2025 HS Preview: Moore and Owasso

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>School season is right around the corner and we are taking a look at 2 teams per article. We will talk about who they graduated, key returners, and predict the outcome of the upcoming season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moore and Owasso are both class 6A, both are no strangers to the state tournament and both send plenty of players on to the next level. Last year alone saw the two teams combine for 55 wins.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Moore:</strong><strong> </strong>They went 30-4 last season and was the #1 seed at state. Head Coach Rachael Simmons and company didn't lose a regular season match. All four losses came within a tournament. This will be her 6th season at the helm and she has done a fabulous job of turning this program around and creating a culture unlike many. She was the 2nd coach in Oklahoma to ever receive the 30 under 30 national award from the AVCA.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Upcoming Season: Players like senior [player_tooltip player_id='745098' first='Kristen' last='Straughn'] at setter and junior [player_tooltip player_id='750951' first='Jaely' last='Bell'] at right side will be key to their success this season. Both are seasoned and have played plenty of high level matches in their careers. Also, keep an eye out for Izzy Evershed, Olivia Kent and [player_tooltip player_id='752667' first='Elise' last='Pope'] to step up big for the program. Special shoutout from Coach Simmons to senior [player_tooltip player_id='778120' first='Makinlei' last='Foster']- Defensive Specialist. "She is going to be one of the strongest leaders on our team this season. She has plenty of varsity experience. Her connection with her teammates is what makes her so special, and why she will be a big "x factor" this season." <strong>Prediction</strong>: They will not be as strong as last year's group due to losing such a huge senior class but that class has set a standard and they will stay ranked throughout the season. They will get an upset or two on teams looking past them. This will keep them as a dangerous 2 seed in their regional.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Owasso:</strong> They went 25-14 last season and went into regionals as the 7 seed overall. Unfortunately they drew a lethal Edmond North crew and had some injuries late in the season. They fought hard but lost in the 5th set 10-15. Head coach Meg Kannet now has two decades of coaching under her belt. She has been the All State coach back in 2019 and region COY multiple times. Much like Moore, they had a very strong senior class that had lots of playing time under the belts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Upcoming Season: They return the top player in our 2027 class in [player_tooltip player_id='297152' first='Madi' last='Hill']. She is an all around player who impacts all 6 rotations. [player_tooltip player_id='755002' first='Cydney' last='Hilliard'] had a great club season and will definitely help lighten the load on Hill. Ava Cathart at DS, Emma Decoster at MB and Caroline Miller also at DS will all likely be players who will step up big for the Rams. This team will be well prepared as always come playoff time, with things such as the Claremore Super Scrimmage, the KSA tournament, and all the Frontier Valley Conference matchups. <strong>Prediction</strong>: They will fight for the FVC title. They will be hovering around that top 10 mark and look to flip roles with Edmond North from last year. Be a 10 or 11 seed and find a way to try to get an upset at regionals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Good luck to all the high school teams this upcoming season! We will see just how much Oklahoma volleyball has grown AGAIN.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->