OKLAHOMA WESLEYAN VOLLEYBALL SCRIMMAGE SET FOR WEDNESDAY; HOME OPENER SEPT. 3
Oklahoma Wesleyan University’s Sydney Collins returns as a four year starter for the Lady Eagles this season. A home scrimmage is set for Wednesday, with the regular season starting September 3 at home.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
Aug. 10, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Note: The Oklahoma Wesleyan University volleyball team has home scrimmages set for August 13 ( 5 p.m.) and August 19 (6 p.m.). The regular season home opener is planned for September 3.
Oklahoma Wesleyan University’s volleyball team could be a blistering national force — again — in 2025.
The Lady Eagles return all but a couple of vital components from last season’s 31-4 team that made it to the third round of the NAIA National Tournament.
One of titanic talents via the completion of her eligibility is 6-foot middle blocker Maddy McKinney, the former Oklahoma Union High School spiker legend.
Also unavailable due to a redshirt year is 6-foot-3 former Bartlesville High School superstar Mia (Otten) Lietzke, who is a junior.
Otherwise, the cupboard is teeming with overwhelming talent.
Some of the impact returnees are:
— Fourth-year starting setter Sydney Collins, who was a Third-Team All-American last season. She’s also a Bartlesville High School graduate.
— Junior-to-be outside hitter Evelyn Rohrberg (6-1) who following last season was named a First-Team All-American.
— Sophomore-to-be outside hitter Maia Rubio who last year earned the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors.
— Veteran junior-to-be libero Maria Luisa Caycedo who tightened up the Lady Eagles’ back row play.
— Tijana Stojiljkovic, a 6-foot-2 senior-to-be middle hitter/blocker.
Among the new player additions is junior transfer Iva Mrkaic, a middle hitter/blocker that hopefully will mitigate the departure of McKinney.
Most of the veterans have helped power the Lady Eagles to a 59-10 mark the past seasons.
OKWU head coach Tracie Gillette is eager to see what this year’s mix might accomplish.
“I’m pretty excited,” she said, adding OKWU will be battling to win the KCAC championship for the third-straight season. “We need to work on opposing blocks. … Defensively we'll be strong again with Maria Caycedo and Sydney (who played libero most of her youth career) being defensive minded.”
Gillette also is looking for Collins — who is her daughter — to stabilize the offense as the veteran setter.
Collins finished second in the nation (NAIA) last season in assists per set (11.46) and No. 8 in overall assists (1,320).
Collins also was No. 69 in the nation in most service aces (47).
Other Lady Eagles finished among the national top 100 last season.
Rohrberg had the sixth-most kills (553) and ranked No. 2 in kills per set (4.81), she also was No. 41 in hitting percentage (.331); Caycedo came in at No. 100 in overall digs (472); Stojiljkovic ranked No. 15 in hitting percentage (.367); and McKinney came in at No. 87 in solo blocks (21) and No. 93 in hitting percentage (.286).
As expected, OKWU dominated the KCAC season stats last season:
Hitting percentage: Stojiljkovic (No. 3, .367), Rohrberg (No. 7, .331), McKinney (No. 10, .286), Lietzke (No. 17, .253), Rubio (No. 20, .235).
Kills: Rohrberg (No. 1, 553), Rubio (No. 12, 301), Lietzke (No. 25, 240).
Kills per set: Rohrberg (No. 1, 4.81), Rubio (No. 16, 2.66), Lietzke (No. 29, 2.2).
Assists: Collins (No. 1, 1,318), Caycedo (No. 35, 90).
Assists per set: Collins (No. 1, 11.46), Caycedo (No. 31, 0.78).
Digs: Caycedo (No. 10, 472), Collins (No. 21, 281), Rubio (No. 25, 263), J. Isbell (No. 26, 253).
Digs per set: Caycedo (No. 12, 4.1), Collins (No. 28, 2.44).
Solo blocks: McKinney (No. 8, 21), Lietzke (No. 32, 8).
Total blocks (solos plus assists): McKinney (No. 11, 78), Stojiljkovic (No. 19, 64), Lietzke (No. 24, 54), Rohrberg (No. 29, 49).
Service aces: Collins (No. 2, 47), Rohrberg (No. 11, 34), Rubio (No. 17, 30)
One of the most noteworthy things about OKWU’s attack last season was its number of potent weapons that shared in the attack.
The Lady Eagles ended the 2024 regular season ranked No. 9 in the nation and they came in at No. 14 in the final post-season poll.
No doubt they’ll be hungry to keep Bartlesville on the national volleyball map and to draw an increasingly bigger spotlight to their program.
If it all comes together, OKWU volleyball could be on course for another national tourney appearance — and an even longer stay
Oklahoma Wesleyan University’s returner Maia Rubio hits one behind her back during last season. A home scrimmage is set for Wednesday, with the regular season starting September 3 at home.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports