Top Tournaments and Players to Watch: Week 5

<p><span id="more-155176"></span>Most teams had last weekend off and had a lighter week scheduled but teams are slowing down, merely just preparing for this weekend. The next few weeks will be crucial for teams, as they make their last case for rankings and prepare for playoffs. </p> <p><strong>Bishop Kelley Tournament of Champions</strong></p> <p><strong>Teams attending:</strong> 6A Broken Arrow, 6A Jenks, 6A Ponca City, 6A Norman, 6A Stillwater, 6A Bixby, 6A Bishop Kelley and one of the top teams from Arkansas, Fayetteville High. </p> <p>Jenks will be looking to win its second straight tournament. BA will be eyeing that gold bracket after sliding into the silver bracket due to a 3 way tie breaker situation in their own tournament. Bixby will be looking to prove they deserve to be in the top 8 and host a region this season. Bishop Kelley is looking to defend their home tournament title and the #1 spot in the state. Fayetteville is looking to play spoiler and come take it away from the Oklahoma teams. </p> <p><strong>Players to keep an eye on at this tournament</strong>: 2023 OH <strong>Brooke Rockwell</strong> leads her Fayetteville team in kills with 80 in only 5 matches this season. She had a 29 kill performance in the first game for the Bulldogs. 2023 6’2 MB <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="145994" first="Ellie" last="Smith"]</strong> has been doing a fantastic job for the Trojans. She is currently hitting a .253 and has 13 blocks. 2022 OH <strong>Shea Brown</strong> has 88 kills on the season and hitting .233 thus far for the Broken Arrow Tigers. She has given them them another solid attack option at the pin. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="144115" first="Eleanor" last="Percy"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="145966" first="Megan" last="Roy"] </strong>have done a great job for the Bishop Kelley Comets at the middle blocker position. 2022 Twins Hallie and Hayden Thrash have stepped up for the Stillwater Pioneers. Hallie sets and Hayden is a middle blocker, both of which have been key parts for their team. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Edmond Santa Fe Tournament</strong></p> <p><strong>Teams attending:</strong> 6A Edmond Santa Fe, 6A Edmond Memorial, 6A Deer Creek, 6A Edmond North, 6A Bishop McGuinness, 6A Moore, 6A Sand Springs, and OKC homeschool Storm.</p> <p>This is one of the toughest tournaments in the state. These teams are competitive from top to bottom. Every team that is part of OSSAA is ranked and looking to compete. Pool 1 consists of #1 Edmond Santa Fe, #10 Edmond North, #12 Bishop McGuinness, and #16 Moore. Pool 2 consists of #4 Edmond Memorial, #6 Deer Creek, Homeschool team OKC Storm and #16 Sand Springs. This should be an interesting tournament, with Santa Fe, Deer Creek, and Memorial all fighting to stay in the top 8 to host a regional for playoffs, while also having Bishop McGuinness and Edmond North both trying to fight their way into the top 8. Moore and Sand Springs are looking to pick up some quality wins and play spoiler. OKC Storm is not an OSSAA member but they love to push their kids and play tough competition to prepare for nationals. </p> <p><strong>Players to keep an eye on at this tournament:</strong> There is no shortage of players to see here. Multiple of these athletes plan to or have already committed to play at the collegiate level. OKC Storm has a few players that could help them tremendously, 2022 S <strong>Kate Ringer</strong> has great hands and can set just about any location with tempo. Her sister is a 2024 libero, <strong>Emma Ringer</strong>, who has begun making a name for herself as a great back row presence. 2022 6’0 middle blocker, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="144110" first="Kedron" last="Burk"]</strong> has been a great option for them all season. She can really get up and hit a tempo set with power. 2023 DS for Edmond Memorial, <strong>Jocie Hunt</strong> has done a spectacular job, as she shows great hustle and is willing to sacrifice her body for the ball. 2022 OH <strong>Annie Davis</strong> has really been a go to player for the Bulldogs, both were named all tournament at the BA Varsity Tournament. 2023 DS <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="145965" first="Olivia" last="Dewitt"]</strong> has been a strong servers for the Sandites so far and has the game winning ace at her home tournament, the Sand Springs Invitational. 2022 OH <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="144095" first="Kasidy" last="Holland"]</strong> is emerging as a solid option up front for the Sandites, she currently has 81 kills. 2022 S <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="144120" first="Cameron" last="Turner"] </strong>will be playing at SWOSU next season and has continued to keep the Deer Creek offense flowing, while also being apart of the action getting her share of setter attacks to score from the front and back row. </p> <!-- wp:paragraph --><!-- /wp:paragraph -->