EDMOND — “Mean” is not typically a superlative. Thursday night, however, it was.

“They were just playing mean the whole time,” Norman North volleyball coach Stephanie Kane said. “They wanted to win and you could tell.”

Kane was talking about her own players, the No. 2 Timberwolves, who rolled over No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe on the Wolves’ own court.

North won 10 of 15 points to begin the match and hardly slowed, running away with a dominating 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-19) sweep.

On Tuesday, regional tournaments arrive and both North (27-3) and Santa Fe (22-7) will be expected win in their own gyms before moving on to the Class 6A state tournament, which begins the following Monday in Sapulpa.

And, once there, what happened Thursday night could well come into play.

“I think it’s really a big deal for our confidence,” North setter Maci Milligan said, “knowing that we can beat them.”

Beat them they did.

North took its lead all the way out to 18-8 in the first set. Santa Fe pulled within 24-21 before North put the set away with a combo block from both Milligan and Lauren Kersey.

Indeed, the Timberwolves’ defense — at the net and its passing game — may have been the story of the match. 

Because while senior hitter Kaitlyn Young finished with nine kills, she also added 17 digs. And while senior hitter Angel Robinson finished with 12 kills, she also added six blocks.

Meanwhile, Logan Matthews added 13 digs, Megan Hanson 11 digs and Malaorie Dorney 10 digs. 

The Wolves had a heck of a time putting anything away. Also, those digs were finding Milligan in good spots, from which she was able to deliver 39 assists.

“Our defense was out of this world. I’m not kidding,” Milligan said. “I think those were some of the best passes I’ve ever gotten from my teammates.”

The T-Wolves took another 10-5 lead in the second set and, this time, there was no late comeback from Santa Fe. 

The Wolves pulled within 17-14 before North won 8 of the set's last 11 points, closing out the set with a solo block from Kersey.

North closed out the third set similarly, turning a 6-9 deficit into a 10-10 tie, a 12-12, tie and a 13-13 tie, from which it won 12 of the last 17 points, the match-clincher on on ace from Dorney.

“It was a really god match for us,” Kane said. “It kind of sets the standard of this is how we want to play and we won’t settle for anything less than that.”

From start to finish, North was the better team on the floor. And, given the rankings, that might just make the T-Wolves the best team in the state.

“If we have high energy and momentum,” Milligan said, “we can’t be stopped.”
