15s Making Waves at Jingle Bell Jam

Corey Harp December 18, 2025 @ 10:33 AM

Finley Gehring   [program_tooltip program_id='776295' first='Tulsa' last='Power'] 15-3 barely broke a sweat on their way to being crowned champions of the 15U division on Saturday.  This team was able to start the season with instant chemistry with several of them having played together previously and under head coach Leah LeBlanc.  Finley Gehring made a big impact from the outside hitter position.  She passed well in serve receive and consistently transitioned, keeping herself available as part of the offense at all times.  She showed a diverse bag of offensive tools, scoring points with both angle and line swings, and a variety of off-speed shots and tips.  What was most impressive about Finley was that she was equally effective attacking the ball both in system and out of system.   [player_tooltip player_id='734804' first='Lillian' last='Crouch']   One of the best 15U performers this weekend could not be found in the 15s division.  Lillian and her Virago 15 Elite teammates played up in the 16s division, along with several other top 15s teams.  Lillian helped power them to a 3rd place finish, narrowly falling to Charge 15 UA Tulsa 23-25, 22-25 in the semi-finals.  The strength of Virago's team is their big explosive middle attack- which requires the setter to be pinpoint accurate and understand tempo.  Lillian and her middles had great chemistry all day- dominating at the net.  Lillian also gave her a team a huge boost as one of their most aggressive and consistent servers.   [player_tooltip player_id='903629' first='Haeli' last='Rodgers']   Another player looking for a challenge this weekend and playing up in the 16s division is [player_tooltip player_id='903629' first='Haeli' last='Rodgers'], libero for the aforementioned Charge 15 UA Tulsa.  Even amongst her talented team, Haeli stood out as a difference maker.  Not only did she pass well in serve receive, but she patrolled a huge area of court doing it- taking much of the passing pressure off her pin hitter teammates.  She came up with several point saving digs, which were critically needed for her team to advance in to the finals.  Charge 15 UA Tulsa ultimately fell in 2 sets to Charge 15 National (Central) in the finals.   Kennedie Wittig   As the setter for Virago 15 National, Kennedie proves that big things do come in small packages.  She kept the Virago offense flowing all day, spreading the ball around to her pins, running an effective up tempo middle attack, and even sprinkling in some timely setter dumps.  What really stood out about Kennedie is her strength.  She uses her legs well to help push the ball around the court, allowing make longer and more difficult sets that most setters wouldn't even attempt.  She also played tough defensively, which is a bonus from the setter position.   Laura Wisdom Laura and her OK Premier 15P teammates traveled up to Tulsa from Norman on Saturday for an early season debut. Few players put on a single skill display of dominance better than Laura- as she patrolled the net, racking up multiple stuff blocks in each set. For her 3 rotations, she essentially eliminated the opposing teams' angle swing from the pin positions- forcing them to try to score points down the line. Offensively Premier did not feature much of a middle attack- which Laura will need to round out her skillset. If she is able to develop a consistent attack anywhere close to her blocking prowess- she will be a player to watch out for.

Finley Gehring