Sandite Volleyball Falls 3-1 in Exciting Match Against Owasso

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The difference between an average team and a good team oftentimes comes down to how it responds to adversity. Do they resign themselves to failure after tough losses, or do they learn and grow with their losses?

The No. 16 ranked Charles Page High School volleyball team (10-9, 0-4) has taken some tough losses this season, but thus far has refused to roll over - coming out strong time and time again against higher-ranked programs.

That competitive spirit showed up again in a 3-1 loss to No. 7 Owasso (15-8, 3-0) Thursday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

“It was good volleyball and I’m just so proud of them for continuing to work hard even though it hasn’t necessarily shown up in the win column,” said head coach Skylar Jackson.

After losing the first set 25-22 the Sandites rallied from a 17-11 deficit in game two to win 25-22 before falling 25-18 and 25-14 against the Rams.

“Last year we played a really really great first match against Union and just couldn’t rebound,” said Jackson. “Even though we played so well, we got hung up on the fact that it’s a loss.”

“(This year) we played Booker T. early, we took them to five (sets), they’re one of the top 5A teams in the state. And I told the girls you have one of two options. We can either keep pushing forward or we can get hung up on the fact that we still lost and do what we did last year.”

“They haven’t gotten hung up on it. They work hard every day in practice and it’s starting to show. Taking sets from a top-ten Owasso is a good day.”

A very good day. In fact, the Sandites have only taken a set from Owasso twice since 2017 as the Rams have won the last eight meetings by a combined 22-2.

Sand Springs played a close opening set with four lead changes, six tie scores, and several strong rallies to stay in it. After falling behind 18-13, Adelynn Ray scored a kill and served two aces to close the gap to 18-16.

Owasso tried to pull away again, leading by as much as 23-19 before Averi Tippit and Jayden Smith scored back-to-back kills to keep it close. The Sandites won three of the final five rallies but couldn’t quite even the score before Madi Hill secured the Owasso victory.

In game two it looked like the Rams would run away with it, jumping out to leads of 5-1 and 17-11.

An Owasso service error gave the Sandites new life and Brooklyn Shope served a pair of aces to make it 17-14. Another Owasso service error kicked off a four-point streak with a pair of kills from Smith as the Sandites tied it up at 19-19.

Kiya Colvin scored a pair of kills as Owasso got back in front, 22-20, but yet another service error sparked the Sandites to win five-straight rallies for the victory.

Tippit and Alia DeBerry combined on a block, Evyn Morrow served an ace, and Shope and DeBerry scored kills to tie the match up.

“We’ve had that talk a lot, that when you’re down you’ve got to find another level to go to,” said Jackson. “So that’s something we’ve been talking about - being ready and working hard until October. They did that tonight.”

In game three, however, the Rams took an early lead and never relinquished it, though the Sandites made several late rallies. After trailing 15-7 midway through they cut it as close as 20-17 late in the match before Owasso won five of the final six rallies.

Owasso ran away with game four, winning eight rallies in a row for a 17-6 advantage that the Sandites couldn’t claw their way out of. After trailing 20-8 the girls cut it as close as 23-14 before a pair of errors put the match to bed.

An offensive adjustment for the Rams was the key difference as they ran a higher volume of their attacks through University of Oklahoma-commit Carley Butler in the final two sets. After scoring only two kills through the first two games, she scored eight in the final two.

Freshman phenom Madi Hill scored 14 kills to lead the Rams while Colvin added 11 to put three Rams in double-digits.

Sand Springs was led by Smith with 9 kills, Hannah McKelvey with 15 assists, Morrow with 23 digs, and Shope with 4 aces.

“I’m always impressed with Evyn Morrow,” said Jackson. “She just absolutely freaking kills it. Alia DeBerry - she hasn’t gotten a lot of playing time this season but she stepped out there on right side and had a really great blocking night.”

“All around, our servicing was great and our offense looked good. We were getting some good big blocks out there. I’m just proud of my team.”

The Sandites will return to action Tuesday at Bixby (4-15, 3-1) as they look for their first conference win of the season. The Spartans have won their past two meetings with Sand Springs.

Owasso 3 CPHS 1
(25-22, 22-25, 25-18, 25-14)
Kills: Owasso 51, CPHS 32.
Blocks: Owasso 3, CPHS 4.
Aces: Owasso 9, CPHS 7.
Errors: Owasso 36, CPHS 34.
Service Errors: Owasso 17, CPHS 14.

(Sand Springs Stats)
Kills: Smith 9, Ray 7, DeBerry 6, Shope 5, Tippit 4, Pearce 1.
Assists: H. McKelvey 15, Ray 9, Morrow 1, Smith 1, F. McKelvey 1.
Solo Blocks: Pearce 2, Tippit 1.
Assisted Blocks: Tippit 1, DeBerry 1.
Digs: Morrow 23, Smith 7, H. McKelvey 6, Ray 5, DeBerry 2, Pearce 2, Shope 1, F. McKelvey 1.
Aces: Shope 4, Ray 2, Morrow 1.

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 Falls 3-0 to Union in Thriller

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For the second match in a row, the Sandite volleyball team played excellently as a team but just couldn’t quite find an answer for their opponent’s star power.

Last week it was a 3-2 heartbreaker to 5A No. 11 Booker T. Washington (5-2, 1-1), whose sophomore star Arriana Brown put up 29 kills.

This Tuesday it was a 3-0 sweep by Union (3-5, 2-1), whose senior star Brittney Smith recorded 22 kills.

Sand Springs dropped to 5-5 on the young season and is 0-3 in conference play.

The RedHawks jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the first set but the Sandites battled back to take a 10-9 advantage on a kill from Brooklyn Shope.

The most the Sandites would lead was 12-10, however, before Union went on a nine-point run.

Sand Springs got the side out on a kill from freshman Adelynn Ray, who has been showing high potential this season. The visitors made the rest of the set competitive but couldn’t quite dig out of the hole, falling 25-18.

Game two was neck-and-neck from the very start with 12 tie scores and six lead changes. Neither team led by more than a point till Union went up 8-6, but the Sandites responded with a three-point run and an ace from Evyn Morrow.

The RedHawks finally began to build momentum late in the game on a deadly combination of low set-pieces by Jayden Smith (each team had their own Jayden Smith) and hammer-fist kills by Brittney Smith that were nearly impossible to dig.

After falling behind 21-16, Sand Springs clawed its way back with kills from Claire Day, Ray, and Averi Tippit before Alia DeBerry served an ace to tie it 22-22.

Brittney Smith and Ray traded kills to tie at 23-23 and again at 24-24, but Brittney Smith got the final kill of the set and Jayden Smith served an ace for the win.

In game three Union jumped out to a fast 5-1 lead, Sand Springs cut it to 8-6, then the RedHawks went on a six-point run to make it 14-7.

Day and Shope scored three kills in a row and Morrow added an ace to cut it to 14-12, but the Sandites never could quite tie it up and ultimately fell 25-20 on an ace from Bailee Mueller.

Day led the Sandites offensively with 10 kills, followed by Jayden Smith with 8, and Ray with 7. Hannah McKelvey had 19 assists and Ray had 17. Morrow recorded 17 digs.

Sand Springs will return to action Friday at the Claremore tournament in a battle of the spouses as current Sandite coach Skylar Jackson leads her girls against her husband, former Sandite coach Derek Jackson.

The Sandites and 5A No. 2 Zebras (11-2) will play at 4:00 p.m. but first the Sandites will take on Collinsville (1-13) at 9:00 a.m., 5A No. 4 Sapulpa (11-5) at noon, and 5A No. 12 Edison (8-4) at 2:00 p.m.

On Saturday they will play Tulsa Memorial (2-2) at 9:00 a.m., 4A No. 7 Verdigris (7-5) at 11:00 a.m. and Tulsa Will Rogers (1-5) at 2:00 p.m.

The tournament will be a small world reunion of Sandites as in addition to the Jacksons, former Sand Springs coaches Wally Poplin (Collinsville) and Caleb Horton (Verdigris) have both coached in Sand Springs and Memorial coach Audra Estrada lives in Sand Springs.

Union 3 CPHS 0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-20)
Kills: Union 43, CPHS 40.
Blocks: Union 2, CPHS 1.
Aces: Union 3, CPHS 9.
Errors: Union 12, CPHS 28.

(Sand Springs stats)
Kills: Day 10, Smith 8, Ray 7, Tippit 5, DeBerry 5, Shope 4, Pearce 1.
Assists: H. McKelvey 19, Ray 17, Morrow 2, Smith 1.
Blocks: Ray .5, Pearce .5.
Digs: Morrow 17, Smith 6, Pearce 5, Ray 3, DeBerry 3, F. McKelvey 2, Day 1, H. McKelvey 1.
Aces: DeBerry 3, Ray 2, Smith 2, Morrow 2.

Volleyball Falls to Booker T. Washington in 3-2 Thriller

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In a rematch of last year’s Regional elimination game, once again it was Booker T. Washington who emerged victorious in its season opener Tuesday night at Sand Springs (5-4, 0-2.

The Hornets won an exhilarating five-set conference match, pulling away late after a mostly neck-and-neck battle.

“That’s the best volleyball I’ve seen us play,” said head coach Skylar Jackson.

“We’re not a big team so we have to be aggressive in a lot of the moments that other teams wouldn’t be aggressive. And we saw that in the end of the first, second, third, and most of the fourth set. We just let off the gas and we shouldn’t have.”

Sand Springs lost the first set close but won games two and three for the lead before Washington won the final two.

5’11” sophomore Arriana Brown kept the Sandites on their toes all night, tallying 29 kills and 2 aces.

The Hornets first pulled away with a four-point run to go up 13-9 in the first set, though the Sandites eventually battled back to tie it at 19-19 on an ace from Evyn Morrow. A tipped ball from Brenna Weaver got Washington back out front, however, and they won a close 25-22 on a block from Brooklyn Nerio and Brooklyn Dalgarn.

In game two the Sandites stormed out to a 6-1 lead and never trailed, though a late six-point run from the Hornets cut it as close as 19-17. A kill from Adelynn Ray snapped the Hornets’ momentum and Averi Tippit served an ace to follow it up. Patience Pearce secured the 25-20 victory with a block.

In game three the Sandites trailed through most of the set before scoring four in a row to take the 18-16 advantage. Tippit scored the go-ahead point after making an incredible dig on a slam from Brown that shot like a rocket to the back of the Hornet court.

Plays like that were routine for the Sandites, whose defense repeatedly pushed the Hornets and drew cheers from the crowd as even the most hard-hit and well-placed balls were never given up on.

“They’re a team that works hard and they want to win,” said Jackson. “They want to win for each other and that sounds pretty cliché, but we’ve got eight seniors and there’s a good chunk of them out there all the time. They want to win this year."

A series of offensive errors gave Washington the 23-21 lead but a service error gave the Sandites a spark. Shope followed it with a kill, Morrow served an ace, and Tippit capped off the four-point run with a tip to win 25-23.

In game four, however, Washington used a commanding seven-point run to go up 15-7 and the Sandites never recovered, ultimately falling 25-17.

Weaver opened the tie-breaker set with back-to-back kills to ensure the Sandites never took the lead. The home team got as close as 8-6 before Washington rattled off six points in a row on an uncharacteristic five errors from the Sandites. Lauren Pero and Carly Alexander combined on a block for the 15-7 victory.

Jayden Smith was the offensive star for the Sandites with 14 kills, followed by Ray with 7 and Claire Day with 5. Ray and Hannah McKelvey had 11 assists apiece.

Defensively there was no shortage of star power. Morrow led the team with 22 digs, Ray added 16, and Smith had 9.

The Sandites will take a week off before traveling to Union (1-1, 1-1) for a conference match on Tuesday. The RedHawks have won six in a row against the Sandites since 2018 but last year’s meeting was a close 27-25, 25-19, 27-25.

BTW 3 CPHS 2 (25-22, 20-25, 23-25, 25-17, 15-7)
Kills: BTW 56, CPHS 34.
Blocks: BTW 3, CPHS 5.
Aces: BTW 7, CPHS 7.
Errors: BTW 32, CPHS 30.
Service Errors: BTW 18, CPHS 10.

Sand Springs Stats
Kills: Smith 14, Ray 7, Day 5, Shope 4, Tippit 2, Pearce 1, DeBerry 1.
Assists: McKelvey 11, Ray 11, Morrow 2, Pearce 2, Smith 1, Day 1.
Solo Blocks: Pearce 1.
Block Assists: Ray 3, Pearce 2, Tippit 2, Smith 1.
Digs: Morrow 22, Ray 16, Smith 9, Shope 7, McKelvey 6, Tippit 4, Casey 3, Day 2, Pearce 1.
Aces: Tippit 2, Morrow 2, McKelvey 1, Shope 1.