OKLAHOMA CITY — Putnam City took the Battle of the Expressway in volleyball Thursday (Aug. 27) with a 3-1 win over Putnam City North.

The Pirates won the first two sets , 25-19, 25-15. North answered with a 26-24 win. Original clinched the victory with a 25-22 win. 

Putnam City coach Donald Wood said the anxiety of a rivalry match led to some early inconsistency.

“Once we settled in we finished strong in the first set, and that momentum carried over into the second set as we won that set fairly easily,” Wood said via email.

Wood said the Pirates were complacent and fell behind in the third set. Putnam City rebounded to take a 23-20 lead in the third set before the Panthers surged to a 26-24 win.

“This is an area we really need to work on, finishing out sets once we have the lead late,” Wood said.

North took an early 18-10 lead, but Original came back for the win.

“I was definitely encouraged by the way we finished.”

Wood praised his middle blockers. Senior Kaeley Thorenson had a 75 percent kill percentage in the first two sets. The other middle blocker, Trinity Carter, had five blocks in the match, along with several good hits.

Woods said senior libero Gaby Lopez held the back line together during the toughest moments. Lopez had a passer rating of 2.29 for the match.

Finally, senior Khyasia Curry was also praised

“(Curry) did a good job of keeping the ball off the floor during our final set comeback,” Wood said.

UP NEXT

The Pirates head to Northwest Classen (1-4) Tuesday (Sept. 1) at 5 p.m.

The Knights fell to Classen S.A.S, 3-1 on Tuesday (Aug. 25).

The Panthers host the OKC Storm Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Updated August 30, 2026 at 5:49 PM