GRAHAM–There’s a classic throwback feel once you enter Southern Alamance’s gymnasium.
There’s no air conditioning. The fans from the ventilation system above the bleachers squeak. The only thing keeping the floor from getting soaked with players’s sweat, even on a mild day like last Thursday, are fans placed on opposite ends of the end zones. Long rallies are tougher because of a low roof, where no less than four balls clanked off the rafters for Cedar Ridge’s volleyball match against the Patriots on Thursday.
“The Battleground,” as is it described on Southern Alamance’s scoreboard, makes visiting teams earn victories, regardless of the opposition’s quality. Despite early setbacks, Cedar Ridge emerged victorious in its first conference matchup against the Patriots.
Sophomore Claire Hargett finished with 13 kills and 19 digs as the Red Wolves swept Southern Alamance 3-0 on scores of 27-25, 25-14 and 25-10. Senior Addie Reid added nine kills and two blocks, while Graylinn Serge had eight kills and 16 digs.
It was Cedar Ridge’s 42nd consecutive conference win. The Red Wolves (4-3, 2-0 in the Central Carolina Conference) will host Orange on Tuesday in a showdown for first place in the CCC at Red Wolves Gymnasium.
“It took us a while to settle in tonight,” said Cedar Ridge volleyball coach Latcha De Oliveira. “We were a little antsy tonight. The defense was better in the second set. I think we settled in at that point. We were a little frazzled the first set.”
There were six lead changes in the opening set, which saw Cedar Ridge spring out to a 10-6 lead. Southern Alamance (2-4, 0-1) come back with a 7-2 run to take a 16-13 lead. Cedar Ridge responded with seven of the next eight points, included three consecutive kills by Reid. The Patriots were on the verge of taking the set after an ace by Autumn Jones, which put them ahead 25-24. On set point, an attack by junior Ava Duggins was dug by Serge and went off the net. Hargett went to her knees to keep the ball alive and passed it over to Kayla Still, who wound up with the kill to send it to overtime.
Reid factored in on the final two points, assisting on a kill by Hargett. On match point, Reid got the kill off a feed from Hargett.
Reid scored seven points in the second set, tallying five kills and two blocks. Cedar Ridge jumped out to an 8-2 lead and were never challenged. The Red Wolves closed the third set on an 8-1 run, ending with a kill by Ellamarie Perel. Rachel Alverson finished with 31 assists, while sophomore Mia Marty added seven assists.
Cedar Ridge will go into the crosstown matchup against Orange having beaten the Panthers eight straight times.
“It’s gonna be down to the wire every game in this conference,” De Oliveira said. “We have a big game coming up against Orange. I think everybody is gunning for that top spot this year.”
Orange 3, Western Alamance 0:
Things were considerably less dramatic for Orange in its latest trip to Elon. Last year, Western Alamance extended the Lady Panthers to five sets. This year, Orange swept the Warriors to open their CCC slate.
Senior Ella Wimsatt, sophomores Ava Wilkerson and Aubrey Jordan each had double-digit kills for Orange, who won 25-16, 25-22 and 25-21. Wimsatt finished with 13 kills, while Wilkerson had eleven and Jordan ten. Sophomore Katie Silcott finished with 33 aces and seven digs. Senior libero Sadye Porter had 13 digs as Orange won in its ninth straight road game.
In the nine road games, Orange has gone 6-3. The Panthers trailed only twice in the entire match and never in the third set. Wimsatt had seven kills in the opening set, while Wilkerson added six.
After its contest against Cedar Ridge, Orange (7-3, 1-0) will finally have a home game against Person on Thursday.