CPHS Volleyball: Sandites sweep Muskogee 3-0

(Muskogee, OK) - After a tough start the Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (3-5) rolled to their second 3-0 sweep of the season against Class 6A No. 20 ranked Muskogee (5-5) Tuesday evening. The first two sets were competitive but the visitors ran away with the third. 

The Lady Sandites suffered a winless weekend at Union High School, securing only two sets in the five match tournament. They were swept 3-0 by No. 2 Norman North (7-1), No. 6 Edmond North (5-2), and No. 5 Stillwater (5-4) and fell 3-1 to No. 18 Union (1-7) and 5A No. 3 Bishop Kelley (5-2). They will get rematches with Union and Kelley later this season, but for now they are undefeated in Frontier Valley Conference play at 3-0.

The final score at Muskogee was not indicative of the closeness of the first set. While the Sandites ultimately prevailed 25-16, they closed game one on an 8-2 run and the Rougherettes were competitive for most of the bout. Sand Springs tried to pull away early on with a 7-2 run for an 11-6 lead, but a kill from Madison Wiebe, an ace from Paige Irwin and a trio of Sandite errors cut it back to a one-point game. Their head start was foiled but they finished strong with kills from Devree Youngblood, Cloe Campfield, and Vanessa Wyrick and an ace from Raylynn Mong.

The second set was a replay of the first, tight at first, then Sand Springs began to run away with it only for the hosts to claw their way back up. Youngblood scored back-to-back kills and Campfield aced to start the game, but the scrappy Lady Roughers hung tight at 14-13 till the Lady Sandites ran it up to 23-14. Then, just when it looked like a sure victory, four faults and an ace from Alesha Arriaga cut it back to 23-19. A Rougher error and a kill from McKenzie Harris secured the victory. 

After tying it up at 5-5 the Roughers completely dropped out of contention in set three. A 10-1 run more or less put the match out of reach and first year Head Coach Sydney Bond got to sub in her third string, giving twelve players varsity experience for the night before wrapping it up at 25-19.

Campfield led all scorers with eleven kills and two aces, followed by Youngblood with twelve kills. Wyrick and Madison Burris scored six kills apiece and Madison Blaylock recorded five digs. Mong had two aces and nineteen assists and Burris had three digs and fifteen assists.

Sand Springs Volleyball will return to action Thursday evening with a 6:15 p.m. match at 4A No. 2 Victory Christian (8-3).

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.

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).

Coaches Morrow and Green step down from Sandite Basketball and Volleyball

Mar. 09, 2018. CPHS Girls' Basketball Coach Dustin Morrow coaches his team in a State Quarterfinals game against Choctaw. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

Charles Page High School has lost two successful head coaches this season. Head Volleyball Coach Janna Green resigned shortly after the fall season and Head Girls' Basketball Coach Dustin Morrow announced his resignation Monday. 

Green came to the Sand Springs School District in 2014 after a three-year stent at Owasso High School. She took over a program that went 14-26 the year before and finished with a winning record of 24-14 in 2016 for Frontier Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors. The girls went 15-18 in 2017. She holds an all-time high school coaching record of 117-110 and 65-72 at Sand Springs. Green is now the Director of Court Sports at Titan Sports and Performance Center in Tulsa. Assistant Coach Alyssa Bargas has also left the program after four years. 

Feb. 06, 2017. SSPS Board of Ed member Bo Naugle presents CPHS Volleyball Coach Janna Green with the Sandite Spirit Award. (Photo: Scott Emigh).

Morrow was also named FVC Coach of the year for the 2016-2017 season after winning the conference, going 24-2, and taking the girls to their first State Tournament appearance since 2011. Morrow took over the program in 2013 and took the team to a 10-14 record after going 3-42 over the two seasons prior. The Lady Sandites finished 18-8 with another State Tournament appearance this past season. Morrow holds a career record of 81-45. He will remain with the district as a science teacher.

"I want to thank the athletic department, my assistant coaches, the players and the entire community for supporting our basketball program during my 6 years as head coach," said Morrow in a public statement. "Having said that, I have decided to step down from my coaching duties. The future is bright for these young ladies and I'm excited to watch them compete for conference and state championships - as a fan! Thanks again and GO SANDITES!"

CPHS Volleyball: Final Season Statistics and Season Rewind

Another year is in the history books for the Charles Page High School Sandite Volleyball team. The talented squad finished the season ranked twelfth in Class 6A with a 15-18 record in one of their toughest schedules in program history. After a 24-14 campaign in 2016, the Lady Sandites scheduled far tougher foes this season and despite the losing record, they were arguably one of the best teams in school history.

The Lady Sandites upset No. 5 Edmond Memorial 3-2 and swept No. 11 Owasso en route to a third-place finish at the tough Broken Arrow tournament. They swept 5A No. 7 Coweta, 5A No. 5 Victory Christian and their Highway 97 foes from Sapulpa before their season came to a close at No. 5 Stillwater in the Regional Championship finals. 

The season included thirteen sweeps and 52 set wins to 58 losses. Fourth-year Head Coach Janna Green's career record stands now at 123-113 (.521) overall and 65-76 (.460) in her time at Sand Springs. She took two of her three Owasso teams to the State Tournament but has yet to make the trip from Sand Springs.

Sixteen Lady Sandites saw action this season, and nine will graduate this spring. The varsity squad didn't contain a single junior. The six varsity sophomores will lead the team for the next two seasons.

The Sandites will graduate 76% of their scoring power, including team kill-leader and Kansas State University-commit Gloria Mutiri. She leaves a talented star to pick up where she left off in sophomore Devree Youngblood. Youngblood played only 47 sets this year due to injury but still managed 94 kills for the second-best performance on the team. Sophomore Madison Burris led the team with 595 assists and was the only player besides Mutiri to play every single set. 

Defensively the girls will lose 85% of their blocking and 77% of their digging power. Mutiri led the team in blocks with 79, while Madison Ward led in digs with 108 to Mutiri's 106. Ward saw the third-most action of the team with 106 sets played. Mutiri also led in aces with 39, while Makenzie Ward scored 28 and Madison Ward added 26. 

Sets Played

107 Burris
107 Mutiri
106 Madison Ward
102 Neely
102 Taylor
98 Makenzie Ward
95 Cypert
93 Campfield
78 Bradshaw
75 Wise
64 Johnson
47 Youngblood
38 Wyrick
25 Mong
18 Blaylock
2 Henry

Kills

524 Mutiri
94 Youngblood
63 Burris
72 Cypert
49 Bradshaw
49 Campfield
38 Neely
12 Johnson
11 Wyrick
6 Taylor
6 Madison Ward
4 Wise
1 Blaylock
1 Mong

Assists

595 Burris
99 Makenzie Ward
15 Mutiri
12 Bradshaw
11 Mong
8 Cypert
5 Johnson
3 Campfield
3 Neely
3 Taylor
3 Madison Ward
1 Youngblood

Blocks

79 Mutiri
27 Neely
11 Cypert
9 Burris
7 Bradshaw
7 Wyrick
4 Youngblood
3 Campfield
2 Johnson

Digs

108 Madison Ward
106 Mutiri
91 Taylor
60 Burris
33 Campfield
28 Makenzie Ward
12 Wise
6 Cypert
5 Mong
5 Youngblood
4 Bradshaw
3 Blaylock
2 Neely
1 Wyrick

Aces

39 Mutiri
28 Makenzie Ward
26 Madison Ward
24 Taylor
19 Campfield
14 Burris
13 Wise
9 Cypert
8 Youngblood
1 Blaylock
1 Neely
1 Wyrick

*Statistics do NOT include a 3-0 (25-12, 26-24, 25-18) win over the Stillwater Junior Varsity squad at the Stillwater Tournament due to equipment failure. 

Seniors

#4 Chelsea Neely
#6 Kylie Taylor
#8 Kallie Johnson
#14 Makenna Cypert
#17 Makenzie Ward
#18 Madison Ward
#21 Gloria Mutiri
#22 Kenzie Bradshaw
#28 Kendall Wise

Sophomores

#1 Cloe Campfield
#5 Madison Burris
#9 Devree Youngblood
#11 Vanessa Wyrick
#24 Raylynn Mong
#26 Cheyenne Henry

Freshmen

#15 Madison Blaylock

CPHS Volleyball: Sandites fall 3-0 to No. 5 Stillwater in Regional Championship

SHS 3 CPHS 0
Set One: SHS 25-18
Set Two: SHS 25-22
Set Three: SHS 25-19

Kills: SHS 31, CPHS 22.
Blocks: SHS 4, CPHS 3.
Aces: SHS 7, CPHS 6.
Service Errors: SHS 8, CPHS 4.

Click here to view full photo gallery by Morgan Miller.

In the eleventh game of the season, the Sandites came back from an 0-2 deficit to win 3-2 against the No. 5 team in Class 6A. Unfortunately, that was a once-in-a-season type of comeback. The No. 12 ranked Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (16-17) saw their season come to an end with a valiant last stand at No. 5 Stillwater (26-7) in the Regional Championship finals. Kansas State-commit Gloria Mutiri led her team with 18 kills, Madison Burris had 18 assists, Madison Ward and Kylie Taylor had six digs apiece, and Makenzie Ward had three aces.

SEE RELATED: No. 12 Sandites sweep Ponca 3-0 in Regional Playoffs.

The Sandites kept up with their foes well throughout the beginning of set one, drawing first blood with a kill from Cloe Campfield. Sophomore standout McKenzie Vilade gave her team a 2-1 lead with an ace, Mutiri retaliated with back-to-back kills with assists from Burris, then Lauren Phillips and Neely Holt combined for a block. Mutiri scored a kill, Orianna Clements retaliated, Burris scored on a tip, Clements retaliated, then the Pioneers went on a six point run for an insurmountable 11-6 lead. The Sandites tried to rally with five-straight late in the game to make it 18-15, but the home team outpaced then from there to win 25-18.

The Sandites jumped out to big lead early in game two, winning five straight rallies with a pair of aces from Makenzie Ward to make it 7-2. They held their lead till the Pioneers won six straight to take the lead at 17-15. Mutiri scored a kill and a block for an 18-17 lead, the Pioneers briefly tied it again, then Mutiri scored two straight kills and Makenzie Ward served an ace to make it 21-18. Ward's next serve went OB and Vilade killed to make it 21-20, Mutiri notched another point, then the home team went on a five point run for the win.

Sand Springs got out to a quick lead in game three with a four-point run capped by an ace from Madison Blaylock. The Pioneers responded with a six point streak starring Lauren Phillips, who hit three aces, one kill, and one assist for a 9-7 lead. Sand Springs tied it up at 14-14 with an ace fromTaylor but never managed to take the lead. They cut it to 19-22 before the Pioneers went on a three point run for the win. 

Sand Springs Individual Statistics

Kills: Mutiri 18, Campfield 2, Burris 1, Cypert 1.
Assists: Burris 18, Mutiri 1, Blaylock 1.
Blocks: Mutiri 1, Cypert 1, Burris 1, Neely 1.
Digs: Madison Ward 6, Taylor 6, Makenzie Ward 4, Campfield 1, Burris 1, Mutiri 1. 
Aces: Makenzie Ward 3, Taylor 2, Mutiri 1.

Stillwater Individual Statistics

Kills: Kloos 7, Vilade 7, Clements 6, Holt 5, Riley 4, Phillips 2.
Assists: Phillips 12, Vilade 6.
Blocks: Phillips 2, Holt 2, Clements 1, Riley 1, Kloos 1.
Aces: Phillips 3, Vilade 3, Riley 1, Lynch 1.