Games of the Week: Week 2

<p>Week 1 of the Oklahoma high school volleyball season is in the books. Week 2 starts today and this will be the last week before the first official rankings are released and coaches understand the significance of these rankings. They determine the schools that will host a regional and be the top seeds in that region. This has statistically proven to be a huge factor in making it to the state tournament.</p> <p>Here are a handful of games that could allow a team to either take a chute or a ladder. </p> <p><strong>6A Mustang @ 6A Union 08/16</strong></p> <p>Mustang currently is 2-3 on the season. They competed this past weekend in the growingly difficult Norman varsity tournament. Each season this tournament has added increasingly tougher teams and becoming one of the tougher tournaments in the state. The Mustangs won a couple of games over Southmoore and Yukon. Their losses were to the homeschool team, OKC Storm, host team Norman High, and to always tough Edmond Deer Creek. Their drive over to Tulsa is the only game for the week. It will be a good opportunity to gain some momentum heading into the Muskogee tournament. </p> <p>Union will be playing only their second game of the season after beating Booker T. Washington in a close 5 set match. They will have had plenty of rest and opportunities to practice this past week. Union competes in the tough Frontier Valley Conference, on top of having a rugged out-of-conference schedule. </p> <p>Players to watch for in this matchup include: [player_tooltip player_id="144130" first="Carter" last="Bohuslavicky"] 2022 DS from Mustang ranked #8 by Prep Dig, [player_tooltip player_id="144105" first="Tierney" last="Jackson"] 2022 OH from Union ranked #9 overall, [player_tooltip player_id="144141" first="Madison" last="LaPointe"] 2022 RH from Union ranked #11, [player_tooltip player_id="144131" first="Ryley" last="Bowden"] 2022 DS from Mustang ranked #13, [player_tooltip player_id="144092" first="Amiyah" last="Norwood"] 2022 OH from Union ranked #26, and [player_tooltip player_id="144094" first="Mia" last="Martin"] 2022 OH from Union ranked #32. </p> <p><strong>5A Mount Saint Mary @ 5A Piedmont 08/19</strong></p> <p>This will be an interesting matchup as both teams will likely have a chance at going to the state tournament. Piedmont is currently 4-2 on the season. They started with a home-opening sweep of Del City, then traveled to the east side of the state to compete in the Commando Shootout tournament. Their only losses so far are against private schools Holland Hall and Cascia Hall. They picked up 3 wins against Cache, 5A state qualifier Skiatook, and host school Cascia Hall. MSM is currently 2-0 with wins over 5A Carl Albert and 6A Choctaw. </p> <p>Players to keep an eye on: [player_tooltip player_id="145962" first="Kaylie" last="Marshall"] 2023 OH from Piedmont has some serious bounce in her step and is currently ranked #3 in the 2023 class. At MB for MSM [player_tooltip player_id="145991" first="Jane" last="Ertl"] will be looking to battle upfront, she is ranked #30. [player_tooltip player_id="144096" first="Hadley" last="Moses"] ranked #41 plays OH for MSM and will look to be an efficient attacker for the rockets. </p> <p><strong>4A Regent Prep @ 4A Lincoln Christian 08/19</strong></p> <p>A huge battle in the class of 4A, many thought this was going to be the title matchup in 2020. </p> <p>Lincoln is currently 6-3 after winning at Rejoice Christain for an opener, dropping a match to reigning 6A champ Bishop Kelley, and racking up 5 wins in the Sandite Invitational against the likes of 6A Choctaw, Lawton, Enid, and tournament host Sand Springs. </p> <p>Players to watch: Regent will have a dynamic duo in 2022 OH [player_tooltip player_id="144088" first="Beth" last="Bayless"] and 2023 OH [player_tooltip player_id="145983" first="Ella" last="Drake"]. There will always be a big arm in the front row for the rams. Lincoln will be looking at 2024 OH Paiton Tuggle and 2022 S Chloe Ricke, who both earned All-Tournament honors this past weekend. Tuggle has a big swing from both back and front row, while Ricke is a threat from the front row both in terms of assists and kills. </p> <p><strong>3A OBA @ 4A Crossings Christian 08/17</strong></p> <p>An awesome small school showdown we got here! Oklahoma Bible Academy is coming off a 3A state tournament appearance and Crossings looking to get back after pulling the eventual state champs, Lincoln Christian, for their regional last season. OBA currently sits at 7-4, they picked up 2 wins in a tri-match with Dewey and AMPO, then driving to Verdigris for a solid tournament. Almost every team in that tournament will be ranked in their respective classes. Crossings has only played 1 game but swept a Chisholm team that has been solid in recent years. Both teams will be looking to gain some traction, as Crossings is slated to play in the Regent tournament at the end of the week and OBA will look to get on a winning streak. </p> <p>The season is now in full swing, big games are all over the place, and tournaments are crowning champions. Coaches, please send your tournament schedules and any athlete that you think we should be keeping an eye on. Please email me at Coachjackson16@gmail.com</p>