WESLEYAN CHRISITAN DEFEATS CLAREMORE CHRISITAN; DEWEY AND WCS PLAY AT CLAREMORE SEQUOYAH
Wesleyan Christian School’s volleyball team defeated Claremore Christian on Thursday. They play Friday morning in the Claremore-Sequoyah tournament.
BECKY BURCH/Bartlesville Area Sports
By Mike Tupa
Aug. 15, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Wesleyan Christian School’s volleyball team performed a gritty grammatical metamorphosis on Thursday, transforming a question mark into a giant exclamation point.
The Lady Mustangs — who graduated some top-notch talent off last year’s team — had some unknowns to prove in their season opener against visiting Claremore Christian.
By the time the match ended, Wesleyan Christian owned a thunderous victory, 22-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-15 — a promising slammer as the season moves forward.
“I think we have a lot more talent spread out,” explained Lady Mustang veteran head coach Mariah Cooks in comparing this year’s team with last year’s. “I think it’s really going to help us. … Our players need to play with confidence.”
The Lady Mustangs required a few minutes to get into sync. It wasn’t until near the end of the first set they began to assert themselves.
“As I was watching, we were struggling to find our confidence and our aggressiveness,” Cooks said. “Everybody was trying to find their new roles and the new dynamics with new team chemistry.”
Once the Lady Mustangs settled in they ended the first set with a flurry of momentum, which carried over to the rest of the match.
“We had a quick discussion after that one (first set),” Cooks explained. “I told them we need to start being aggressive at the start.”
Kori White spearheaded the attack up front.
“She made some phenomenal swings,” Cooks said. “She’s really learning how to swing with power.”
Miranda Hadrava also brought a heavy load in the final three sets.
“She had only two attempts (hits) the first whole set,” Cooks said. “We decided we can’t let her have just two attempts in a set. We put in an emphasis that we needed to get the ball to Miranda Hadrava.”
Cooks also raised the work of team captain and setter Ashley Reich.
“She was all over the court,” Cooks said. “She does a great job of listening to the hitters and getting them the ball.”
Next up, the Lady Mustangs eye a busy weekend in the Claremore-Sequoyah tournament. They will take on the winner of the Dewey/Pryor game at 11: 30 a.m. on Friday
Their next dual match will be Tuesday against rival Oklahoma Union.
_____
DEWEY
The Lady Bulldoggers, who are coached by Hayley DeVivo Harris, rescheduled their Thursday match at Sperry. Next up, the Lady Bulldoggers play at Claremore-Sequoyah on Friday and Saturday. Their first match is 9 a.m. against Pryor. Dewey displayed big fight in a season-opening loss against The Academy powerhouse team, 25-12, 25-23, 25-20 on Monday.
_____
OKLAHOMA UNION
The Lady Cougars went 0-3 at Metro Christian on Monday. They travel to Dewey next Tuesday.
_____
Becky Burch contributed to this article.