CPHS Volleyball: Sandites top Bartlesville 3-1 in thrilling home-opener

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team improved to 2-0 with a 3-1 home debut victory Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House. Bartlesville (1-2) won the second set of the night and looked to win the fourth before the Sandites battled out of a nine-point hole.

The first set was a nail-bitter as Sand Springs didn't take the final lead till 18-17 with eight tie scores along the way. The Sandites started hot with a kill and an ace from Madison Burris and a block from Cheyenne Henry, and kept that lead till 8-5 when three straight errors evened things up.

Neither team managed more than a one-point advantage till Cloe Campfield served an ace at 14-12. That lead was quick lived as two errors and a pair of kills flipped the script in Bartlesville's favor. Sand Springs finally surged in the final minutes for the 25-20 victory. 

Bartlesville took a 5-3 lead in the second set. Sand Springs battled back and led till 11-11 when they were caught out of rotation, then jumped back out to 15-12 with kills from Vanessa Wyrick and McKenzie Harris.

A four-point run put the Bruins up 17-16, the Sandites made a run of their own with a kill and an ace from Burris for a 21-18 lead, then Bartlesville ran away with it for the 25-22 victory. 

Set three went by like a breeze thanks to a nine-point run that put the Sandites up 17-10 and a five-point denouement capped by a kill from Wyrick.

The final stanza started heavily in Bartlesville's favor as the Bruins took a 12-3 lead, but the Sandites made a seven point run that flustered Coach Tom Williams to the point of drawing a yellow card.

The Sandites took their first lead at 20-19 thanks to kills from Harris and Henry, the set tied at 21-21 and 22-22, then Devree Youngblood made it 24-22 and things looked wrapped up for the home team. 

Instead, a service error, a block, and an ace gave the Bruins the lead before a service error of their own tied it at 25-25. Youngblood had the final say, however, scoring on assists from Burris and Raylynn Mong to finish the night. 

Burris registered twenty assists on the night while Youngblood scored thirteen kills. Mong served a team-high four aces, and Henry notched three unassisted blocks.

Sand Springs will return to action Friday at the Union Tournament.

Vote now to help Sandite Dance win free flight to Nationals

The Charles Page High School varsity Dance team has made it to the final round of an online contest, and your vote could help them win free flight to the Dance Team Union National Championships this February.

One way or another, the Sandites are headed to Orlando, Florida on February 1st. But they can save some serious money by winning the DTU Team Spirit Contest.

There are twelve finalists and the winner will be selected by the contest sponsor from among the top five vote earners. The contest ends Wednesday, August 15th at 1:00 p.m. EST. 

To cast your vote, visit this link: https://www.danceteamunion.com/dtuteamspirit

CPHS Softball: Lady Sandites go 4-2 at Broken Arrow Tournament, beat Owasso 6-5

After a 4-0 start to the season, the Charles Page High School Fast Pitch Softball team (5-2) endured a pair of losses on day two of the Broken Arrow Tournament before topping Owasso 6-5 in extra innings. 

On Friday the Lady Sandites got off to a hot start with wins over Choctaw (3-3), Pocola (5-4), and Broken Bow (5-2). SEE RELATED: CPHS Softball: Sandites undefeated at Broken Arrow tournament, Usher hits home run

The Moore Lions (1-4) picked up their first win of the season by dealing Sand Springs their first loss. They jumped out to a quick lead with a pair of doubles and a run from Morgan Schmidt in the top of the first.

Sand Springs bounced back quickly with four walks and an RBI single from Felicity Horn to score Raegan Rector. Ashlynn Haley relieved Morgan Max on the mound and struck out two Lady Sandites to strand loaded bases.

Heidi Noisey batted in Rylie O'Steen with a single to tie things up in the second, then Taylor McKittrick hit a two-run homer in the third to double down on the Sandites. Sabrina Usher made it a one-run game with an RBI single to score Kimi Presnell, but Elizabeth Willison caught a pop fly to strand two and bring the game to a close at 4-3.

Aaliyah Taff (1-1, 1-3) got the loss on the mound, throwing six hits and a walk.

Durant (4-2) dropped the hammer, outhitting the Lady Sandites twelve to six for a 9-4 victory.

Hannah Kaler kicked things off with a solo home run in the second inning, then the Lions combined for five hits and three runs in the third. Madison Keel scored on a sacrifice fly in the fourth, Madyson Tolbert hit an RBI single in the fifth, then Tristyn Hamilton scored loaded bases on a triple for the 9-0 advantage.

Horn was the first to cross home plate for the Sandites, scoring on a single from Cameron Clemons, then Presnell batted in Madison Lee, Clemons scored on a passed ball, and Usher batted in Presnell for the final run of the game.

Mackenzie Bechtold (1-0) pitched nine hits, five runs, one walk, and one strikeout in the first four innings, and Rector (0-1) gave up three hits, four runs, and one walk in the fifth.

Rylie Boone scored Owasso's first run on an error in the third, then Jordan Hausher hit a two-run homer. Calee Gregory brought in Teigan Denny with an RBI single in the fourth for a 4-0 lead. 

Sand Springs loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth with two walks and an error. Lee scored on a fielder's choice, Madelyn Blair doubled in Jacie Taber, Elizabeth Luttrell batted in Clemons, and Rector scored on a wild pitch to tie things up.

Boone reclaimed her team's lead with a single in the top of the seventh, but Rector tied it on an error, then Clemons scored Avery Tanner with a walkoff single in the eighth.

Blair (2-0, 21-5) got the win on the mound, throwing nine hits, three strikeouts, and no walks. 

The Lady Sandites will return to action Tuesday at undefeated Ponca City (6-0) in their first district battle of the season.

CPHS Softball: Sandites undefeated at Broken Arrow tournament, Usher hits home run

The Charles Page High School Fast Pitch Softball team holds an undefeated 4-0 record after the second day of the season and the first day of the Broken Arrow Tournament.

After shutting out Tahlequah in their Thursday afternoon season opener, the Lady Sandites defeated Choctaw 3-2, Pocola 6-0, and Broken Bow 6-3 Friday at Arrowhead Park.

Choctaw (3-1) is always an exciting win for the Sandites, who were defeated 4-3 by the Yellowjackets in the 2015 State Championship. University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma-commit Madelyn Blair (1-0) pitched her first win of the season in the close battle. 

The Yellowjackets outhit the Sandites six to four, but Sand Springs benefited from three walks and an error for the payback win.

The Sandites jumped out to an early lead with a sacrifice fly from Jensen Arnold to score Kimi Presnell in the top of the first, but Lainee Brown tied it up right away with an RBI single.

Jacie Taber reclaimed the lead with an RBI double to score Felicity Horn in the top of the second, then Emma Jackson singled in Tiffany Palmer to tie it in the fourth. Cameron Clemons smacked an RBI double in the fifth for the final run of the game.

Aaliyah Taff (1-0) got the win on the mound against Pocola (3-3), tossing three hits, two strikeouts, and three walks in seven innings.

Makenna Skaggs recorded the first hit of the game but was stranded in the top of the first inning. Pocola left two on base in the bottom of the second as Shakyrah Gladness reached on an error at third and Kena Chitwood drew a walk.

The Sandites hit pay dirt in the top of the third with an RBI single from Sabrina Usher to bring home Presnell, then Taber singled in Clemons in the fourth before scoring on a hit from Presnell.

Pocola was in hot water in the sixth inning as a walk from Horn and singles from Clemons and Taber loaded the bases with no outs. Blair scored all three on a double, then Presnell and Skaggs singled to reload the slot.

The Indians averted disaster as Usher hit a pop fly to third where Blair was tagged out, and Presnell was left stranded with a fly out from Arnold.

Pocola snagged a walk and a single in the bottom of the sixth and Mika Scott doubled in the seventh, but a strikeout and a pair of ground outs brought the game to a close.

Mackenzie Bechtold (1-0) handed Broken Bow (3-1) their first loss of the season with four hits, two walks, and three strikeouts.

Jaylee Lopez gave the Lady Savages the opening lead with an RBI double to score Jules Callaham, but Sabrina Usher hit the first Sandite home run of the season to score Skaggs for the advantage. 

Broken Bow tied it up with an RBI single from Shae Ebert in the top of the third, but Sand Springs ran away with it in the bottom of the fourth.

Elizabeth Luttrell and Horn hit back-to-back doubles and Clemons added a sacrifice fly to double the Savages 4-2, then Blair doubled in Taber and scored on an error to make it 6-3.

Callaham reached on an error in the fifth and scored on a different error for the final run of the game. 

Sand Springs will return to action Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. against Moore (0-3), then will play Durant (2-3) at 2:00 p.m., both on Field 5 at Arrowhead Park. They will begin bracket play at 4:00 p.m.

CPHS Softball: Sandites slam Tahlequah 8-0 in season opener

The Lady Sandite Fast-Pitch Softball team kicked off the season with a bang Thursday afternoon in Tahlequah, shutting out the Tigers 8-0 behind a stellar pitching performance from Jacie Taber.

Taber, an uncommitted Division One prospect, threw four strikeouts, one walk, and one hit in the five-inning outing. She also hit two singles on three at-bats with two runs and two RBI.

Sand Springs was supposed to start their season Tuesday morning at the Claremore Festival, but both games were cancelled due to weather. Tahlequah, meanwhile, had little difficulty in rattling off a pair of double-digit wins at the Pryor Festival.

The Sandites' late start put them to no disadvantage and they needed only a single inning to find their rhythm against the 5A powerhouse. 

In the second inning Taber and Elizabeth Luttrell hit a pair of singles and Felicity Horn walked to load the bases. Makenna Skaggs batted in Luttrell, Cameron Clemons batted in Taber, and Madelyn Blair batted in Horn for a quick 3-0 advantage.

Sabrina Usher kicked off the third inning with a double, Luttrell and Taber both singled again, and Usher and Luttrell both scored on Taber's hit. Taber came in on a double from Skaggs to double the score. 

Drew Hawkins drew a walk in the fourth and came in on a double from Usher, who scored the final run of the game on a ground out from Luttrell. 

Emily Sampson snagged Tahlequah's only hit of the night on a single to left field in the bottom of the fourth, but three quick fly outs left the Tiger stranded. 

The Sandites will return to action Friday afternoon at the Broken Arrow Tournament with a triple header at Arrowhead Park. Sand Springs will play Choctaw (1-0) at 1:30 p.m., Pocola (3-0) at 3:00 p.m., and Fort Gibson (0-0) at 5:00 p.m. All three games will be played on Field 7. Arrowhead Park is located at 300 East Washington Street in Broken Arrow.

CPHS Volleyball: Sandites sweep Sapulpa 3-0 in season opener

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (1-0) notched a big win in their season opener Tuesday evening. The Lady Sandites traveled into hostile territory to take on their nemesis and prevailed with a 3-0 sweep of the Sapulpa Chieftains (0-1). 

The Sandites took a 3-0 lead right out of the gate and held their distance till a three-point run from the Chieftains tied it at 9-9. Devree Youngblood scored two blocks, one with an assist from Rachel Hines, and notched a kill to make it 12-9. From there the visitors began to run away from it and worked up to a 22-13 lead thanks to a pair of aces from Cloe Campfield, and Cheyenne Henry put the cap on the 25-17 win with an ace of her own.

Most of the second set rallies didn’t last more than a few seconds. Madison Burris scored the opening point, Audrey Malay retaliated, then Campfield scored a kill and two aces for a 5-1 lead. The teams combined for seven service errors then Youngblood hit back to back aces for a 12-7 advantage. Sand Springs surged ahead 20-13 before their hosts battled back, but ultimately the Sandites prevailed 25-20 thanks to a kill from Campfield. There were nine aces and thirteen service errors in the set.

Set three was a true Highway 97 rivalry match up. Kaitlyn Baxter scored a block for the Chieftains then Sand Springs rattled off five straight wins with a pair of aces from Raylynn Mong. Baxter tied it up with a pair of aces at 7-7 and the two teams traded punches till the Chieftains won six straight for their biggest lead of the night at 16-10.

Henry notched a pair of aces to whittle the deficit to 16-14, Sapulpa notched a kill, then the Sandites went on the longest run of the night for either team. Campfield scored three more aces, Youngblood had a pair of kills and a pair of blocks, and the visitors jumped to 22-17 before Malay broke the streak. Baxter scored one last point for her squad, then Youngblood scored two kills and a block to finish the night.

Sand Springs will hold their first home game of the season Tuesday the 14th at 6:30 p.m. against Bartlesville (1-0). The Bruins won their first match 3-2 over Muskogee (0-1).