Narrowly missing out on a home playoff match, the Orange volleyball team will open the 3A state playoffs on Wednesday at Cleveland in Clayton.
The Panthers are seeded 10th after finishing 11-9, 8-4 in the Big 8 Conference. Orange finished tied for 2nd in the league with Webb, but earned the tiebreaker after sweeping the Warriors during the regular season.
Tomorrow’s match starts at 6.
Cleveland finished 14-6 overall, 8-2 in the Two Rivers Conference. The Rams ended up in 2nd place, one game behind conference champion Triton.
Orange and Cleveland had no common opponents.
If Orange wins, they may have a rematch against Chapel Hill. The winner of Orange/Cleveland takes on 2nd seeded Chapel Hill or 15th seeded Northern Nash.
Chapel Hill swept the regular season from the Panthers this season.
As for other Big 8 teams, Oxford Webb earned a 10-seed. The Warriors faced Morehead in Eden. Northern Vance is a 13-seed and will face Southwestern Randolph.