After a season where Cedar Ridge captured the Big 8 Championship and advanced to the Final Four of the 3-A State Tournament, Coach Charlie Oakley was named the Big 8 Coach of the Year on Tuesday.
Oakley guided Cedar Ridge to a 24-4 record, the most successful in team history. The Red Wolves finished 12-0 in the Big 8.
Led by seniors Asha Barnes, Meg Anderson and Courtney Eckmann, the Red Wolves captured the district and sectional championships before falling in the Eastern Regional Championship match to Asheboro 3-1.
That wasn’t the only volleyball honor for the Orange County area. Orange’s Andie McKinnon was named the Big 8 Player of the Year. McKinnon led the Panthers with 291 kills and a 49,7% kill percentage. She also led the team with 72 aces and 367 digs.
Orange finished 15-10 this season, including two victories over Chapel Hill. The Panthers went to the third round of the state playoffs.
Also making All-Big 8 Conference for Cedar Ridge was Barnes, Lily Henry and Karsen Lee. Joining McKinnon on the All Confernece team for Orange was Kayla Durham and Macy Hughes.
Eckmann was named Honorable Mention for CRHS. Jordan Lloyd and M’Lynn Dease were Honorable Mention for the Panthers.