It’s Championship Saturday
HIGH SCHOOLS State championships in fast-pitch softball, fall baseball and volleyball will be decided Saturday around the metro area.
CHOCTAW — Bella Vu was scared. Maybe "terrified" was more accurate.
A rush of emotions, along with several strips of elastic therapeutic tape draped on her shins, came to the forefront of her mind Friday before Regent Prep's Class 4A state quarterfinal volleyball match.
The sophomore spoke with her mother. She then interacted with her team. After missing two weeks with stress fractures in her shins, it was time to play through the pain.
“I say in my mind, 'Pain is temporary, but that state championship, that’s going to last forever,'” Vu said.
The night ended with Vu limping off the court with her legs wrapped in ice packs, but not before helping Regent Prep rally for a thrilling fiveset win (25-13, 18-25, 21-25, 25-16, 15-13) over Oklahoma Christian School at Choctaw High School.
The Rams (31-6) erased a 2-1 deficit, winning the fourth set with two big point runs. A fast 15-6 start featuring several kills by Vu was quickly erased by OCS’ 7-0 run, but Regent Prep answered by scoring seven of the final 10 points to tie the match at 2-2.
“Heart. I think we maybe just wanted it a little bit more, and we didn’t want to go home,” Regent Prep coach Michael Christie said.
Vu had plenty of help from her teammates. Senior Abby Toler, who logged three early kills as part of a 16-6 run to help the Rams take the first set, came up with several key points in the fifth set. An ace and a kill, coupled with three key blocks, helped propel the Rams to the semifinals at 2:15 p.m. Saturday against Community Christian in a rematch of the 2016 3A state title game.
“We’ve talked about this. We are all so excited to have another chance to redeem ourselves,” Vu said.
Rejoice Christian drops 5-set heartbreaker
Honorable mention for best match of the day went to Rejoice Christian and Cache. Unlike Regent Prep, Rejoice Christian couldn’t pull off a massive comeback in a five-set loss to Cache.
Cache won 22-25, 25-22, 25-16, 22-25, 17-15.
Rejoice Christian (23-10), which trailed by two sets early, had two match points in the fifth set before Cache (27-6) held on to advance to the 4A semifinals.
The Eagles won the first set 25-22, and dug themselves out of a 20-16 fourth-set hole by winning nine of the final 11 points to force the final set.
Catoosa no match for Community Christian
Catoosa’s run to the 4A state tournament was short-lived, as the Indians fell to Community Christian in straight sets (20-25, 19-25, 11-15).
Catoosa (19-18) fell behind early in each set and couldn’t keep up with the relentless firepower of Community Christian’s (27-7) front line. The Royals closed out the match with a run of 10 consecutive points.
SEAN ISABELLA, FOR THE TULSA WORLD