VOLLEYBALL UPDATE: BARTLESVILLE DEFEATS BTW; DEWEY WINS TOURNAMENT
Bartlesville High School’s Claire Barta (21) competes against Booker T. Washington in Bartlesville. The Lady Bruins dropped their home game against BTW, but knocked off the Hornets over the weekend.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
Aug. 19, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Following are reports on last weekend’s area high school volleyball action:
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BARTLESVILLE: BYE, BYE BTW!
How far back does one have to go to discover the last time Bartlesville beat Booker T. Washington (BTW) on the volleyball court.
Try the 2021 season.
That was until last weekend when the Lady Bruins knocked off the high-flying Lady Hornets in three sets, 21-25, 29-27, 24-19, during the Bulldog Showdown tourney hosted by Lincoln Christian.
Between 2022 through the first part of the 2025 season BTW had powered to six straight wins against Bartlesville — including earlier this campaign.
But last Friday Bartlesville muscled up, desired up and rose to the occasion to knock off last year’s Class 5A state championship runner-ups.
After knocking off BTW, the Lady Bruins went on to finish 2-3 in the tourney — including some very hard-fought losses against returning Class 5A state semifinalist Oklahoma Christian School, 17-25, 25-23, 16-25, and the Oklahoma City Storm, 23-25, 24-26.
They also lost to host Lincoln Christian, 13-25, 16-25, and beat McAlester, 25-11, 25-7.
“I think we walked into a tournament that had a lot of quality teams,” said Lady Bruin head coach Andrew Blain. “We ended up 2-3. It wasn’t like it was crazy disappointing. … He brought some hard-fought competition.”
In the win against BTW, Sarah Federico blasted seven kills to lead Bartlesville’s balanced hitting attack, followed by Mia Johnson with six.
Emma Parsley fed the attackers with 13 assists, while Sophie Frye was the graft that kept the defense knit tightly together with 13 digs.
Ellie Benson delivered the game-winning point in the 29-27 marathon in the second set. Bartlesville had trailed in that set, 26-27, but finished up with a 3-0 spurt.
“That was awesome,” Blain said.
Blain also praised his team’s level of fight against the Storm.
“We were right there,” he said.
Frye and Johnson would be named to the All-Tournament Team.
Next up, Bartlesville plays host Tuesday to Tulsa Union and travels next weekend to the Regent Prep tournament.
NOTE: BTW had eliminated Bartlesville from the 2023 regionals, 25-19, 27-29, 25-17, 25-19. Prior to last Friday, Bartlesville hadn’t beaten BTW since the 2021 regular season — in an incredible rally — in five sets, 24-26, 17-25, 25-23, 27-25, 15-11.
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DEWEY: CHAMPS!
Dewey High School’s volleyball team gave a whole different meaning last weekend to the term “killjoy.”
The Lady Doggers produced a barrage of kills and created a barn full of joy during their explosive march to a tournament championship.
Paced by middle blocker Camrin “C.J.” Jones and setters Rylan White and Kaylee Cole, Dewey dusted off its opposition at the Sequoyah Eagles Classic in Claremore.
“It was so exciting,” veteran Dewey head coach Hayley Harris said. “My girls are on cloud nine.”
Dewey hadn’t won a tournament in as many as five years or longer, she added.
Among Dewey’s victims were Claremore-Sequoyah, 25-18, 26-24, and Washington County rival Wesleyan Christian School.
“Our toughest opponent was Wesleyan Christian,” Harris said. “The third set went to 25.”
White — a freshman — played an unexpected vital role as an alternative option at setter.
“She really came up and set that thing,” Harris said. “She also made a lot of dumps. … She was tremendous.”
White also delivered several aces, she added.
Jones, Callie Posch and freshman Marcella Willard helped dominate the game at the net.
“Her hang time is insane,” Harris said about Jones, who recently won the high jump event in a girls’ decathlon against national competition. “She’s always where the ball is.”
Harris also proffered praise for the performances of Nevaeh Straley and Isabela Villanueva.
Straley made some crucial hits while Villanueva, who hunkered down at libero, “read the floor really well,” Harris said.
Cole joined Jones as girls voted to the All-Tournament team.
Next up, Dewey plays Tuesday at Oklahoma Union.
“I’m very optimistic this year if we keep persevering and working hard,” Harris said. “Our girls have a lot of talent.”