Stephanie kane norman north
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Norman North volleyball team peaking at the right time
SHAWNEE — After graduating six starters from last year’s team, Norman North’s Stephanie Kane knew there would be some growing up to do in her second season as head coach.
And the Timberwolves’ growth couldn’t have gone at a better pace, with Kane’s young volleyball team nearing its peak at just the right time.
Norman North battled its way to earn a host berth in last week’s Class 6A regionals, and came out of that tournament with a state tournament berth.
The eighth-ranked Timberwolves will face No. 3 Edmond North in the opening round of the state tournament Friday at Shawnee High School. The 6A tournament begins at noon, with Edmond North and Norman North capping off the day at 4:30 p.m.
Kane has seniors, freshmen and everything in between in her starting lineup. Senior Audrey Alford runs the offense as the setter, and sophomore Hallie Hembree is a difference-maker in the middle for the Timberwolves, who are looking to b
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Trio of senior captains ascend into leadership roles as the T-Wolves head to the Broken Arrow Tournament
Norman North mittpunkt Jacqueline Wright mimes the T-Wolves’ hierarchy of goals with her hands as she explains the mindset she and fellow senior captains Jordan Dooty and Jaden Chapel-Morgan are looking to instill in their teammates.
“It starts with, ‘Practice Hard. Win a game. Win a tournament. Win conference. Host regionals. Win state.’ We’ve got a big list and we know we have to complete the building blocks to get to the top,” Wright said.
Being goal-oriented is something this trio of captains for North volleyball embraces, because these are the standards the program has created after a string of six consecutive state tournament berths.
North head volleyball coach Stephanie Kane believes the T-Wolves have the perfect blend of personalities among the three to guide them.
Kane calls Wright “kind of our brains.”
“She’s ver
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High school volleyball: Norman North volleyball young but ready to contend
NORMAN — Stephanie Kane's Norman North volleyball roster is almost exclusively sophomores and juniors.
And that should make everyone around Class 6A a little nervous — not just for the future, either. The Timberwolves are good right now.
Despite suffering its first in-state loss on Tuesday night to No. 3 Edmond North, Norman North has made itself known as a legitimate contender in 6A this season.
Kane's squad graduated three players off last year's team that was strong enough to get to the state tournament. But the sophomores of a year ago are flourishing as juniors in the first three weeks of this season.
The rest of the state took notice of the Timberwolves' 6-0 start that included wins over No. 1 Edmond Santa Fe and two-time defending Class 5A champion Heritage Hall. Norman North has taken down three other top-10 teams along the way to start the season 9-3 — with two of those losses coming against a