Bartlesville volleyball invests big hopes in veteran hitters for coach's final season
Jen Ward guides a mixture of explosive experience and some varsity rawness into what is slated to be her farewell tour as the Bartlesville High School head volleyball coach.
O-Day for the Lady Bruin spikers is Tuesday, when they host a three-way dual between Bartlesville, Sand Springs and Enid. Bartlesville and Sand Springs will play at 1:30 p.m., Sand Springs and Enid will play the middle match and Bartlesville will be back on the court at 5 p.m. to battle Enid.
Ward, who recently told the E-E she plans to step away as the head coach after this season, is entering her fifth year at the helm. On balance, it's been a successful era so far.
In 2019, Ward inherited a team coming off a 6-27 season and depending largely on the sophomore class to turn things around. In her first season (2019-20), Ward guided the team to 11 wins, followed by 17 (2020-21), 22 (2021-22) and 19 last year. Her career record at Bartlesville is 69-65.
Her 2023 squad appears to have the solid stuff to record Bartlesville's third-straight winning season.
Leading the way will be returning outside hitters Kelsey Ward and Embry Brown. Kelsey will be the only fourth-year regular for her mother.
"This my last season," Kelsey said in reference to her decision not to play on the college level. "I think there's a great chemistry here this year from what we're seeing early. I'm excited about what that does for our team."
"We went to a big scrimmage in Jenks today (Wednesday) and we saw all the big guns," coach Ward said. "We learned a lot today about ourselves. We're getting progressively better. We had a nice win against Stillwater where we really looked connected. We struggled earlier in the day against Broken Arrow and Bixby. Some of that is because we're largely a new team."
Kelsey and Brown bring stability and cannon-like hitting on the outside (left). Brown, who is a junior, devastated several opposing defenses last season with her lightning spikes.
Coach Ward has adjusted from her original plans and named Angelina Greenhoward as her likely starting libero. Hayden Brandon and Emma Parsley return as setters, bringing some battle-tested savvy to the attack.
Marissa Demuth and Rya Christensen are the designated rotation at middle blocker/hitter, while Marielle Bussey and Cera Federico are penciled in at the right hitter rotation. The top defensive specialist might be Sophie Frye, Ward said.
She plans to carry 15 girls, including seven new sophomores and juniors on the varsity roster, but added, "I don't know if we'll have a lot of playing time to go around. I think our lineup is going to be pretty fixed."
Ward, Greenhoward and Bussey are the lone seniors.
"I feel as I've matured, the decisions I make with the ball shots have also matured," Kelsey said about her progress. "I don't think I'm going to play (college), but I'm excited to finish it out."
Coach Ward's coaching tenure also has been defined by the development of two of the best players in program history, hitter Mia Otten and setter Sydney Collins. Otten made a promising showing as a freshman last season at Dayton University and Collins led Oklahoma Wesleyan University in assists during a 34-3 campaign.
Notes: This year's schedule includes a home tournament for the first time since 2019 or 2020. In addition, the Lady Bruins will play fewer dual matches but add to their number of tourneys. Bartlesville made its most recent volleyball state tournament appearance in 2010, advancing to the semifinals.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Bartlesville High School volleyball coach Jen Ward looks to final year
