Oklahoma All-State volleyball: East teams post 3-set sweeps against West
By Buck Ringgold | Photos by Karen Schwartz
BIXBY — In the opening set of Tuesday’s Oklahoma Coaches Association Large School All-State volleyball match, Megan Salyer suffered a slight injury, immediately drawing some blood.
Though she attempted to hide it from the referee, she had to come out briefly. Playing her final volleyball match, though, Salyer - playing libero for the Large East - was determined to quickly return to the court.
She was able to do just that by the end of the opening set, and even served an ace for set point.
The Large East then took the next two sets, each of which were decided by two points, in winning all three sets (25-13, 27-25, 25-23) at Bixby High School’s Whitey Ford Fieldhouse.
“It was a lot of fun to play with girls on the same side of the court that we have played on the opposite side of the court for a long time, and for a lot of us, it was our last volleyball game ever because a lot of us aren’t playing collegiately, so it was a lot of fun to compete with people who just want to be out there,” said Salyer, who will be a student at the University of Oklahoma this fall.
Salyer played at Jenks, and helped the Lady Trojans claim the Class 6A state championship as a senior.
Tuesday’s All-State match gave her the opportunity to play one last time with her former Jenks teammate Mikiah Perdue, who will play collegiately at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.
“It was very emotional; it was a lot of fun,” Salyer said of playing with Perdue. “She is such a stud who is going to do so many good things at Union, and we’ve played together since seventh grade.
“I’ve never been on the volleyball team without her, on the court with me, so it was so special to wrap up and win with her for the last game for sure.”
Perdue was also involved in Salyer’s injury, which forced her to leave the game briefly in the first set.
“The ball had gone through Mikiah’s hands and I dove down to get it and I scraped my elbow,” Salyer said. “I tried to hide the blood from the ref so I wouldn’t have to stop, but he caught me. … It was just a minor injury, though. Everything’s all good.”
Perdue came up with several key kills in the second set, including one with the Large East trailing 24-23, extending things. She had another kill on the next point before the Large West evened the score at 25-all.
But Perdue delivered another kill on the subsequent point, and the Large East finished things off when a kill from former Broken Arrow player MacKenzie McGuire landed untouched on the back corner.
It was just as tight in the third and final set. Salyer delivered an ace for a 23-22 Large East lead before the Large West tied it on the following point.
But McGuire broke the tie for good with a kill, and then for match point, the Large West was unable to return a serve from Sydney Collins (Bartlesville).
Former Owasso standout Rylee Martin was named the MVP for the Large East. She will go on to play at Oklahoma Baptist University.
“I liked that every person was just really competitive and went after every ball, so no matter where I set it, I knew that ball was going to get hit,” Martin said. “Megan was back there digging everything, which made my life easy so that I could set them and everybody was just working together as a whole, which made it a very fun game definitely.
“It was a lot of fun because every person was just trying so hard, and so it was a really competitive match and like everybody was going for everything, and it was just really fun to play with all these girls next to me.”
Former Edmond Deer Creek player Cameron Turner was selected as the MVP of the Large West.
Small School All-State Volleyball
It was a successful three-year run for former Victory Christian teammates Hannah Warlick and Bella Wakley, winning state each time in that span.
They were part of the Conquerors’ fifth consecutive title when Victory Christian claimed the Class 4A title last October. Tuesday, they had one more match as teammates, this time on the Small East.
And the result was more of the same, as the Small East swept the three-set match from the Small West, winning 25-10, 25-10, 25-15.
“It was really special because Bella’s my best friend, and I wouldn’t want to play with anyone in the world other than Bella,” said Warlick, who transferred to Victory Christian from Christian Heritage Academy prior to her sophomore year.
“We mesh so good together, we’ve been playing for three years together so our chemistry’s there, and I feel like when we’re working together, it’s just like a chance to win.”
Warlick was serving in the opening set when the Small East broke open an 8-all score with 11 straight points. Wakley - who will be playing at Evangel University in Springfield, Mo. - ended the opening set with a kill.
In the second set, the Small East scored the first three points, capped by an ace from former Lincoln Christian player Chloe Ricke. The Small East then built a 9-3 lead and then 13-4 after three straight kills from Beth Bayless (Regent Prep).
The Small West led briefly early in the third set before the Small East eventually pulled away. They made things academic by building a 24-14 lead after an ace from former Oklahoma Union player Julia Barron.
Warlick was selected as the MVP for the Small East. She will continue to play volleyball in college, albeit beach volleyball, having committed to Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla.
“It’s definitely going to be different,” Warlick said. “I moved down there after graduation, so I flew up here (Monday) to come play in this and then I fly home on Friday and get right back to it. I’ve been down there training for about three months now.
“It was really special because this is my last time on a hard court and I’m just ready to go to sand and do what I want to do, just play sand volleyball, but getting this MVP, this means a lot to me.”
The MVP for the Small West went to Addison Bruce of Christian Heritage.
All-State week continues Wednesday in Jenks with the girls basketball games, followed by the boys basketball games Thursday, also at Jenks. The OCA All-State football game will be held Friday in Shawnee at Oklahoma Baptist University.
