Week 1 Games of the Week for 5A and 6A

Derek Jackson August 6, 2021 @ 08:00 AM

The 2021-22 volleyball season will be officially open starting next Monday, August 9th. We want to look at a game or two in week 1 that could help set the tone for their team’s season. Choctaw @ Mount Saint Mary 8/10 The Tuesday night match-up is the 6A Choctaw yellowjackets vs the 5A Mt. St. Mary rockets. These 2 teams actually played each other last year in the Carl Albert tournament, where MSM won a close match 18-25, 25-17, 15-5. Choctaw will be looking to get some revenge early this year. MSM will be looking to get back to the state tournament by battling tough teams night in and night out. Be on the lookout for some top players in this matchup. These two teams have a handful of athletes that play some high-level club. Players like [player_tooltip player_id="144135" first="Maddie" last="Morris"] 2022 DS, [player_tooltip player_id="144096" first="Hadley" last="Moses"] 2022 OH, and [player_tooltip player_id="145991" first="Jane" last="Ertl"] 2023 MB will be impact players for both teams this season. Booker T. Washington @ Victory Christian 8/12 6A frontier valley conference member BTW will be going on the road to play a powerhouse in the form of VC. Under coach Lee’s direction, BTW has started competing and winning some really big games, such as against Regent prep and Jenks last season. She has begun scheduling tough matches to push her team forward. Victory Christian is a prime example. Coach Donahue has the same mentality in terms of scheduling tough games often. A couple of players to watch in this match-up include 2022 OH Bella Wakely and 2022 OH [player_tooltip player_id="144089" first="Hannah" last="Warlick"] from VC as well as 2022 S/OH Sydney Thompson from BTW. All 3 are very versatile players that impact the game on offense and defense. Thursday will be a huge night for 6A volleyball in Oklahoma. Two matchups you won't want to miss are: Edmond North @ Jenks 08/12 These two teams have been a staple in the state tournament in recent years. Edmond North recently won the state title in 2019 over Broken Arrow making it the second time in school history. Jenks has won the title 4 times, 2016 being the most recent. These teams will have some big hitters across the net from one another. The likes of 2022 RS [player_tooltip player_id="144142" first="Kathryn" last="Christie"], 2022 OH [player_tooltip player_id="144091" first="Elaina" last="Murray"] and 2022 DS [player_tooltip player_id="144137" first="Lexi" last="Anderson"] from Edmond North will make it tough on Jenks. Jenks will counter with top players of their own like 2022 MB [player_tooltip player_id="144111" first="Mikiah" last="Perdue"], 2022 DS [player_tooltip player_id="144134" first="Megan" last="Salyer"], 2023 RH [player_tooltip player_id="145963" first="Noelle" last="Prideaux"], 2023 S [player_tooltip player_id="145981" first="Brynn" last="Roberts"], and 2023 MB [player_tooltip player_id="145994" first="Ellie" last="Smith"]. This game could have big implication regarding rankings, as this is East vs West side teams and both of these teams will be fighting to host a region at the end. Broken Arrow @ Norman North 8/12 The second match-up isn’t any less exciting. There will be plenty of top players in this match as well. There will be a huge match-up of the hands! Between BA running a 6-2 with 2022 S/RH Chloe Day and 2023 S [player_tooltip player_id="145985" first="Hailee" last="Alexander"], and Norman North having 2023 S [player_tooltip player_id="145968" first="Riley" last="Roberts"] and 2023 S [player_tooltip player_id="145961" first="Katie" last="Kolar"]. Both of these teams will be in system often, so a lot will fall on each team’s defense to help give their team the edge. BA go the best of NN last season at Broken Arrow’s home tournament winning 3-1 25-8 23-25 25-18 25-23, the Timberwolves will be looking to get the W on their home court this season.