Cedar Ridge 3, Person 1: Winning at Person just means a little bit more. Regardless of the Rockets record in volleyball, the visiting team can always count on the home grandstand being close to full, if not full capacity. Cedar Ridge claimed its third straight victory over Person in Roxboro on scores of 28-30, 25-21, 25-16 and 25-22.
Senior Grayling Serge finished with 21 kills, a season-high, along with nine digs. Sophomore Claire Hargett finished with 17 kills and 29 digs. Senior Rachel Alverson finished with 38 assist and eleven digs.
The first set went to a thrilling overtime where the Red Wolves fought off three set points until Person finally took the opening stanza. There were seven leads changes in the opening frame. Serge had nine kills in the opening set, but Person built a 17-12 lead after an 8-3 run. Cedar Ridge rolled to tie with seven consecutive points while Hargett was serving. Senior Addie Reid scored an electric kill off an assist from Alverson to even the set 22-22. Person took the lead back with a block. Serge sent the match into overtime with a kill. Person finally scored match point when a Red Wolf volley went into the net.
The Red Wolves recovered and took the final three sets. The second set was even 20-20 when Cedar Ridge closed with five of the final six points. Ellie Woolson put the Red Wolves into the lead as she reached over the next to interrupt a Person possession and score a kill.. Alverson clinched set point with an ace.
The Red Wolves led from wire-to-wire in the third set. Senior Natasha Buchler-Fosado, now a libero, had a run of three consecutive aces to put Cedar Ridge ahead 8-3. Cedar Ridge (8-5, 5-1 in the Central Carolina Conference) finished the frame with three of the last four points, ending with a kill by Serge.
At one point in the fourth set, Person led 9-4. The Red Wolves started a comeback after back-to-back aces from Serge. Cedar Ridge scored five consecutive points to take a 19-17 lead, ending the run with a joust that Reid won at the net. After a kill by Hargett put the Red Wolves ahead 24-22, a return by Person went into the net on match point.
Cedar Ridge will return home to face Southern Alamance on Tuesday.
Orange 3, Western Alamance 0: Orange only trailed twice in the entire match in a sweep of Western Alamance on Thursday night, ending a span of three home matches in three days for the Lady Panthers.
Orange scored the first seven points of the first set, but the Warriors made a rally to narrow the Lady Panthers’ lead to 7-4. Senior Ella Wimsatt, who led Orange in kills, spiked home the final two points of the first set, winning 25-16.
Western Alamance took a 2-1 lead to open the second frame behind a kill from Reese Walker. Orange responded with seven straight points to take control of the set. Wimsatt had an ace while Sophomore Ava Wilkerson scored two kills. The Lady Panthers finished the set on a 8-2 run to win it 25-7 behind a spike from sophomore Aubrey Jordan.
Orange won the final set 25-11. They opened by scoring seven of the first nine points. starting with consecutive kills by Wilkerson. Leading 3-2, Orange reeled off four straight points. An ace by freshman Sawyer White sewed up the victory on match point.
Orange has now won 13 in a row. They’re 15-3 overall, 6-0 in the CCC. Midway through its conference schedule, Orange has won all 18 of its sets in conference play. Overall, they’ve won 38 of the last 39 sets. The only exception came on Wednesday night when they dropped the opening set against Falls Lake. The Lady Panthers would eventually win 3-1.
Orange will travel to Walter Williams on Tuesday night. They will return home to face Cedar Ridge on Thursday in a rematch from earlier this year. Orange defeated Cedar Ridge on September 5.