There were two streaks that ended for Orange volleyball against Southern Alamance on Thursday night.
Their 29-set winning streak against Central Carolina Conference opponents was snapped by the Patriots. Southern, with strong attacks from Rylee Humble , Roslyn Taylor and Autumn James, were able to battle Orange and pulled out a 26-24 win in the third.
The bigger story was Orange’s 18-year wait to win a conference championship in volleyball is over. The Lady Panthers defeated Southern Alamance 3-1 on scores of 25-16, 25-22, 24-26, 25-16 to improve its league record to 10-0.
The Lady Panthers have won a school-record 16 consecutive matches. They’re now 18-3 and will receive a bye into the semifinals of the Central Carolina Conference tournament, which starts October 16. Orange will host a semifinal game and, if they’re victorious, the title contest.
While a conference championship isn’t the only goal for Orange this season, it is a significant box they’ve checked off their to-do list. During its stint as a 2A team in the mid-2000s, Orange had teams strong enough to win a conference title, but finished runner-up four consecutive years behind Cardinal Gibbons. The past three years, Cedar Ridge, Orange’s crosstown rival, rode atop the Big 8 and CCC with few serious challenges during a 42-match conference winning streak.
This year, Orange removed all barriers to its path to a championship. The power of outside hitters Ella Wimsatt and Aubrey Jordan, the imposing presence of 6-3 sophomore Ava Wilkerson, consistent and pinpoint lobs provided by setter Katie Silcott and the defense of Sadye Porter and Abby Silinksi, among others, have led to its most successful season as a 3A team.
Wimsatt, who leads the team with 304 kills, says it’s merely their first goal.
“It means a lot,” Wimsatt said. “Especially since the last time was 18 years ago. It’s crazy that it’s the time that I’m here and I’m a senior. As a team, we worked really hard for this goal. I hope it will lead to us going really far in the state playoffs.”
Orange coach Hope Heverly, in her first year, was in high school the last time Orange won a conference title.
“That makes it a little bittersweet for me,” Heverly said. “I think everything is a learning experience. We’re ending the conference season and going into the postseason. Losing a set wasn’t bad tonight. I think it’s good for the girls to see the adversity. They came out on fire in set four. I think this was a great learning experience for the girls as we continue this season.”
Orange, playing in pink jerseys during breast cancer awareness night at Panther Gymnasium, charged out to a 10-4 lead in the opening set with a kill by Wimsatt forcing a Southern Alamance time out. Wilkerson had consecutive blocks to increase the lead to 15-9, followed by a kill from Jordan. Senior Josie Crawford nailed down the set with an ace.
The Patriots led for much of the second set with strong play from Autumn James and Laci Gregory. A kill by Poppie Shanklin vaulted Southern ahead 15-13. They didn’t trail in the frame until Jordan had three consecutive kills, and another by sophomore Mariah Poole. Nonetheless, the Patriots fought back to even the set at 18-18 follow a spike by Rylee Humble. Orange reeled off three straight points to go ahead 21-18 and claimed set point when an attack by the Patriots went wide.
For just the second time this conference season, Orange was extended to overtime in the third set. The Patriots got four kills from Humble and three from senior Lacy Gregory to take a 19-15 lead. Jordan had back-to-back kills to even the set 19-19, but the Patriots fought back to force two set points. Orange staved off the first one off an attack from Wilkerson, but kills by Taylor and James gave the Patriots a 26-24 victory.
The fourth set was tied 6-6 before Orange went on a 7-1 run to take control, including a block and a kill by Jordan. Kills by Wilkerson and Jordan pushed the Orange lead to 17-8. On match point, a return by Southern went over the sideline, clinching an elusive conference crown for Orange.