Sandite Volleyball heads to Coweta Championship with 8-straight wins

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Lady Sandites are 8-0 are headed to the Championship round of the Coweta Volleyball Tournament after winning eight straight games.  

The Charles Page High School varsity squad (9-3) has won sixteen of eighteen games and only needs two more to claim their first tournament championship since before the Coach Green era.

Heritage Hall fell 2-0 with sets of 25-20 and 25-19. Catoosa fell 2-1 with sets of 25-18, 23-25, and 15-9. Coweta fell 2-1 with sets of 25-13, 16-25, and 25-10. Edison fell 2-0 with sets of 25-12 and 25-14. Tahlequah fell 2-0 with sets of 28-26 and 26-24. Claremore fell 2-0 in pool play with sets of 25-10 and 25-12, then fell in the semi-finals with sets of 25-16 and 25-19.

Tahlequah was the closest competition the Sandites had faced yet and both sets went into extra points.

Freshman Devree Youngblood drew first blood with a block for the Sandites, but the Tigers scored three straight kills for the lead. Gloria Mutiri hit back to back kills off MaKenzie Ward but gave the points back on errors. The neck and neck continued before the Tigers began to pull away for a 24-17 advantage.

Sand Springs wasn’t deterred and went on a seven-straight streak thanks to kills from Mutiri and Kersgieter. Tahlequah scored a kill on a corner shot but Lee Leslie retaliated to tie things up at 25. Mutiri scored a pair of shots off Ward and clinched the win with a block.

The second game was equally close despite early leads from Sand Springs. The Sandites went on a run to start with Leslie scoring on the opening rally, Mutiri hitting a shot off Madison Burris’s setup, and Kersgieter hitting an ace. Ward got in a kill of her own and Kersgieter nailed yet another ace for the 5-0 advantage.

Tahlequah earned an error but Sand Springs stole the next four rallies and led 9-1 after a block from Mutiri. Mutiri scored three straight kills on setups from MaKenzie Ward, Leslie added an ace, and Mutiri scored a block off Tahlequah player’s face to make it 15-4.

The Tigers went on a run from there and got close to tying things up with an ace at 21-20 and succeeded in a tie at 24-24 with an ace. Mutiri scored the twenty-fifth point and an error from Tahlequah netted the win.

In the last round of pool play the Sandites took a quick 5-0 lead over Claremore. Kersgieter aced the opening serve and Youngblood followed it up with a kill. A Lady Zebra error handed Kersgieter the ball for another ace and once again Youngblood found MaKenzie Ward’s setup for the score.

Kersgieter’s next serve fell short, but so did the corresponding Claremore service and this time it was Youngblood’s turn to ace. Baylee Mudd got in on the ace action, Kylie Taylor and Makenna Cypert both scored kills and the Zebras piled on the errors till the Sandites prevailed 25-10.

In game two Claremore won the opening rally, but Sand Springs won the next six behind hard hits from Mutiri, Kersgieter, and aces from Taylor, Mudd, and Kersgeiter. A long mess of errors catapulted the Sandites to a 25-12 win.

The Lady Zebras earned a rematch in the bracket semifinals, however, and battled far closer on the next two games.

Claremore started off to a 4-0 lead before Youngblood got the Sandites on the board, and the Zebras didn’t forfeit their advantage till MaKenzie Ward set up Kersgieter and Mutiri for back-to-back kills and a 16-15 lead. From there things finally turned in the Sandites’ favor as the girls won ten straight rallies and won 25-16.

The second game saw the Zebras battling just as hard early on and stepping up their defense with several impressive blocks on Mutiri’s hard-hitting spikes. Claremore led by as much as 8-4 before Sand Springs surged to the lead. Youngblood served up back-to-back aces and Mutiri scored back-to-back kills, one via six-pack, and one on a tipped ball to make it 20-14.

The Zebras staged a rally attempt and closed in to 23-19, but Youngblood and Mutiri notched the final two kills for the victory.

Sand Springs will next play at 5:00 p.m.

Sandite Volleyball wins fifth straight over East Central

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (7-3) picked up their fifth straight win Saturday morning at the Coweta tournament.

The girls were unstoppable against East Central (5-6) with eight Lady Sandites getting in on the scoring action. In the first game the Sandites gave up a fault point to start, but won the next six rallies with kills from MaKenzie Ward, Devree Youngblood, Holly Kersgieter, and an ace from Gloria Mutiri.

 The next four points went to the Cardinals on errors and the two teams knotted up at 7-7 before the Sandites pulled ahead for good with back-to-back kills from Mutiri and Kersgieter with assists from Ward. Kersgeiter, Youngblood, and Baylee Mudd added a pair of aces each and the Ward-Mutiri combo picked up four more kills to make it 22-10.

Faith Foutch and Yosira Yanez combined for an impressive block on a hard Mutiri spike, but after giving up an error, Mutiri scored three straight kills for the 25-12 win.

In game two the Lady Sandites took an early lead and were never tied past 2-2. Kersgieter, Kenzie Bradshaw, and Madison Ward added early aces and Bradshaw added two more late in the game to make it 22-13. The teams exchanged points on service errors from there, Mutiri added a kill, and Foutch committed an error to give Sand Springs the 25-14 victory.

Lady Sandite Volleyball goes undefeated in day one of Coweta Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

PHOTO GALLERY

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (6-3) won four straight matches Friday at the Coweta Tournament. Heritage Hall (1-9) fell 2-0 with sets of 25-20 and 25-19. Catoosa (1-4) fell 2-1 with sets of 25-19, 23-25, and 15-9. 

SEE RELATED: Sandite Volleyball tacks on two exciting wins at Coweta Tournament

The Sandites took on the home team in their third match of the day and defeated the Coweta Tigers 2-1 in an edge-of-your-seat thriller. The first game was hotly contested in the beginning, but the tide steadily turned in the Sandites' favor. 

Lee Leslie drew first blood with an assist from Madison Burris, then MaKenzie Ward set up kills for Leslie and Gloria Mutiri to make it 4-2. Coweta scored a pair of kills and profited from a Sandite error to take the lead back at 5-4, but Mutiri got in on four straight kills to put the Sandites on top once and for all. Sand Springs went on a run at the end of the game, winning six straight rallies for a 25-13 victory. 

The second game's outcome was nearly just as lopsided in Coweta's favor. The back-and-forth battle for the lead continued till Ward set up kills for Mutiri and Devree Youngblood to tie things up at 14-14. From there Coweta ran away with a long list of faults on the Sandites. Five straight errors and a handful of kills gave the Tigers the 25-16 win. 

In the final set the Sandites regained their footing and left Coweta behind after Mutiri nailed a pair of back-to-back kills for the 5-3 advantage. The Tigers grabbed one point on an error, but Mutiri and Holly Kersgieter added another pair of kills before giving up a point on a service error. Coweta handed up a fault of their own and Youngblood got back in on the action with a shot off Ward, then combined on a block with Kersgieter to double down 10-5. Leslie got back in the fray and Ward scored a solo shot. Youngblood and Leslie blocked a shot to make it 14-6 and the Sandites had plenty of wiggle room. Coweta won the next four rallies somewhat due to defensive indifference on the part of the Sandites, who already had the win in the bag, but ultimately Youngblood smacked a kill off Ward for the 15-10 win. 

Sand Springs breezed through their final match of the day in a 2-0 victory over Edison (2-6). 

Kersgieter scored back-to-back aces to start the match. Kylie Taylor scored a kill off a Mutiri assist, Youngblood took a solo shot, and an Eagle fault gave Sand Springs the 5-0 advantage. Edison picked up their first point on an error from Taylor, but the next seven rallies went to the Sandites. Sand Springs continued to pile on the points until Mutiri wrapped things up with an ace for the 25-6 win. 

In the second game it was Edison who started things off with an ace, but it didn't take the Sandites long to get back in the lead once and for all with an ace from Youngblood. Madison Ward got in the game and served up a pair of back-to-back aces and MaKenzie Ward scored three-straight aces soon-after. 

The Sandites gave up five errors from there before tightening back up. Youngblood made it 22-11 on an assist from MaKenzie Ward. Kersgieter served, dug the return and scored on the dig, then followed it up with an ace. She gave up one point with an error, but followed it up with a kill for the 25-12 win.

The Lady Sandites will return to action bright and early Saturday morning with a 10:00 a.m. match against East Central (5-6). The Cardinals went 1-3 on day one of the tournament with losses to Tahlequah, Claremore, and Catoosa, and a win over Edison. Immediately following that match the Sandites will take on Tahlequah (2-2). Tahlequah started their season Friday with wins over Edison and East Central, but lost to Claremore and Heritage Hall.

At 1:00 p.m. the Sandites will take on Claremore (5-3) in the final round of pool play. Claremore went 3-1 in day one of the tournament, defeating Edison, Tahlequah, and East Central, but lost to Coweta. 

All eight teams will compete in bracket competition. The Sandites have already earned their way into the gold bracket and if they can finish undefeated they'll play at 3:00 p.m. against the number four seed. The second and third-seeded teams will meet at 4:00 p.m. and the Championship match will be at 5:00 p.m.

Sandite Volleyball tacks on two exciting wins at Coweta Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (6-3) won their first two matches at the Coweta Volleyball Tournament Friday.

The girls started things off with a 2-0 win over last year’s 5A State Runners-Up from Heritage Hall (1-9) with sets of 25-20 and 25-19. The first game belonged to the Sandites hands-down, but the Chargers battled hard in the second set and the girls had to play from a deficit early-on.

After falling behind 7-2, the Sandites finally got back on track behind the hard-hitting combo of MaKenzie Ward and Gloria Mutiri. Mutiri scored five kills off Ward’s setups in the second game and finished the set with ten kills total.

The Sandites took the final lead of the game 13-12 on a consecutive contact and Mutiri scored an ace on the side-out. Sophomore Holly Kersgieter also added an ace in the game.

From there they got a rematch against Catoosa (1-4) whom they defeated in straight sets a week ago. This time the Indians battled neck-and-neck with the Sandites and gave them a run for their money.

Sand Springs worked up an early lead thanks to several faults and Mutiri scored the first kill with an assist from Madison Burris. Madison Chalupa and Shannon May scored several kills for the Indians, but Mutiri served back-to-back aces to make it 14-7.

The Sandites had Catoosa more than doubled at 20-9 before Chalupa added another kill and a series of errors closed the gap to 20-13. Catoosa handed two points back on faults and Devree Youngblood scored an ace to make it 22-14, but the Indians kept on fighting with back-to-back aces from Chalupa.

Makenna Cypert set up Mutiri for a kill and Ward served an ace before Catoosa got the side-out on a service error, but quickly gave up the win with a block from Cypert.

In game two the Sandites emerged to an early lead thanks to three-straight kills from Kersgieter, including an ace. Youngblood added a solo shot to make it 6-3 before Chalupa broke the streak up. The next seven rallies were decided by errors before Catoosa added a pair of kills. Another error-streak gave Catoosa the 21-12 advantage and it looked like the underdogs would put the game in the bag.

Ward set up Kersgieter for a kill to get the Sandites back in the game and Kylie Taylor added an ace on the side out. The next four rallies were decided by error before the Sandites went on a killing spree behind Kersgieter, Taylor, and Mutiri. The Sandites battled back to a close 22-24 and dug out of six hard spikes before Taylor won the rally to make it 23-24. But Catoosa found the final point and forced a third game.

In the final set the Sandites took the lead to start with an error and an ace from Kersgieter, but committed a pair of faults to tie it back up. A kill from Paige Hardman gave Catoosa a brief lead, but a consecutive contact gave it right back. Ward set up Mutiri for back-to-back kills, Baylee Mudd hit an ace, and Mutiri scored a kill off a dig from Kersgeiter to make it 7-4. 

Catoosa tied things back up at 8-8 with an ace from Melissa Velazquez. The Ward-Mutiri combo reclaimed the lead, then Catoosa took it right back on a Sandite error. Finally the Sandites emerged to a definitive advantage off another Ward-Mutiri kill. A pair of errors pushed the lead to 12-9. Ward put up a shot for Kersgeiter, Youngblood scored on a block, and Mutiri sent in an ace to secure the win.

Lady Sandite Volleyball heads to Coweta Tournament this weekend

Photo:\\MORGAN MILLER

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (2-3) will compete in their first tournament this weekend. The Lady Sandites will travel to Coweta High School Friday morning for an eight team competition beginning at 9:00 a.m.

The Sandites started the season with back-to-back wins over opponents who dominated them in years past. The Muskogee Roughers (1-2) fell 3-1 to the Sandites in the season opener and next to go down were the Catoosa Indians (1-2). The Lady Indians were Regional Champions last year, but fell in straight sets to Sand Springs.

The ladies gave the defending 5A State Champions from Bishop Kelley a run for their money before falling 3-2 Monday night. Tuesday they were defeated 3-0 by the 6A State Runners-Up from Jenks (7-2) and Thursday they fell in sets of 22-25, 16-25, and 21-25 to Ponca City (5-4).

The girls will look to get back in the win column Friday when they take on yet another State Finalist in 5A Heritage Hall (0-4). At 11:00 a.m. Catoosa will get a rematch, at 1:00 p.m. the Sandites will play Coweta (1-1), and at 3:00 p.m. they will take on the Edison Eagles (2-3). 

On Saturday the Sandites will return to action with a 10:00 a.m. match against East Central (4-3) followed immediately by an 11:00 a.m. match against Tahlequah (0-0) and a 1:00 p.m. match against Claremore (2-2).

After pool play concludes, all eight teams will compete in the bracket competition. There will be two brackets, each beginning at 3:00 p.m. The second round will be played at 4:00 p.m. and the championship match will be played at 5:00 p.m. Each match will be decided by the best two out of three sets with the first two sets capped at 30 points and the third set played to 15 points with no cap. 

Jenks sweeps Sandites 3-0 despite strong defense from Holly Kersgieter

Photo:// MORGAN MILLER

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (2-2) had little time to rest after falling to the 5A State Champions from Bishop Kelley Monday night before taking on yet another top-tier team Tuesday. 

The Lady Sandites met their match in the Jenks Lady Trojans (6-2) at the Ed Dubie Field House. The 2015 State Runners-Up picked out all the holes in the Sandite defense, scoring heavily on tipped balls.

Sophomore Gloria Mutiri led in scoring for the fourth-straight match with eleven total kills. Despite averaging more than six blocks per match this season, Mutiri ended up with only one due to the crafty Trojan offense. The majority of Jenks's kills came from lightly tipped balls and rarely on hard spikes. 

When the Trojans did go for the hard hits, the Sandites were more than ready. Sophomore Holly Kersgieter was outstanding on defense with eighteen digs in addition to her four kills. Senior Lee Leslie added eight digs and Mutiri had seven. Devree Youngblood hit the lone ace of the evening for Sand Springs.

Jenks won varsity 3-0 with sets of 25-14, 25-14, and 25-11. The Sandite JV lost 2-0 with sets of 25-12 and 25-16. 

The Lady Sandites will return to action Friday at the Coweta Volleyball Tournament.