It’s no longer news when the Orange volleyball team sweeps an opponent.
It’s become the norm.
Something that hasn’t been routine for Orange volleyball is winning championships, but a long drought could end tonight against Southern Alamance.
On Tuesday night, the Lady Panthers completed its ninth sweep of a conference opponent in nine league matches by beating Person in Roxboro on scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-19. It was the Lady Panthers 16th consecutive win, which is a school record.
Orange (18-3, overall, 9-0 in the Central Carolina Conference) clinched at least a tie for the CCC title. They can win it outright with a win over Southern Alamance tonight (Thursday) inside Panther Gymnasium. Game time between the Lady Panthers and the Patriots will be at approximately 6:30 following the junior varsity contest.
The victory guaranteed Orange will be the top seed from the CCC for the 3A State Playoffs. If the season ended now, Orange would be the #1 overall seed in the east region.
Sophomore Ava Wilkerson finished with 18 kills against the Rockets, a season-high. Senior Ella Wimsatt had a double-double with 17 kills and 26 digs. Another sophomore, Aubrey Jordan, finished with 13 kills and five digs as the Lady Panthers defeated Person for the fourth straight time.
Person (8-8, 5-4) remains in third place in the CCC.
The opening set had nine ties and three lead changes. Wilkerson broke open a nip-and-tuck first frame with three consecutive kills to put Orange ahead 16-12. Sophomore Katie Silcott, who finished with 41 assists, set up Wilkerson on all of her attacks.
Person fought back with a 5-1 run to even the set at 18-18 after a spike by Kaylie Parker, who finished with a team-leading five kills. Orange took the lead for good after a Person serve went into the nylon, followed by a finish from Jordan. The Lady Panthers ended the set with five of the last six points, including two kills by Jordan.
Orange built a 6-2 lead to open the second set following finishes by Wimsatt and Wilkerson. A kill by Wilkerson widened the Lady Panthers lead to 18-14. Orange had three straight points off attacks by Wimsatt and Jordan that led to set point. A return by Person that went wide was enough for Orange to take a two-set lead.
Wilkerson had eight kills in the third set while Wimsatt added seven kills and eight digs. Junior Abby Silinski had seven of her 15 digs in the final frame.
Orange charged out to an 12-3 lead to open the third. Wilkerson had back-to-back kills with Silinski added an ace. A kill by Wimsatt put Orange ahead 16-8, leading to a Person timeout. Wimsatt got a kill on match point off an assist from Silcott.
It was a solid night all the way around for Orange. In Greenville, D.H. Conley defeated J.H. Rose to complete a season sweep. The loss knocked Rose out of the #1 spot in the 3A East RPI rankings–and moved the Lady Panthers into the top spot.