Tournament of the Week Review: Norman Invitational

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>This was an entertaining tournament with very talented teams, high expectations, talented coaches, and players all fighting for some early-season hardware.&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>POOL A</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pool A had last season's 4A State Runner Up, CCS, 5A State Champ MSM, 6A State Tournament Team, Broken Arrow, and 6A COAC Conference Member Norman North.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This pool did not disappoint as CCS went 3 - 0, only dropping one set all day to Broken Arrow, who, as usual, does not go down easily historically.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mt. St. Mary's is a good team that is always well-coached. Elle Hale is a name you learn very quickly when watching this team. MSM lost a key player in [player_tooltip player_id='697434' first='Isabella' last='Williams'] to injury on the first day. She is a solid OH and a key, consistent back row player. It was just enough to slow them down against CCS, but it would not be the last time they saw each other. Norman North is under new leadership with new Head Coach Katie Pace. Although the record does not show it, she has this team playing hard and headed in the right direction, more on that later.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool A Finish&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Community Christian School&nbsp; 3 - 0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Mt. St. Mary's&nbsp; 2 -1</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Broken Arrow 1 - 2&nbsp;</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Norman North 0 - 3</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>POOL B</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pool B had last season's 6A State Runner Up, Edmond North, 2 6A State Tournament teams in Deer Creek and Edmond Santa Fe, followed by Norman High who improved from 5 wins two seasons ago to finish last season with 19 wins and losing out in their Regional Finals against Jenks who made the State Semi Finals in the 6A State Tourny the previous season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two things were apparent in this pool: 1. Edmond Santa Fe appears better than last season, if that is possible. They seem more balanced and confident on defense, with [player_tooltip player_id='800117' first='Adelyn' last='Mosier'] anchoring the back row and EJ Rice immediately filling the spot of her big sister on the Outside. 2. Norman High is better and showed signs of clicking at a higher rate. And when they click at a higher rate, people watch. Bella Holasek and [player_tooltip player_id='748675' first='Olivia' last='Carter'] stand out when they are on. Norman and Santa Fe performed neck and neck in set 1 of their pool play finale, and NHS got on an offensive roll in the 2nd set to finish out the match, but Santa Fe would get another shot in the Gold Bracket. Edmond North graduated several seniors, and this team appears to be breaking in some new faces, but they have some new players who gave solid performances. The same could be said for Deer Creek; in their conference, it is safe to say you'd better show up each night, because you won't get the result you want if you take anyone lightly.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool B Finish</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --> <ol class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Norman High School 3 - 0</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Edmond Santa Fe 2 -1</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Edmond North 1 - 2</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Deer Creek 0 - 3</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ol> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Look for our Bracket review article of this tournament to be posted quickly! Exciting games!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->