5A Regional Hosts Pt.1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Regional pairings have officially come out and we now know where every team in class 5A is headed. The way regionals in volleyball are decided is based mainly off rankings. Rankings are based on head coaches of each program voting. The top 8 teams get to host a regional tournament. Then seeds 9-16 are placed as such, 1-16, 2-15, 3-14...etc. From there OSSAA does their best to keep the pattern going all the way to 32 but they do try to account for geography to help make some logical switches. Once the 8 regional tournaments are set, they play a single elimination style amongst the four teams and whoever is the champ of each regional, they move onto the state tournament. Where those 8 coaches will rerank and they seed state based off that. Let's take a look at regions 1-4, the teams in them and players to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Regional #1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Host:</strong> Bishop McGuinness</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Teams:</strong> #16 Sapulpa, Midwest City, and Santa Fe South.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>BM holds on to the top seed and therefore theoretically the best chance of making it to the state tournament. This team has plenty of firepower but its greatest strength may be their experience come play off time. They make deep runs every single year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='748672' first='Arielle' last='Yapi'], [player_tooltip player_id='283004' first='Merritt' last='Fuller'] and [player_tooltip player_id='754412' first='Kenzie' last='Smith'] are a big reason why this crew started #1 and has now finished the regular season as #1. They have even more depth at each position that makes this team tough even when someone has an off day. [player_tooltip player_id='874963' first='Brooklyn' last='Barnett'] has been an all-tournament selection every time this season for Sapulpa. [player_tooltip player_id='774413' first='Adrian' last='Hawley'] back in the line up really gives the back row a cornerstone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Regional #2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Host:</strong> Altus</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Teams:</strong> #15 Memorial, Elgin, and Lawton.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Altus has a phenomenal senior class that has broken records and made school history. They are looking to stick to that and do something they didn't do last season, make it to round two of state. Being ranked #2 overall gives them a solid path and possibility.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='757040' first='Kaprie' last='Craddock'] is the heart and soul of the offense. Her attack range is basically the entire court. Evyn Bull, [player_tooltip player_id='757037' first='Jordyn' last='Huckins'], Hayden Castillo and Jaylee Carmen are all players who can create a spark for the whole team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Regional #3</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Host:</strong> Claremore</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Teams:</strong> #14 Edison, Coweta, and Tahlequah.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Claremore, Altus and BM are all only separated by 30 points. Claremore has struggled of late, losing 6 of their 9 losses in the past few weeks. However, going 28-26 with a top 10 6A school and splitting sets with a top 5 3A school, gives some real data points to say they are back on track. Look for them to prove that on Monday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Much like Altus, the Zebras have a heck of a senior class with players like [player_tooltip player_id='285769' first='Grace' last='Baughman'], [player_tooltip player_id='666302' first='Addison' last='Doyle'], [player_tooltip player_id='741599' first='Ava' last='Tanner'] and [player_tooltip player_id='734803' first='Bella' last='Hoisington']. This region has players on every team that can catch fire. Such as, [player_tooltip player_id='904390' first='Hannah' last='Foster'] and [player_tooltip player_id='904386' first='Kennedy' last='Cain'] for the Coweta Tigers. Maryn Morrison and Teagan Adams are playmakers for Tahlequah.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Regional #4</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Host:</strong> Carl Albert</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Teams:</strong> #13 Classen SAS, Nathan Hale, Glenpool.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Carl Albert has been a top 5 team nearly the entire season! They are a regular at state and are looking to punch their ticket again this year. Classen looks to be putting their best team they have had in years out on the court. This could be an interesting region with just how much young talent is here.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='904397' first='Tess' last='Proper'], [player_tooltip player_id='913406' first='Londyn' last='Wilson'] and Denise Shaw are all players the Titans lean on heavily. They also have a great back court combo of [player_tooltip player_id='750953' first='Caitlyn' last='Mabie'] and Transfer [player_tooltip player_id='738842' first='Finley' last='Grice']. They both get the offense rolling with their in system passes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->