Oklahoma high school volleyball: OSSAA Class 4A-3A state semifinal roundup

YUKON – The parallels were obvious to Keziah Lofton.

When she stepped into Yukon’s gym Friday morning and saw enthusiastic Bethany fans filing into the bright red seats, the scene evoked a not-so-distant memory.

In March, Lofton and her Bethany girls basketball teammates made history in that venue, avenging their regular-season loss to Tuttle to reach the state finals for the first time.

Six months later, the stars were aligned for Bethany’s volleyball team to match that milestone, and the familiar setting boosted Lofton’s motivation.

“Because we had already been through that, I was more relaxed this time,” said Lofton, a junior middle blocker. “And it was just fun.”

The rival was different, but the result was the same.

Bethany toppled Oklahoma Christian School, 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-22), in the Class 4A state volleyball semifinals, securing its first trip to the championship match. Previously, the Bronchos’ furthest postseason run ended in the semis.

After dropping two close regular-season matches to OCS, the third-seeded Bronchos captured the win that mattered most.

“We needed to focus on just finishing, not getting out of our heads, and knowing that we had everything that it took to actually win,” said Bethany coach Kerri Cagle. “We just needed to have that confidence of going out and actually finishing and not playing around.”

The Bronchos didn’t have to stretch their imaginations to envision a victory against second-seeded OCS (28-9). In each of their regular-season meetings, Bethany claimed at least one set.

This time, the Bronchos (33-7) sealed the sweep.

In the third set, sophomore setter Maya McPhaul passed the ball to junior outside hitter Jaidyn Reid, who pummeled it over the net for the winning kill.

“I thought I hit that out of bounds,” Reid said. “And then I saw it land in.”

As soon as the ball made contact with the court, Reid and her teammates jumped with joy, maintaining the energy that had carried them throughout the match.

After the Bronchos claimed the first set, they rallied from a deficit in the second. Sophomore outside hitter Skylar Brady provided the ace that clinched it, and that moment gave Bethany the spark it needed to finish the match. The Bronchos rolled into the third set on a 4-0 run.

If they continue to follow the basketball team, then they will add another layer of history with a Class 4A crown Saturday morning. But the Bronchos will have to push past top-seeded Community Christian. Like OCS, the Royals defeated Bethany twice in the regular season.

“I think it’s going to be the game to watch,” Cagle said.

More: Oklahoma high school volleyball: OSSAA Class 4A-3A state quarterfinal roundup

Community Christian returns to state finals

Christina Maynes realized her Community Christian volleyball team needed a few minutes to get comfortable with its state semifinal opponent.

The Royals had met Tulsa Cascia Hall in the Class 4A quarterfinals last year, but the programs never crossed paths this season until Friday. The Commandos were able to surprise Community Christian a little, making the Royals work for early points.

“They offered a great block,” Maynes said. “They spread their offense out a little bit differently than we thought they would, and they got some really great swings at the beginning of the match.”

Only one day after speeding past North Rock Creek to open the state tournament, the Royals had to fight through close sets, but they secured another sweep. Community Christian defeated Cascia Hall, 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-19), to earn a spot in the Class 4A finals, striving for its first championship since moving up to 4A.

In each semifinal set, Community Christian (40-2) broke a tie and cruised at the end.

When the first set was knotted at 11, the Royals responded with a 14-3 run to win it. The fourth-seeded Commandos stayed at Community Christian’s heels in the second, but senior outside hitter Landry Braziel delivered an energetic kill to clinch the set.

After Braziel broke a tie at 9 with an ace in the third set, the Royals led the rest of the way.

Braziel, a University of Texas at El Paso commit, continued to fuel Community Christian, finishing with 14 kills, three aces and one block.

But opponents know to plan for Braziel, so when the Commandos countered her powerful kill attempts, the Royals made sure other hitters were involved. Senior Victoria Gray registered six kills, freshman Stella Wishon added four and sophomore Ava Bell had three.

“In high-pressure situations, most teams default to their power hitter,” Maynes said. “And I think that’s one strength that our girls have been able to maintain is even in pressure situations, we have three or four other hitters that we can give the ball to and keep giving it to Landry so that we’re just a balanced offense and harder to defend against.”

CHA reaches Class 3A finals

Christian Heritage Academy had to improvise in the fifth set.

CHA relied on junior outside hitter Isabelle Harper through most of the match, but she tweaked her hamstring before it was over. With Harper on the bench, other stars took responsibility.

CHA squeezed out a 3-2 (21-25, 25-14, 25-14, 23-25, 15-11) victory over top-seeded Crossings Christian in the Class 3A state semifinals, advancing to face either Casady or Southwest Covenant in the championship match.

Sophomore outside hitter Keke Jobes seamlessly stepped in for Harper, and the fourth-seeded Crusaders sealed the win with an ace from junior setter Avery Whitmill.

“We love each other; we trust each other,” said coach Heather Benedix. “And the girls just went and battled.”

When CHA (22-17) dropped the first set, Benedix didn’t fret. That also happened in Thursday’s quarterfinal match against Amber-Pocasset, and CHA responded by winning three straight sets.

“We just reminded them of that,” Benedix said. “Stayed mentally tough and just focused on one point at a time, and we (could) go take them.”

Even when Crossings Christian (22-11) extended the semifinal match to five sets, CHA maintained composure.

Although Harper had to sit out at the end, she led CHA with 22 kills. Junior outside hitter Hannah Joy Nuthman followed with 13, and sophomore right-side hitter Reese Kufahl added nine.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma high school volleyball: Class 4A-3A semifinal results