End of Season Team Recap: Vol. 2
In this article:
We are recapping four teams in each volume, how their seasons went, and a couple players from each team that stood out. Victory Christian- They are a class 4A school. They had another unbelievable season, as they went 35-3 and…
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Continue ReadingWe are recapping four teams in each volume, how their seasons went, and a couple players from each team that stood out.
Victory Christian- They are a class 4A school. They had another unbelievable season, as they went 35-3 and finished with their 5th straight state championship. After losing two early matches in the season, they stay ranked #2 nearly all season. They did not lose a game in all of September and October. They finished the regular season on a 17 game win streak. They punched their ticket to state by beating Douglas and CHA. In the first round of state, they swept North Rock Creek and outlasted Lincoln Christian in four sets. They then played an amazing match with Regent Prep for the title. The match was a back and forth battle, with VC finally winning 18-16 in the 5th and final set. Bella Wakley Bella Wakley 6'0" | OH Victory Christian | 2022 State OK and Hannah Warlick Hannah Warlick 5'8" | OH Victory Christian | 2022 State OK were the two main guns for VC. Jessa Gilyard did a great job of providing a spark offensively to help keep the train rolling. Kassidy Valverde really held her own in the back row by keeping balls alive and giving her setter plenty of good passes to work with.
Community Christian- This was a special team! They started the season 31-1 and the only loss in that stretch was to 5A state champs Mount St. Mary in 5 sets. They finished the regular season with a loss in five sets to OKC Storm and MSM in their conference championship. They won the Carl Albert tournament, Cache tournament, and their home tournament. They were led by six-rotation OH Landry Braziel Landry Braziel 6'0" | OH Community Christian | 2024 State OK , who is only a sophomore. This team is far from a one-man wrecking crew with players like Channing Apel Channing Apel 5'10" | MB Community Christian | 2022 State OK , Victoria Gray Victoria Gray 5'10" | OH Community Christian | 2024 State OK , Caroline Bell, and Sydney Burks who were also playing at a high level. They were able to sweep every team in the state tournament on their way to the title.
Owasso- The Rams finished the season 24-12. They started the season 12-4 before heading to Florida for the KSA tournament, where they got wins over teams from four different states. They followed that up with dropping two five-set losses to conference opponents and finishing 3rd at their home tournament. They had to go through Muskogee and Bishop McGuinness to get to the state tournament. They swept the Muskogee Roughers with ease but had to go the distance with the Irish of McGuinness. They were the eighth seed in the state tournament, which paired them with #1 Bishop Kelley. On the brink of shocking the state, they gave the Comets everything they wanted and more. The Rams fought hard and forced the match to not only go to five sets but also extra points, ending 22-24 in the last set that typically goes to only 15. Rylee Martin Rylee Martin 5'8" | S Owasso | 2022 State OK will be playing at Oklahoma Baptist next season and will be sorely missed. She did a phenomenal job of tracking down balls and giving her hitters opportunities. Not many can do what she did on the court. Players like Jada Bishop, Carley Butler, Kiya Colvin, and Kirsten Harper all made this team something special, and at times, very dangerous. If this team can replace the setter position and the leadership Rylee brought to the table, this team will be going back to state next season.
Moore- Coach Racheal Travis set a program record for wins in a season by going 21-13. They were a scary team to play if you were a top 15 team, as they almost seemed to live in an upset mindset, always loving to play the big dawgs of 6A, trying to ruin their night. They had six top-16 wins this season, with the cherry on top being when they upset #4 Deer Creek on the road at the end of the year. Players like Sara Freeman Sara Freeman 5'10" | OH Moore | 2023 State OK and Reilly Morrow Reilly Morrow 5'11" | S Moore | 2022 State OK made this team something to keep an eye on. Morrow was very crafty and smart with her attacks and sets, while Freeman was more of the hammer-type player. She could put a ball away in some big moments for the Lions. Look out for this team on the horizon if they buy into the goals set in front of them and into each other.