Averi Tippit is rising star on Sandite Volleyball team

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A version of this story was originally written for Vype.

Some people are born into their sport and continue a family tradition. Others find it at a young age and it’s all they’ve ever known. Averi Tippit, on the other hand, didn’t get into volleyball till she got to high school, though you wouldn’t know it from watching her play.

The Charles Page High School sophomore is already a rising young star on the varsity team thanks to her height, hard work, and her natural skill. 

“Everyone said I was tall,” says Tippit, on why she got into volleyball. “They said ‘you should play volleyball.’ I tried it and I liked it.” The rest is history.

“Volleyball takes over my life. I play all year round. My goals are definitely to be a good teammate and to have good energy with my team and just to be a team player. I’m working on keeping my attitude up and being consistent with hits and my tips and stuff.”

“Our last tournament in Oklahoma City, I think we all had a good dynamic. We were all working together as a team, and that was the best we’ve played by far. They’ve definitely been really supportive. When I’ve been down on myself they’ve helped me stay up and I really appreciate that.”

“Tippit’s done a good job for being so young and never playing before,” says Sand Springs head coach Derek Jackson. “Kind of stepping into a really big role as far as defense. As a right-sider her main job is to block. She’s going up against the best hitters that most teams have. For her to step into a tough position at a young age, hat’s off to her. I think she’ll develop into a pretty special player. She’s a good kid. She works her tail off and she has great character.”

As for the future, Tippit is hoping to play collegiate volleyball and dreams of playing at the Olympic level. She also wants to be a veterinarian and belongs to an animal science club.

High expectations for Sandite Volleyball in new season

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Sandite Volleyball Camp, grades 7-9. Courtesy of Lisa Wright.

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

After two of the winningest seasons in school history, expectations are high for the Charles Page High School volleyball team as the 2021 fall season approaches. The girls recently wrapped up Catoosa summer league and youth camp, and are poised for success as they return the bulk of their roster from last season.

“I think we have a veteran group this year,” said Head Coach Derek Jackson. “Last year we were a little bit younger, lot of sophomores, quite a few juniors, a couple of seniors. This year it’s going to be a lot more senior and junior-type kids with maybe a couple of sophomores or freshmen tossed in. So I think it may be the most seasoned team I’ve had since I’ve been here.”

Jackson is entering his third season as coach and owns a 37-29 record. The team’s 19 wins last season are the second-most in school history, and marked the first time that the program had back-to-back winning records.

“Obviously these first two years you’re going to have some bumpiness in terms of a new coach, a new system, and learning that culture. And we’ve had success along the route with that, which is good. Now it’s time to see some of that start to pay off. Summer league was pretty beneficial and showed we could compete with a lot of people.”

“They have been with me for a couple of years, they understand what we’re trying to do, the culture we’re trying to build. I think that’s going to be the difference between here and the very first year. I had a group of seniors that first year, but they hadn’t been with me, they were still learning the ins and outs, and this group kind of already has that under their belt.”

A big part of the team’s recent success has been building out the middle school and junior varsity programs. Last season they added a third middle-school team, and the 7th Grade-only team finished with a winning record in their first year. Jackson has also focused on introducing the sport to younger grade levels, offering a camp for grades 3-9.

Volleyball youth camp, grades 3-6. Courtesy of Lisa Wright.

“Last year we didn’t get to do the little kids’ camp (due to COVID-19). We were able to do it this year and it went really well. We had about 50 kids between two age groups. A lot of kids had a ton of fun and got a little bit better. That was our motto for the entire camp, ‘lots of fun, little bit better,’ so it was awesome.”

Jackson will have a big talent pool to draw from next season. “We had a really big freshman class last year, 18 kids. A lot of them played club, a lot of them went to clinics and camps. I think honestly that’s one of the biggest things I’m looking forward to is that JV is going to be so much stronger and can push varsity in practices every day.”

Evyn Morrow, Jayden Smith, Hannah McKelvey, and Averi Tippit are expected to make an impact as rising young players, while the team will be anchored by upperclassmen Tehya Johnson, Kasidy Holland, Jacelyn Smith, Olivia DeWitt, Payton Robbins, Charley Fahland, and Layla Lenex.

“I really think this year we really have an opportunity to be the most successful in school history. We’ve had the second and third-winningest seasons. I think this year if big players play big, younger ones step up, we stay together and stay healthy, we have a chance to upset some people that we maybe haven’t ever beat.”

Sandite Volleyball will start the season with a conference home game against Owasso, August 10th at 6:30 p.m. and will host the third annual Sandite Invitational that weekend. They will also compete at the Holland Hall, Edmond Santa Fe, and Glenpool tournaments this year.