Month: September 2023

If you couldn’t feel a sense of urgency from the Orange volleyball team on Tuesday night, you were numb.

Ella Wimsatt mixed her attacks between soft changeups that fell harmlessly between three players with overhead strikes that tried to put a hole into the new floor at Cedar Ridge. Senior setter Sadye Porter stepped in front of kill attempts by Cedar Ridge players that looked like speeding bullets, just to keep them off the ground and give Orange another chance at a point. Even setter Katie Silcott, a sophomore, came up with clutch blocks when her main role is setting up Wimsatt and Aubrey Jordan for kills.

Why the sense of urgency? For obvious reasons, it was the seniors last chance to beat Cedar Ridge at Red Wolves Gymnasium, something they’ve never done. Most of all, the past four years, the Orange volleyball team has been a formidable team in Hillsborough. But they’ve never been THE team in Hillsborough.

Until now.

On Tuesday night, Orange put a resounding end to four years of frustration with a 3-0 sweep of Cedar Ridge at Red Wolves Gymnasium. The Lady Panthers (8-3, 2-0 in the Central Carolina Conference) captured the match 25-18. 25-21 and 25-14. The win ended Cedar Ridge’s streak of 42 consecutive conference wins and their 31-match home court winning streak.

Plus, Orange broke Cedar Ridge’s eight-game winning streak in the series. The last time the Panthers beat the Red Wolves, it was October 8, 2019, also at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

Cedar Ridge’s last conference loss came against East Chapel Hill on October 15, 2019. Their last home loss was on September 20, 2022, when they fell to D.H. Conley, the defending 3A State Champions. The Red Wolves would win the 3A State Championship six weeks later.

While Orange coach Hope Heverly realized how important the match and the rivalry are, she had no idea the magnitude of the win.

“I didn’t know Cedar Ridge had gone that long without losing a conference match,” Heverly said. “I knew that was a lot at stake and I knew the girls had a long of drive coming in. But I didn’t know they had all those streaks. That makes this win a little sweeter.”

Orange will host Person on Thursday in Hillsborough. Tuesday’s match against Cedar Ridge was its ninth straight tilt on the road.

“The girls knew how important this game was,” Heverly said. “They were laser focused in practice on Monday. They made the adjustments they needed for today’s game. Every timeout, when we switched up something, they came out and switched it up. They came out with heart and desire to win together.”

Despite the two schools being evenly matched, Orange pulled away in the opening two sets. The third was a blowout. In the opening frame, Cedar Ridge led 10-6 after consecutive kills by Graylinn Serge assisted by Rachel Alverson, which led to an Orange timeout. Ella Wimsatt ended the run with a kill, then slammed the subsequent point home unassisted after it went off the fist of Cedar Ridge middle blocker Addie Reid.

Serge notched another kill to increase the Red Wolf lead to 12-8, but Wimsatt struck a thunderous attack to give Orange a side out. Aubrey Jordan registered two straight kills, while Wimsatt delivered a changeup to tie the set 12-12. The Red Wolves couldn’t chain together consecutive points after Porter notched an ace to put the Lady Panthers ahead 14-13 in the set, and Orange wouldn’t trail again in the frame and for most of the match. Jordan scored off an attack despite Silcott and Porter nearly colliding going for a loose ball. Ava Wilkerson rejected an attack from Serge to put Orange ahead 16-13.

Reid delivered a thunderous kill to cut the Red Wolf deficit to 18-16, but Wilkerson notched a kill when Reid’s block attempt went wide. Wimsatt notched four consecutive kills to increase the Orange lead to 23-17. Porter made a deep dig off a serve by Caroline Park that bounced over the net into the Cedar Ridge backcourt. Jordan ended the set with a swing from the near post.

Though Cedar Ridge extended the second set, they never led in the frame. Orange junior Abby Silinski had an ace during an 6-1 run to put the Lady Panthers ahead 7-3. Cedar Ridge responded with five straight points, including kills by Claire Hargett and Addie Reid. Orange came back with a 6-3 run with finishes from Jordan and Silinski.

After Cedar Ridge’s Rachel Alverson delivered an ace to cut Orange’s lead to 19-18, Jordan came back with another kill. and later got another to set up set point. Silcott scored off a block to put Orange ahead by two sets.

There was no drama at all in the third set. Orange jumped out to a 12-3 lead, which included Silinski delivering two aces and consecutive finishes from Wimsatt. Orange led by as much as 18-8. Silcott again got match point off a block to end a string of dominance by Cedar Ridge and put Orange into sole possession of first place in the Central Carolina Conference.

There was plenty to celebrate for the Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team on Tuesday night. It was senior night for players Cameron Mayhew, Catherine Ballinger, Annabeth Lundberg, Raven Mowles-Airing and Dupree Sorenson. On top of that, Cedar Ridge defeated crosstown rival Orange 6-3. It was their first win over Orange since August 28, 2019. Mayhew won her match at #1 singles. Later, on a hot, sticky night, she teamed with junior Adeline Cummings to defeat Erin and Shannon Sollars 8-5. It was the first time anyone this year defeated the Sollars sisters, who qualified for the 3A State Doubles Tennis Tournament last year. Ballinger teamed with junior Ella Caltabiano to wrap up the dual match win for the Red Wolves with a victory at #2 doubles. Ballinger also won her singles match. Cedar Ridge is undefeated in the Central Carolina Conference after beating the defending co-conference champions. It was also the final senior night for head coach Steve Mayhew, who is in his fourth season. Mayhew, a former player at Orange High, will step down at the end of this fall. The Red Wolves are now 3-2, 2-0 in the CCC. They will host Eno River Academy on Wednesday at Red Wolves Tennis Courts. On Thursday, they are slated to travel to Eastern Alamance. The Red Wolves would love to qualify for the state dual team tournament for the first time since 2016, when they won the Big 8 Championship.

Cedar Ridge women’s tennis seniors discuss Senior Night win over Orange

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior volleyball outside hitter Ella Wimsatt. Through the first nine matches of the season, Wimsatt leads Orange with 152 kills. That includes a career-high 24 kills in a win at Falls Lake. She also had 19 kills against Southwest Randolph on August 19 at East Chapel Hill High School.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior volleyball outside hitter Ella Wimsatt. Through the first nine matches of the season, Wimsatt leads Orange with 152 kills. That includes a career-high 24 kills in a win at Falls Lake. She also had 19 kills against Southwest Randolph on August 19 at East Chapel Hill High School. Wimsatt has been a member of the varsity for the past four years. Wimsatt has had double-digit kills in nine of Orange’s ten matches this year. She started the season with 12 kills in Orange’s 3-1 win over Jordan in Hillsborough on August 15, which is the only time this year that Orange has played at home. As a sophomore, she registered 104 kills. Since her sophomore year, Wimsatt has helped Orange reach the state playoffs and has won at least one match each time. As a sophomore, Wimsatt was also an integral part of the Orange women’s soccer team making its deepest run in the state playoffs in school history. Wimsatt scored six goals last season to help Orange make the state playoffs. In volleyball, Orange hasn’t won a conference championship in 17 years. Wimsatt is aiming to help the Lady Panthers end that drought. Orange is 7-3, 1-0 in the Central Carolina Conference with a showdown against Cedar Ridge set for Tuesday at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

Orange Panther of the Week: Ella Wimsatt

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior volleyball outside hitter Ella Wimsatt. Through the first nine matches of the season, Wimsatt leads Orange with 152 kills. That includes a career-high 24 kills in a win at Falls Lake. She also had 19 kills against Southwest Randolph on August 19 at East Chapel Hill High School.

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.

Men’s cross country: Orange 17, Cedar Ridge 44, Southern Alamance 55, Person 183: Orange senior Gabriel Schmid started his farewell tour at Orange with a first place finish at a meet in Roxboro.

Schmid, the 2022 3A State Champion in men’s cross country, keyed an Orange victory with a time of 18:39 at Rockets Stadium. Orange, the defending Central Carolina Conference champions, had the top four finishers: Alden Cathy, an All-Conference performer in lacrosse, finished second at 19:25, junior Peter Musser came in third (19:33) while sophomore Myles Jermyn finished fourth (19:36).

Cedar Ridge sophomore Henry Alexander, who finished third in a meet at Eno River Academy on August 23, was the highest placer for the Red Wolves. Alexander finished fifth at 20:27. The Red Wolves’ Ryan Matthews came in sixth at 20;34.

Orange also had the seventh place finisher in Nolan Hufner, a sophomore, at 21:07. Cedar Ridge’s Ender Buchanan came in 10th at 21:52. Red Wolves’ senior Grayson Weisenfeld (11th) and Michael O’Melia (12th) helped Cedar Ridge to a second place team finish. Orange’s Lucas Van Mater came in 13th, while Cedar Ridge’s Eli Auchter finished 15th.

Women’s cross country: Cedar Ridge 15, Person 82: The Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team had the top top five finishers to win its Central Carolina Conference opener at Person High. Naomi Dyreng, who won three regional championships in outdoor track & field last year, was the top finisher for the Red Wolves with a time of 22:35. Junior Abigail Klaitman finished second at 22:50.

On August 23, Klaitman finished first at a dual meet at Eno River Academy. Cedar Ridge’s Serena Summers finished third at 25:35. Kaitlyn Horn (27:02) and Cia Biddix (27:14) rounded out the top five.

Orange’s Kassi Scarantino was the highest-placing runner for the Panthers, finishing sixth at 27:31. Scarantino finished one second ahead of teammate Channing Mahaney.

Cedar Ridge’s Gracie Whitaker (8th) and Rebecca Fullwood (10th) had top-ten finishes for the Red Wolves. Orange’s Mia Blake came in 14th, while Cedar Ridge freshman Samantha Quade finished 15th.

Women’s Tennis: Williams 7, Orange 2: In a match that has huge implications for the Central Carolina Conference championship, the Bulldogs gained revenge against Orange from last year.

The Bulldogs swept all six singles matches to defeat Orange in Hillsborough on Thursday. In 2022, Orange defeated Williams to claim a share of the CCC title, the first tennis championship for the Panthers (men’s or women’s) in team history.

The most competitive match of the day was at #2 singles. Williams junior Jaden Wilson defeated Orange’s Shannon Sollars 6-2, 2-6, 10-5. Sophomore Abigail Brown, Freshman Lindsay Oler, Senior Gracie Hartle, junior Lauren Turner and senior Gracie Gabrielli all claimed singles wins for the Bulldogs.

Orange got their victories in doubles play. The team of Erin and Shannon Sollars won over Brown and Oler 8-5. The Sollars sisters are 5-0 this season. Makayla Davis and Molly Kruse defeated Hartle and Gabrielli 9-8, winning the tiebreaker 7-2.

Orange is 4-2, 1-1 in the CCC.

Cedar Ridge 8, Southern Alamance 1: The Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team won its conference opener in Graham on Thursday. The Red Wolves won all of the singles matches

Senior Cameron Mayhew won at #1 singles over Paicey Cameron 6-1, 6-1. Junior Ella Caltabiano rolled past Madalyn Corbett 6-1, 6-1. Caltabiano also won at #1 doubles, teaming with Catherine Ballenger to defeat Cameron and Corbett 8-1.

Ballenger won her singles match over Ava Lynch 6-0, 6-1. Cedar Ridge’s Raven Mowles-Airing defeated Morgan Edmunds 7-5, 6-4. Annabeth Lundberg won in straight sets over Cherish Ray 6-0, 6-0.

In doubles play, Cedar Ridge’s Madeline Galindo-Woodring and Terra Proctor defeated Lynch and Ray 8-4.

Cedar Ridge is 2-2, 1-0 in the CCC. They will host Orange on Tuesday at Red Wolves Tennis Courts, the first of three matches in three days. The Red Wolves will host Eno River Academy on Wednesday, then travel to Eastern Alamance on Thursday.

Mayhew, the younger sister of three-time CCC men’s player of the year Josh Mayhew, is 3-1 this year in singles play. Cameron Mayhew qualified for regionals in her freshman and juniors years with the Red Wolves.

Random thoughts regarding high school sports as we enter September.

–This Tuesday will mark the first big conference volleyball match of the season between Cedar Ridge and Orange inside Red Wolves Gymnasium. Watching 90,000 fans fill Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, NE on Wednesday night to see Nebraska face Omaha led to me quipping on Facebook “I hope no one yells when Omaha serves or else someone from J.H. Rose will complain.” It was a joke from last year when they was a controversy regarding fans yelling during serves during the 3A Eastern Regional Final match between Cedar Ridge and Rose. That post led to a lengthy thread where local referee Chris Andrews weighed in saying “It’s up to the opposing coach to come to the official to complain. The official can judge whether or not proceed and have the Game Day Admin handle the situation. But the official can’t tell the fans to be quiet.” This will most likely become an issue at various matches over the next two months, so please keep that in mind.

–There will be a larger column on this issue later, but the North Carolina High School Athletic Association will go to seven classifications in 2025. It’s been four months since athletic directors across the state voted to pass a measure to expand classifications, yet many questions remain unanswered by the NCHSAA. One of them is: will there be conferences? I’m waving the banner to keep conferences alive. Not every team is a state championship team, even with more of them being legislated. So there needs to be secondary levels of achievement. Otherwise, the regular season becomes too narrow. To use a pro wrestling term, you need some Interconential Champions and U.S. Heavyweight Champions because there can be only one Roman Reigns or Hulk Hogan. For instance, Orange volleyball hasn’t won a conference title in 18 years. If this current group can win the Central Carolina Conference title this year, it will mean a lot to them.

–There was quietly a landmark occasion on Friday night as the Person Rockets football team defeated Northern Durham. It was the final game between the two teams at Durham County Stadium. In the 1980 and 1990s, Durham County Stadium was the modern-day equivalent to Bryant-Denny Stadium for the Alabama Crimson Tide (The Knights will have an on-campus stadium when they open their new school this week). Northern was every bit the juggernaut back then that Georgia and Alabama are now. They won 17 consecutive PAC-6 Conference championships between 1984-2001 and didn’t lose to another team from Durham County from 1976-2000. Person won there in 1990, then went decades without a victory over the Knights, in Roxboro or Durham. While the modern Northern Knights are hardly similar to the powerhouse teams of the past, winning the final tilt in Durham County had to bring some satisfaction to those in Roxboro, who remain loyal to their high school teams in the stands and in the media. You would think that Northern Durham’s potential final game inside DCS would draw some media attention after they were the center of the high school football universe for decades, but alas, it went largely ignored. I guess Mack Brown losing 60 pounds was more important to the Herald-Sun.

Those are my thoughts. Now on to the Magnificent 7 for week 2 of the season, ranging from August 21-26. Seven great local performances in no particular order.

1. Ella Wimsatt, Orange, Sr. The Orange volleyball team hasn’t had a home game since their season-opener on August 15, but it hasn’t impacted them in the slightest. Against Seaforth on August 21, Wimatt had 18 kills and ten digs. Three days later, Wimsatt had a career-high 24 kills in a 3-1 win at Falls Lake in Creedmoor. Falls Lake entered the match #1 in the 1A East Region RPI rankings.
2. Naomi Dyreng, Cedar Ridge, Jr.: Dyreng finished tenth for the Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team in the Early Bird Challenge on August 19. She finished at 20:58.90. Last year, Dyreng was the top finisher among Hillsborough female runners in the 3A State Cross Country Championships in Kernersville. She also won three regional championships at the Mideast Track and Field Championships last May.
3. Dominic McNerney, Cedar Ridge, Jr.: The Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team is 4-0-1, it’s best start in at least 13 years. McNerney assisted on a goal in the Red Wolves 3-1 win over Vance County on August 21. Against Northwood, McNerney scored the Red Wolves’ only goal in a 1-1 tie in Pittsboro. McNerney is a co-Captain for a Cedar Ridge team aiming to make the state playoffs for the first time since 2016.
4. Ryker Stein, Orange, Sr. : With 54 seconds remaining against Carrboro on August 23, Stein scored the equalizing goal as Orange tied the Jaguars 1-1. For Stein, it was the fifth goal of his career. Last year, he scored three for a Panther team that reached the state playoffs for the first time in five years.
5. Mason Cates, Cedar Ridge, Sr.: Had eight tackles for the Cedar Ridge football team in its loss to Granville Central on August 18. Cates also had 40 yards rushing. A two-sport athlete, Cates also was an All-Conference pitcher for the Cedar Ridge baseball team last spring on a Red Wolves team that made the state playoffs.
6. Makayla Davis, Orange, Sr.: Won both of her matches for the Orange women’s tennis team in a 5-4 loss to the Durham School of the Arts on August 22. Davis teamed with Molly Kruse to defeat Yunah Park and Nina Goffney 6-4. In her singles match, Davis defeated Sadie Miller 6-4, 6-4. This season, Davis has a 9-1 record in singles and doubles matches.
7. Addie Reid, Cedar Ridge, Sr: Reid had nine kills in Cedar Ridge’s 3-1 win over East Chapel Hill on August 21. She also had two blocks and two digs. Reid also had eight kills in a 3-1 loss to Carrboro where the Jaguars won two sets by a score of 25-23. Reid, a member of Cedar Ridge’s 2021 3A State Championship team, also had a block.

Payton Wilson: N.C. State started its season with a 24-14 win over Connecticut at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, CT on Thursday night. Wilson, a redshirt senior linebacker for the Wolfpack, clinched the game with an interception on the Wolfpack’s final defensive play of the night. Wilson led N.C. State with ten tackles. He also had a pass breakup and a tackle for loss. The Wolfpack will host Notre Dame in its home opener at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh next Saturday.

Darius Satterfield: Catawba defeated Division II Elizabeth City State 31-23 at Roebuck Stadium in Elizabeth City on Saturday. Satterfield averaged 32.4 yards on five punts. His longest was 56 yards and one was downed inside the 20-yard line.

Trenton Gill: In what was a mere formality, Gill made the final roster of the Chicago Bears after cutdown day across the NFL on Tuesday. Gill’s season will start agains the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field on September 10.

Braxton Mergenthal: The Division III Hampton-Sydney football team started its season with a 29-28 loss to Wabash (Indiana) in the Gentleman’s Classic at Everett Stadium in Hampden Sydney, VA on Saturday. Mergenthal, a former Cedar Ridge interior lineman, started his senior season with one tackle.

Mia Davidson-Smith: Davidson was announced as a member of Team USA Softball that will play in the Pan American Games this fall. Davidson was one of 16 players who will play in Santiago, Chile on October 29-November 4. This will be the second time this year that Davidson has played in an international competition for Team USA. In June, she played during the WBSC World Cup Group A event in Dublin, Ireland, where the Americans went undefeated to qualify for the World Cup Finals next year.

Cameron Lloyd: The Bucknell volleyball team hosted the Bucknell Invitational at Davis Gym in Lewisburg, PA. The Bison went 1-2 in the two-day event. William & Mary defeated the Bison 3-1 on scores of 25-22, 19-25, 25-23 and 25-19. Lloyd played all four sets and had two aces with eight digs. Bucknell defeated Cornell 3-0 on scores of 25-22, 25-22 and 26-24. Lloyd had her biggest college game thus far with six kills, 13 digs and one ace. On Saturday, Princeton swept Bucknell 3-0 on scores of 25-18, 25-20 and 25-11. Lloyd had six kids, a block and six digs. Bucknell is 2-4 and will face Akron in the Cleveland State Tournament on Friday.

Cameron Lanier: This weekend, the Elon volleyball team went 1-2 in the Wofford Invitational in Spartanburg, S.C. Georgia State defeated Elon 3-0 (25-17, 25-22 and 26-24). Lanier led the team with 14 kills on a whopping 37 attempts. She also finished with eight digs and one block. The Phoenix swept South Carolina State (25-12, 25-15 and 25-16). Once again, Lanier led the team with nine kills. She also had two digs. On Saturday, Wofford swept Elon (25-20, 25-20 and 25-17). Lanier finished with five kills, one ace and one dig. Elon is 1-5.

Grace Young: The UNC Asheville volleyball team lost two matches to Furman last week. On Wednesday, the Paladins defeated the Bulldogs 3-0 (25-17, 25-15 & 25-23) at Alley Gym in Greenville, SC. Young played in two of the sets and had two aces and two digs. In a rematch on Friday, the Paladins once again gained a sweep inside of the Justice Center in Asheville (25-17, 25-20 and 25-19). Young played in two sets and had five digs. The Bulldogs are 3-3 and will travel to Western Carolina on Tuesday.

Anaya Carter: The Division II UNC Pembroke volleyball team started its season by going 3-1 during the Cedarville Invitational in Cedarville, Ohio. On Saturday, Palm Beach Atlantic defeated the Braves 3-0. (25-17, 25-21, and 25-10). Carter played one set.

Julie Altieri: Altieri, the all-time assist leader in Cedar Ridge history, started her college career on Friday with the Division III Salisbury Seagulls with three wins. The Seagulls defeated William Peace University 3-1 in the first match of the Margie Knight Classic at the Maggs Physical Activities Center in Salisbury, MD (25-7, 25-23, 22-25 and 25-22) on Friday. In her first college game, Altieri had ten assists, five digs and one ace in three sets. On Saturday, Salisbury swept Drew (25-15, 25-22 and 25-14). Altieri played all three sets and finished with one kill, 12 assists, two aces and five digs. Salisbury completed the weekend with a 3-2 win over Stevenson (25-23, 16-25, 25-27, 27-25 and 15-11). Altieri registered 23 assists, one ace, and ten digs. The Seagulls will compete in the Garnet Invitational starting on Friday.

Melissa Benkowitz: Another former Cedar Ridge Red Wolf made her college debut this weekend. Benkowitz suited up for Division III Franklin & Marshall College at the Mayser Center in Lancaster, PA. Carnegie Mellon defeated the Diplomats 3-1 in the opening match (25-17, 25-18, 20-25, 25-17). Benkowitz played all four sets and finished with ten kills, seven digs and one ace. On Saturday, Franklin and Marshall defeated SUNY Geneso 3-0 (25-14, 25-17 and 25-21). Benkowitz tallied seven kills, eleven digs and one ace. Also on Saturday, the Diplomats swept Elizabethtown (25-17, 25-23 and 25-19). Benkowitz had two kills, two aces and seven digs.

Emerson Talley: The Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team opened its season with a 1-1 draw with Lee University at Moretz Sports-Athletic Complex in Hickory. Talley, the all-time goals scorer in Cedar Ridge history, started her first game and played all 90 minutes. On Saturday, the Bears played to a scoreless tie with Mount Olive. Talley started and played 73 minutes.