End of Season Team Recap: Vol. 4

<p>We are recapping four teams in each volume, how their season went, and a couple players from each team that stood out. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Broken Arrow- </strong>The Tigers put together another solid season, finishing the season with a 24-11 record and second in the FVC, only behind state champions, Jenks. They opened the season going 12-3. Led by the OH 2022 Dayton commit, [player_tooltip player_id="144086" first="Mackenzie" last="McGuire"]. Mac was a hitting threat from both the front and back row. She ended as a 1st team FVC All-Conference player. [player_tooltip player_id="145985" first="Hailee" last="Alexander"] joins Mac on the 1st team list as one of the Tiger's setters. [player_tooltip player_id="156851" first="Avery" last="Jones"] was the starting libero as a sophomore and she reeled in a 2nd team selection. Joining them for post-season awards, <span style="font-size: 1rem;">KeAnna Murray, Mycah Miller, Chloe Day, and Shea Brown all made the Honorable Mention list. They had multiple notable wins in </span>their<span style="font-size: 1rem;"> first week </span>of<span style="font-size: 1rem;"> play over teams like Norman North, Deer Creek, and Bartlesville. They then went 4-1 at their home </span>tournament<span style="font-size: 1rem;">, only losing to Edmond Memorial. In the back half of the season, they had to run the </span>gauntlet<span style="font-size: 1rem;"> of top teams but they held their own along the way, with wins over Bixby, Union, Edmond North, and Owasso. They ended the year by punching </span>their<span style="font-size: 1rem;"> ticket to state by beating out Enid and Union in a home regional. They had the </span>unfortunate<span style="font-size: 1rem;"> draw of getting an </span>extremely<span style="font-size: 1rem;"> hot Norman North team that made it to the championship </span>game in the first round. They fought hard against them, took the first set, but NN came back to win the last three sets to end the Tiger’s season.   </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Mount St. Mary- </strong>Coach Ward and the Rockets brought home all the marbles this season. They beat the Carl Albert Titans in four sets to win the 5A state title. Freshman <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Livia Ward</span> played outstanding in the match. Despite landing on an opponent's foot and sitting out, she quickly shook it off and continued to lead her team. The combination of players like <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ally Fees</span>, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="145991" first="Jane" last="Ertl"], </span> and <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Haldey Moses</span> was just too much firepower to slow down. This team tied this season for the most wins in the state with 40 wins. Most teams are lucky to play 40 matches in a season. This is a rather young team to top it all off. This could mean trouble for the rest of the state in the near future. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Verdigris- </strong>Coach Horton has turned this program around and is now maintaining them at a high level. The Cardinals, led by players like <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Maddie York</span>, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Morgan Borgstadt</span>, and <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Logan Hamilton</span>, won 30 matches this season en route to a final four finish in class 4A. They only had 11 losses on the season and every one of those came at the hands of a top eight team in their class. They were battle-tested throughout the season and this allowed them to play big in big moments. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Norman North- </strong>This team was something special. Under 1st-year head coach Faith Avalos, they were able to win 30 matches, losing only 6, and make it to the state championship. Two of those losses were their first two matches of the season. After that, they were few and far between. This team was primed for a great season, having a load of seniors and juniors to lead them. Seniors OH <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="144103" first="Lari" last="Migliorino"],</span> who is a UCO commit, and RH <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="144140" first="Sarah" last="Lindley"],</span> who is a <span style="font-size: 1rem;">TWU commit, both gave their team pin to pin hitting and blocking. Their senior Libero, [player_tooltip player_id="144138" first="Ali" last="Woodrow"], played great all season. She would fly around the court and make life tough for opposing hitters. Their junior class is scary good, with players like <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="145968" first="Riley" last="Roberts"]</span>, </span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Abby</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> Gray</span>, and West Virginia commit, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="145961" first="Katie" last="Kolar"]</span>. They will be in the mix </span>again<span style="font-size: 1rem;"> n</span>ext<span style="font-size: 1rem;"> season for the state title. </span></p>