

Sand Springs will host No. 7 Owasso (10-6, 2-0) Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The Rams have won their past seven meetings with the Sandites in a streak dating back to 2017.

Sandite Volleyball Falls 3-0 at 5A No. 5 Regent Prep

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Averi Tippit scored 8 kills in the match against Regent Prep. (Photo: Charity Emigh).

Sand Springs has been putting itself through the wringer lately with three matches against top-five 5A teams in the past week.

The 6A No. 16 Sandites (11-8) took a trip to Tulsa on Thursday for a non-conference battle with 5A No. 5 Regent Prep (10-4) and fell 3-0 after the Rams surged back from an early game-one deficit.

The visiting Sandites rode a three-game win streak into the match and opened strong, taking an 8-3 lead on aces from Averi Tippit and Adelynn Ray.

Regent cut it to a one-point game four times but didn’t take its first lead till Ellen Jenkins scored a trio of kills for the 21-20 advantage.

A pair of huge digs from Evyn Morrow kept the next rally alive long enough for Jayden Smith to tie it up. Brooklyn Shope served an ace and Tippit scored a kill to make it 23-21, but Jenkins scored two more kills to tie it once more.

Tippit gave the visitors one last lead with her fifth kill of the set, but Evelyn Goodwin and Liv Redman scored back-to-back kills and the Rams secured the 26-24 victory after Alia DeBerry’s attack hit the net just an inch or two short.

In game two the Sandites only led once after the Rams’ opening serve came up short, but the home team won the next four rallies and never looked back.

Sand Springs never got within two points of the Rams, but the set stayed close till 18-15 before the home team got hot and won 25-16.

The final game was the same as the second - super tight till 18-16, then Regent won seven of the final eight rallies to prevail 25-17.

Jenkins led her team to its fifth consecutive win with 22 kills while Meg Goodwin recorded 23 assists.

The Sandites were led by Tippit with 8 kills, Shope with 7, and Smith with 5, while Hannah McKelvey and Ray each had 11 assists. Morrow led the defense with 32 digs.

Sand Springs will return to conference action next Thursday with a home match against No. 7 Owasso (6-3, 2-0) where the Sandites will look for their first Frontier Valley win of the season.

Regent 3 CPHS 0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-17)
Kills: Regent 42, CPHS 25.
Blocks: Regent 0, CPHS 3.
Aces: Regent 7, CPHS 7.
Errors: Regent 22, CPHS 27.
Service Errors: Regent 9, CPHS 9.

Sand Springs Stats
Kills: Tippit 8, Shope 7, Smith 5, DeBerry 3, Ray 2.
Assists: H. McKelvey 11, Ray 11.
Solo Blocks: Pearce 1.
Assisted Blocks: Tippit 2, Ray 2.
Digs: Morrow 32, H. McKelvey 8, Shope 8, DeBerry 7, F. McKelvey 5, Tippit 5, Ray 5, Smith 1.
Aces: Tippit 2, Shope 2, Ray 1, Morrow 1, H. McKelvey 1.

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 Sports Weekly Roundup: Volleyball and Softball Suffer Tough Week

The 14th-ranked Charles Page High School volleyball team has lost five matches in a row, but it’s the way they lost their last match that has coach Skylar Jackson excited.

The Sandites (6-6) fell 3-0 to 4A No. 1 Regent Prep (17-3) Thursday night at the Ed Dubie Field House, but the last two sets were neck and neck.

After winning game one 25-16, the Rams prevailed by close margins of 26-24 and 27-25 for the sweep.

“We’ve really been struggling with this feeling of being second best,” said Jackson. “We’re in a tough class. 6A is tough, so the history has kind of been middle of the road. We’ve really had to work hard against the mentality of being second best.”

“In the last couple of matches it really showed; we really struggled with that. But today, even though we did lose, I think we stayed up much better than we have in our last couple of matches.”

The Sandites have gone through the gauntlet over the past two weeks, falling in 3-0 sweeps to No. 4 Owasso, No. 7 Bixby, and No. 2 Broken Arrow.

The Tigers (13-2, 4-0) dismantled Sand Springs 25-14, 25-7, and 25-8 on Tuesday, dropping the Sandites to 0-4 in Frontier Valley conference play.

Regent Prep started to run away with things in the first set, scoring most of their kills on tipped balls while the Sandites’ power hitters struggled with accuracy early on.

“We made one switch, I put Jayden Smith on the outside,” said Jackson. “But I think we served tougher and kept them out of system. They were unable to get their big hitter the ball as often, or as prime of a set, and that played in our favor.”

“We did adjust to the tip. Obviously they kind of go to that pretty often if they’re off in any sort of way, so we picked that up quite a bit.”

The adjustments worked well, taking the next two sets to extra rallies.

Sand Springs trailed by as much as 16-11 in game two before surging back to a 22-21 lead before University of Central Arkansas-commit Ella Drake scored back-to-back kills for the win.

In the final game the Sandites were down 21-13 before rattling off an eight-point streak, highlighted by some aggressive blocking from Payton Robbins and Averi Tippit.

The decisive point ended up being an ace from Ellen Jenkins that was nearly a service error, just barely rolling up over the net and dropping on the other side.

“I’m just proud of our girls for staying up even though we lost the first and the second,” said Jackson. “We were down a bunch in the third and still rallied, so I’m proud of them for staying up and not just giving it away.”

Robbins scored 8 kills to lead the Sandites and added 10 digs. Olivia DeWitt recorded a team-high 17 digs, Hannah McKelvey had 15 assists, and Layla Lenex had 5 blocks and 4 kills. Sophomore Josie Myers also impressed with 6 kills.

“I told them you always want to work hard because even if you lose, it’s so worth it.,” said Jackson. “If you give it your best and at the end of the day they still get the best of you, then that’s okay. You’re still going to be proud of what you did out there, so they continue to work hard for their teammates.”

Drake scored 17 kills and 2 aces for the Rams, while Meg Goodwin and Ellen Jenkins added 7 kills and 3 aces apiece.

Sand Springs will get a week to recover before traveling to Pryor (2-13) Thursday.

Softball

After Monday’s “Youth Night” game against Bixby was rained out, the Sandites brought the heat to district-leading Jenks (12-2, 7-0) on Tuesday’s Alumni Night game.

Sand Springs (8-8, 2-3) fell in a close 6-4 affair after battling back from a 6-1 second-inning deficit.

Ashyln Clark, Jaden Jordan, Kenzie King, and Addison Tuttle scored for the Sandites.

Addie Hughes (4-7) and Kelsi Hilton (4-1) combined for 12 hits and 9 strikeouts from the circle.

After the game, the Sandites celebrated their many former players who were in attendance.

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday at home with a district-double header against the combined team of Tulsa Memorial and Booker T. Washington (0-12, 0-4) at 5:00 p.m. for Senior Night. They will also host Bartlesville (9-6, 3-2) on Thursday.

Football

The Sandite 8th graders won their season opener 20-6 at Muskogee while the freshmen posted a 32-0 shutout against the Roughers. Varsity football is taking a bye week to prepare for Bixby on the 9th.

Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup:

Softball

The Charles Page High School fast-pitch softball team (8-7, 2-2) picked up an 11-3 road win at Union (3-12) but stumbled in district action, falling 7-0 to Stillwater (10-2, 3-1) and 5-3 to Bartlesville (7-5, 3-1) last week.

Olivia Alexander hit two doubles, Jaden Jordan hit a triple, and the Sandites combined for 12 hits Monday against the RedHawks. Ashlyn Clark scored a team-high three runs, while Jordan brought in four RBI. Kelsi Hilton (4-1) struck out four for the win, surrendering seven hits.

Addie Hughes (4-6) struck out an impressive nine batters in Tuesday’s home game against the defending district champions, but surrendered 10 hits while the Sandites only accounted for three.

Sand Springs had a strong offensive showing at Bartlesville, out-hitting the Bruins 10 to six, but stranded nine in the loss. Abby Glasglow was 3-of-4 at the plate and Jordan hit her sixth home run of the season.

The Sandites will host Bixby (6-5, 3-3) on Monday at 5:30 for Youth Night. Any students wearing their youth team jerseys or softball camp shirts will receive free admission.

On Tuesday they will host Jenks (11-2, 6-0) at 5:30 for Alumni Night. Former players will receive free admission and will be recognized during the game with a group photo immediately following the game.

Volleyball

No. 14 Sandite Volleyball (6-4, 0-3) is still looking for its first conference win after a tough 3-0 loss to No. 6 Bixby (8-3, 3-1) on Tuesday.

The Spartans won sets of 25-17, 25-23, and 25-12 behind 21 kills and 8 aces from senior star Olivia Vance.

Leading the Sandites were Payton Robbins with six kills, Hannah McKelvey with 10 assists, and Olivia DeWitt with 12 digs.

Sand Springs will travel to No. 3 Broken Arrow (11-2, 3-0) on Tuesday before hosting 4A No. 1 Regent Prep (15-3) on Thursday.

Cross Country

The Sand Springs cross country teams competed in the Owasso Ram Relays Thursday at Mohawk Park.

Chloe Grona placed third in the junior high 1.5-mile run, finishing in 9:56.02, followed by Josie Grona in 13th place in 10:42.89.

The varsity teams ran in a relay-style 6-mile competition. The girls placed 34th out of 44 teams with a time of 50:43.42. The boys placed 35th out of 72 teams in 39:00.09.

The Sandites will return to action Saturday at the Sapulpa Westside Sports Complex at 8:15 a.m.

Sandite Roundup: Shelli Brown celebrates 600th win in 25th season

25th-year Sandite Softball Head Coach Shelli Brown is presented with a commemorative ball for her 600th win by the Class of 2022 seniors.

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Shelli Brown has been the head softball coach at Charles Page High School since before her current class of seniors was even born. In fact, she’s been the head coach since before some of her assistant coaches were born.

Now in her 25th season as a Sandite, Coach Brown is a pillar in the community. 

“Shelli’s an icon in women’s softball at the high school level,” says Sand Springs Athletic Director Rod Sitton. “She started her career here, hopefully she ends her career here. She’s not only a great coach, but a great leader and a great example for the young ladies that go through here. It’s been a real privilege to have her here and work with her, and also be her boss. She’s just a great person all around.”

On Tuesday, August 24th, the team celebrated Brown’s 600th career win in fast pitch. The milestone came in a 14-6 rout of Adair on Thursday, August 19th at the Rogers State festival in Claremore. They also beat Lincoln Christian 11-2 in the first game of the festival.

Owning a 603-326 record with 10 regional championships, two academic state championships, two district championships, and one conference championship, Brown has been one of the most successful coaches in school history in any sport. Under her guidance, 32 sandites have received All-State accolades and at least 60 have signed to play at the next level.

“It’s not about excellence just in softball itself, but it’s also about academic excellence,” added District Superintendent Sherry Durkee. “Personally, I’m super proud of the two academic state championships.” 

Prior to the Tuesday-night doubleheader against Enid, Brown’s senior class presented her with a commemorative game ball signed by the entire team, along with flowers and balloons. Then they gave her a 601st and 602nd win by drubbing the Pacers 20-3 and 3-1.

Raegan Rector went 3-for-3 at the plate with five RBI and two doubles in the first game, Mikenna Stephens was 3-of-4 with four RBI, and Kelsi Hilton was 3-of-4 with four runs. 

With temperatures nearing 100℉, the bats slowed down in game two, and the Sandites actually needed a fifth-inning comeback. Trailing 1-0, Taylor Skipper tied it up with a single to score Ashlyn Clark, then Skipper and Jolee McNally scored on an error for the lead.

Nataley Crawford pitched eight strikeouts and only three hits in the first game, and Hilton got the win in game two. 

The Sandites followed it up with a 12-4 district beatdown of Bartlesville on Thursday that saw Hilton go 3-of-4 at the plate with a triple, two runs, and four RBI, while also striking out four batters in four innings from the circle. Lauren Hammock was also 3-of-4 with three runs and two RBI.

Sandite Softball is now 5-3 on the season and will continue district action on the road with a Thursday game at Bixby (9-2, 5-0).

CPHS Volleyball

The Class 6A No. 13 ranked Sandite Volleyball team (7-4) suffered a 3-1 conference loss to No. 3 Broken Arrow (10-3) Tuesday, August 24th at the Ed Dubie Field House.

The Sandites lost sets of 25-15, 25-22, and 25-9, but stole the third set 25-20 for their first game win against the Tigers since 2018.

Payton Robbins scored nine kills with three blocks, 16 digs, and three aces in the loss. Layla Lenex had three kills and five blocks. Tehya Johnson had two kills, two aces, and 23 assists. Jacelyn Smith scored seven kills and two blocks. Charley Fahland had two aces and 17 digs, and Kasidy Holland had seven kills and three digs.

Sandite Volleyball will travel to Regent Prep Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

CPHS Cross Country

The Lady Sandite varsity cross country team placed 11th in a 5K run at Edmond Deer Creek, August 21st, led by Jazmin Lopez in fifth place out of 105 runners with a time of 23:13.98. 

The boys team didn’t have enough runners to place as a team, but Noah Hanlon finished in 26th with a time of 19:13.58.

The elementary girls placed third at Kiefer Saturday, August 28th. Chloe Grona won the one-mile run in 5:52.45, Josie Grona placed third in 6:19.71, and Sophie Grona placed 15th in 7:06.99.