Broken Arrow Sweeps Sandite Volleyball 3-0

The Charles Page High School volleyball team is still looking for its first conference win after falling 3-0 to No. 5 Broken Arrow (16-7, 5-1) Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

Sand Springs (11-11) dropped to 0-6 in the tough Frontier Valley Conference despite playing a fairly competitive match against the perennial powerhouse.

The Tigers ran away with the first game, building momentum behind an eight-point run early in the set to go up 17-3.

Sand Springs responded with a five-point streak of its own behind kills from Brooklyn Shope and Averi Tippit, but Broken Arrow got hot once again and closed out the set with an 8-1 run.

The next two games were much closer, however.

After falling behind 12-5 early in game two, the Sandites cut their deficit as close as 16-13 but could never quite tie it up. Broken Arrow pulled away to win 25-19.

Game three stayed close much longer as the Sandites only trailed 10-9 midway through, but from then on it was one step forward and three steps back before Broken Arrow prevailed 25-15.

Despite the loss, the Sandites were impressive at times, extending the rallies with exceptional defense.

Evyn Morrow recorded 21 digs, followed by Adelynn Ray with 12. Jayden Smith showed off on both sides of the ball with eight digs and a team-high six kills to tie Shope. Hannah McKelvey had 10 assists.

The Sandites will look to get back above .500 when they host 5A No. 6 Sapulpa (23-11, 1-4) on Tuesday.

Sapulpa previously beat Sand Springs 2-0 (25-23, 25-12) at the Claremore Invitational, but the Sandites are the defending Highway 97 Rivalry champion after winning the conference match 3-1 last year.

BA 3 CPHS 0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-15)
Kills: BA 34, CPHS 19.
Blocks: BA 2, CPHS 2.
Aces: BA 10, CPHS 5.
Errors: BA 17, CPHS 29.
Service Errors: BA 6, CPHS 8.

(Sand Springs Stats)
Kills: Smith 6, Shope 6, Tippit 4, DeBerry 2, Ray 1.
Assists: H. McKelvey 10, Ray 3, Tippit 1, Morrow 1.
Digs: Morrow 21, Ray 12, Smith 8, H. McKelvey 2, F. McKelvey 2, Tippit 2, Shope 2, Taff 1.
Solo Blocks: DeBerry 1.
Assisted Blocks: Ray 1, Pearce 1.
Aces: Tippit 2, H. McKelvey 1, Morrow 1, Ray 1.

Sandite Volleyball Throttles Will Rogers, Shope Ties School Ace Record

After a tough three-match skid, the Lady Sandite volleyball team is back on track following a dominant 3-0 sweep of Will Rogers High School (8-16) Thursday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

The Sandites stormed out to a 17-0 start in the first game before the Ropers finally got on the board.

No. 16 Charles Page High School (11-10) won game one 25-5 before easing up and winning the next two 25-13.

“It was good to start with,” said head coach Skylar Jackson. “We let up quite a bit there but it was fine.”

Sand Springs dominated all aspects of the match from start to finish, totaling 36 kills while only allowing four. Most of the Ropers’ points came from Sand Springs mistakes.

Sophomore Brooklyn Shope tied the known school record for aces in a single match with 10, matching Madison Burris’s 2019 performance against McLain. Eight of those aces came during the 17-0 start to game one.

Freshman Adelynn Ray impressed on all sides of the ball, leading the team with 10 kills while also recording 11 assists, nine digs, and four aces. Hannah McKelvey led the team in assists with 23 while Shope led the defense with ten digs.

“It was a good time for that match to take place,” said Jackson. "We lost to Bixby (on Tuesday) but took a set from them and the girls feel pretty good about that.”

The Sandites lost a close first game on the road at Bixby, 25-20, before tying the match up with a 25-23 win.

Sand Springs stormed out to a 9-2 lead early in game two and never trailed, though the Spartans tied it twice at 17-17 and 23-23. A double hit gave the Sandites match point and Averi Tippit served an ace to steal the set.

Bixby (6-15) is unranked due to its strong strength of schedule but the Spartans are 4-1 in Frontier Valley Conference play and have stolen sets from many top teams this season.

The Spartans used a four-point run midway through the third set to break a 9-9 tie and never relinquished the lead. Sand Springs stayed close till 16-14 when a service error kicked off a 9-1 run for the Spartans and a final score of 25-15.

The final game was much closer thanks to a late Sand Springs rally. After falling behind 19-10, the Sandites found a rhythm with Jacelyn Smith scoring three kills in a row with assists from Ray.

Sand Springs was unable to tie it back up but the girls held close before falling 25-19.

Smith led the team with nine kills in that match, followed by Ray with eight. Tippit and Alia DeBerry scored seven apiece. McKelvey had a team-high 17 assists while Ray had 11. Evyn Morrow led the defense with 20 digs, followed by Shope with 16.

“Our girls just continue to work hard and continue to buy in,” said Jackson. “They’re a good, close team. We don’t have a lot of drama, they show up for each other and they work hard for each other. They’re a fun team to coach.”

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday with a conference home match against Jackson’s former team - No. 5 Broken Arrow (15-7, 4-1). The Sandites are still looking for their first conference win of the season after an 0-5 start with four matches left.

CPHS 3 Rogers 0
(25-5, 25-13, 25-13)
Kills: CPHS 36, Rogers 4.
Blocks: CPHS 1, Rogers 0.
Aces: CPHS 18, Rogers 4.
Errors: CPHS 23, Rogers 20.
Service Errors: CPHS 10, Rogers 5.

(Sand Springs Stats)
Kills: Ray 10, DeBerry 9, Tippit 5, Smith 4, Shope 3, Pearce 3, H. McKelvey 2.
Assists: H. McKelvey 24, Ray 11, Morrow 1, Shope 1.
Assisted Blocks: DeBerry 1, Pearce 1.
Digs: Shope 10, Ray 9, Tippit 6, Morrow 5, H. McKelvey 4, DeBerry 2, F. McKelvey 1, Pearce 1.
Aces: Shope 10, Ray 4, Morrow 2, H. McKelvey 1, DeBerry 1.

Bixby 3 CPHS 1
(25-20, 23-25, 25-15, 25-19)
Kills: Bixby 48, CPHS 34.
Blocks: Bixby 9, CPHS 4.
Aces: Bixby 14, CPHS 11.
Errors: Bixby 35, CPHS 27.
Service Errors: Bixby 9, CPHS 5.

(Sand Springs Stats)
Kills: Smith 9, Ray 8, Tippit 7, DeBerry 7, Shope 3.
Assists: H. McKelvey 17, Ray 11, Morrow 2, Shope 1.
Solo Blocks: Tippit 1, DeBerry 1.
Assisted Blocks: Tippit 1, Shope 1, Pearce 1, DeBerry 1.
Digs: Morrow 20, Shope 16, DeBerry 6, F. McKelvey 4, Smith 4, H. McKelvey 3, Tippit 2, Pearce 1, Casey 1.
Aces: H. McKelvey 3, Tippit 3, Morrow 2, Smith 1, Shope 1, F. McKelvey 1.

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

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.

Volleyball Places Second at Sandite Invitational, Evyn Morrow Named All-Tournament

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The Charles Page High School volleyball team (5-3) failed to defend its home tournament for a third consecutive year, but it did take second place at the Sandite Invitational with a 4-2 record.

“I feel like we’re doing pretty good,” said senior libero Evyn Morrow, who was named to the All-Tournament team. “I think our team chemistry is pretty great this year and I feel like we’re off to a great start.”

Morrow was also named to the All-Camp team at the Licking Summer Camp in Branson where the girls went 8-2 for second place.

“She’s All-Tournament team for good reason,” said second-year head coach Skylar Jackson. “She’s the heart and soul into volleyball and into this team. She’s just a great leader. She’s a ball of energy. It’s just one of those things that comes naturally to her and she’s never going to give you less than 110-percent.”

“We graduated four starters last year that were pretty big for us and the eight seniors that we have this year are really filling in those shoes,” said Jackson.

“They’re each willing to shoulder their part of the load and they’re committed.”

Sand Springs opened the season with a trip to Bartlesville where they won a 3-0 sweep of Enid (0-8) in sets of 25-7, 25-16, and 25-20. But in the second match they lost 3-0 to the home team (2-0) in conference action, falling 25-6, 25-23, and 25-23.

In the Sandite Invitational the girls won 2-0 in a rematch with Enid and 2-1 against Yukon (3-4) before falling 2-1 to Choctaw (3-4) on Friday. After winning the first set 25-17 they lost a pair of close ones 25-23 and 25-23 to end day one.

“The match we lost was a hard-fought match,” said Jackson. “Both teams played really great volleyball and the scores were all close. I told the girls ‘there’s nothing to hang your head about. We played good ball and they played good ball. They just got us this time.’”

On Saturday they lost 2-0 to tournament newcomer Mustang (7-0), who went undefeated to win the title.

The first set was neck and neck with the Sandites leading as late as 17-16 before the Broncos pulled away to win 25-20. Mustang won the second set 25-14.

“We played a good Mustang team and didn’t play as well as we would’ve like to but I think that they rebounded well,” said Jackson.

Jayden Smith let the team offensively with 5 kills while Adelynn Ray, Alia DeBerry, Claire Day, and Averi Tippit scored 3 apiece. Ray also had 7 assists and Morrow recorded 8 digs in the loss.

They bounced back in the final match with a 2-0 sweep of Ponca City (2-5), however, winning 25-16 and 25-17.

The Sandites maintained complete control over the first set and also stormed out to 14-5 lead in the second before the Wildcats rallied to make it as close as 14-12 with a seven-point streak.

Then senior blocker Patience Pearce tipped the tide with a crucial block to kick off a four-point run for the home team and from there the girls never let off the gas.

“It was huge, especially for a kid who’s never played varsity middle,” said Jackson. “She played right side for us last year some and this year she’s in the middle. She’s still learning and asking questions all the time and getting better. She’s got that natural athleticism.”

Smith and Tippit led the attack with 6 kills apiece while Hannah McKelvey recorded 8 assists and Morrow made 9 digs. Tippit, Morrow, and Smith also served up 2 aces apiece.

“I think that we’re going to keep growing through the season and we’ll be pretty great,” said Morrow.

Sand Springs has now placed within the top three all five years of the tournament’s history.

The Sandites will return to action Tuesday at home with a 6:30 p.m. conference match against Booker T. Washington (0-0) in a rematch of last year’s Regional elimination game, which the Hornets won.

“We are really working on being aggressive regardless of who’s across the net from us, because that’s how we’re going to win” said Jackson. “We’re going to be aggressive from the serving line, we’re going to attack big, we’re going to play big defense. So we’re excited to see them Tuesday.”

Full Tournament Results

Matches

Mustang 2-0 Sand Springs (25-20, 25-14)
Mustang 2-0 Enid (25-18, 25-17)
Mustang 2-0 Choctaw (25-20, 25-14)
Mustang 2-0 Ponca City (25-10, 25-13)
Mustang 2-0 Yukon (25-12, 25-16)
Mustang 2-1 Southmoore (25-19, 16-25, 25-17)
Sand Springs 2-0 Enid (25-21, 25-14)
Sand Springs 2-0 Southmoore (25-19, 25-23)
Sand Springs 2-1 Yukon (23-25, 25-22, 25-23)
Sand Springs 2-0 Ponca City (25-16, 25-17)
Southmoore 2-0 Choctaw (25-10, 27-25)
Southmoore 2-1 Yukon (25-13, 22-25, 25-20)
Southmoore 2-1 Enid (18-25, 25-20, 28-26)
Yukon 2-0 Ponca City (25-15, 25-14)
Yukon 2-0 Choctaw (25-22, 25-23)
Yukon 2-1 Enid (23-25, 25-22, 25-23)
Choctaw 2-1 Sand Springs (17-25, 25-23, 25-23)
Choctaw 2-0 Enid (25-22, 25-20)
Choctaw 2-0 Ponca City (25-12, 25-17)
Ponca City 2-1 Enid (30-28, 23-25, 25-16)
Ponca City 2-0 Southmoore (25-19, 25-22)

Standings

6-0 Mustang
4-2 Sand Springs
3-3 Southmoore
3-3 Yukon
3-3 Choctaw
2-4 Ponca City
0-6 Enid

Sakauri Wilson Commits to Southwestern Oklahoma State University

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Sand Springs senior point guard Sakauri Wilson recently announced her commitment to Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

“I want to thank God first and foremost because without him none of this would be possible,” said Wilson in a social media post.

“I also want to express my appreciation to my coaches and teammates who have supported me and encouraged me to improve. Last but not least I want to express my deepest appreciation to my parents for never losing faith in me and giving up so much of their time.”

“In consideration of the foregoing, I am thrilled about announcing my commitment to Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Go BULLDOGS!”

SWOSU is an NCAA Division II program in Weatherford coming off an 8-19 campaign under first-year head coach Jeff Zinn.

Also receiving recruiting attention is 5’11” senior forward Kiaryn Taylor, who announced offers from Lincoln Trail College and Ranger College on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.

Wilson, Taylor, Taiona Morris, and Patience Pearce will provide the senior leadership for the Sandites in the coming winter season as the girls look to get back to the State Tournament for what would be the second time in their careers.

Lady Sandites win Bishop Kelley Invitational, Jackson named MVP

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The Sand Springs girls basketball team didn’t start the year the way it would have liked to, but, since a road loss at Sapulpa, the Sandites have won seven in a row and look poised for another successful season.

Hailey Jackson averaged 22.3 points per game and earned MVP honors over the weekend as the Sandites (7-1) swept the Bishop Kelley Invitational for the fifth time in their last six visits.

In the finals matchup against Owasso (2-2) Jackson scored 20 points and was complemented by 20 from Sakauri Wilson, who also received All-Tournament accolades.

“I don’t think they’ve both really even scratched the surface,” said head coach Josh Berry. “I think we’ve got a couple other ones that have the potential to be just as good and big as they are.”

“It’s going to take more games and a little bit more confidence and I think everybody will see a couple of these other ones end up stepping up in some of those roles.”

With only nine players on the varsity roster, everybody saw solid playing time at the tournament. Taiona Morris was out sick and Kiaryn Taylor missed the Thursday game against Bishop Kelley (1-4).

Patience Pearce and Abigaile Martin scored career highs of 6 and 7 points respectively, against the Comets. Jackson led all scorers with 22 and Wilson added 12.

The Sandites stormed out to a commanding 35-17 halftime lead before the Comets battled back and cut it as close as 44-39 late in the fourth. The Sandites held on to win their tenth straight against their former conference foes, 51-44.

In the semifinals the Sandites won 45-43 against Mustang (3-3) behind a 25-point effort from Jackson.

Sand Springs led by as much as 10 points after the first quarter but Mustang took a 31-28 advantage into the fourth and didn’t relinquish the lead till a seven-point run late in the game.

Tied at 43-43 with five seconds left, Taylor scored the go-ahead bucket on an inbound throw from Walker.

The finals game saw only seven lead changes and the Sandites led for all of the fourth quarter save for a brief tie at 41-41, but neither team ever led by more than six.

Martin hit a big three-pointer to go up 48-44 on an inbound throw from Wilson late in the fourth.

“(Martin) is one of them that ain’t practiced all week (due to sickness) and she’s been just gutting it out so I’m proud of her for that,” said Berry. “She made a big shot at the end and she played pretty big for us today.”

Wilson sank a pair of crucial free throws with 30 seconds left to go up 50-46 but Alex McGarrah hit a three to make it a one-point game.

Wilson added one more free throw in the final seconds but Makenna Yokley’s last-ditch three-pointer was short and the Sandites escaped with the win.

“I’m just proud of the girls,” said Berry. “They fought.”

“We had contributions from different players at different times. That’s what it’s going to take for us, along with big contributions from Hailey and from Sakauri. We really missed (Taiona Morris) this weekend. Once we can get her back, we just hope the others can continue getting better like they did with her out.”

Earlier in the week the Sandites notched their first conference win, 56-46 against Muskogee (1-3) behind a 23-point effort from Wilson and 14 points from Jackson.

The varsity boys also got their first win of the year against the Roughers (2-2) on Tuesday, 38-30, led by Michael Foster with 11 points and 7 rebounds.

Patience Pearce scored 11 points in a 37-35 JV girls win, while Blake Johnson scored 12 in a 33-31 JV boys loss.

Sand Springs will host Bixby on Tuesday and the boys will compete in the Memorial Invitational festival over the weekend.