The emotion of the moment sank in quickly for Katie Silcott.
The tears of joy wouldn’t stop flowing as the celebration continued around her. After she won the match of her young life inside Orange Gymnasium, there was one fact that remained stuck in her head.
“I’m going to play inside Reynolds Coliseum!” Silcott said to several onlookers.
For Orange’s seniors, there was something else just as gratifying. For the past decade, Orange had been the overlooked team across all of Orange County. In the 2000s, East Chapel Hill won four straight regional championships. Over the past decade, Cedar Ridge, Chapel Hill and Carrboro have all captured state championships.
For seniors Ella Wimsatt, Sadye Porter, Josie Crawford and Blessiny Deronette, it was finally their time.
In possibly the greatest volleyball game ever played inside Orange Gymnasium, Orange defeated Carrboro 3-2 to win the 3A Eastern Regional Championship in front of a packed house on Halloween night. The Lady Panthers will face Kings Mountain on Saturday at noon inside Reynolds Coliseum for the State Championship.
It’s the first time that Orange has played for a state championship in volleyball since 2004. It will mark Orange’s first state championship appearance in any dual-team sport since the wrestling team lost to Piedmont in the 3A State Championship in 2018.
Wimsatt finished with 19 kills and 29 digs, while sophomore Aubrey Jordan had 15 kills. Middle blocker Ava Wilkerson came away with 13 kills and three blocks in a match that was won at the net.
Orange coach Hope Heverly, who played on Orange’s 2004 Eastern Regional championship team, will return to Raleigh as a first-year head coach on Saturday. Heverly replaced Kelly Young, who was in attendance on Tuesday night, in April.
“I knew that these girls had the potential,” Heverly said. “I could see from the start that they had the talent and potential. They just needed a little push and drive. They have really been working hard all season to make this possible.”
It was the third straight five-set battle for Carrboro (29-2), who won at West Carteret and at Cape Fear leading into Tuesday’s classic in Hillsborough.
The Jaguars defeated Orange 3-1 on August 16 at Jaguars Gymnasium.
On Halloween night, Orange had moments where the end of its season appeared near, only to suddenly resurrect itself like Michael Myers in one of the numerous Halloween sequels. Carrboro’s Catherine Rucker, in her final match, finished with 20 kills and two blocks. Setter Rudy Van Gelder had 49 assists.
It was Orange’s depth that ultimately put them in Raleigh. In a match that spanned over two hours, Orange freshman Sawyer White, who was inserted into the starting lineup permanently starting with the Cedar Ridge match on October 18, had a season-best six blocks. Eight Lady Panthers scored points in the fourth set, while Rucker didn’t have another kill after Carrboro’s 12th point in the fourth set.
The irony is Orange lost the Cedar Ridge match where White took on a bigger role, but Heverly made the move to adjust Silcott to provide an additional attacker, while continuing as a setter. It paid dividends on Tuesday night. Silcott registered 26 assists, 20 digs and eight kills. While finished with 25 assists, 30 digs, five kills and seven blocks.
On a night full of turning points, naturally Wimsatt provided the final one. After Rucker knocked down a Wilkerson attack to tie the fourth set at 18-18, Wimsatt scored from the near pole off an assist from White, the first of seven straight Orange points that carried the match into a fifth set. Wimsatt continued the run with an ace to give Orange a 19-18 lead. Jordan had her best run of the night, scoring on a block, then another kill. Leading 22-18, Wimsatt dove headlong on an attack by Carrboro’s Carson McGuire, which led to a spike by Mariah Poole that sent the Orange student section into a complete frenzy. Jordan finished the set with consecutive kills as Orange broached into a fifth set for the first time in any of its 31 matches.
“I knew we would be able to take that energy and help us with the fifth set,” Heverly said. “I also know that Carrboro is a really strong team. They had come back from losing before so I knew that it wasn’t safe. But once Sawyer put up some solid blocks for us to start the fifth, I could quickly see that we had the energy.”
For the only time in the match, Orange won the opening point in the fifth set when Jordan scored off a crosscourt kill that stayed inside the left sideline, then added another. Carrboro tied it up at 3-3 after a block by Caroline Jones, then took its only lead of the frame after an ace from Max Jordy. White quickly tied things with a block, which triggered a decisive 6-0 run that came with senior Josie Crawford serving. Crawford would deliver an ace that landed in front of Jaguars libero Sophia Datto, while White and Poole had consecutive blocks. Another Kill from Wimsatt made it 10-5. Silcott set up the first match point with a light poke that bounced on the white line barely five feet from the net. Jordan ended the night with a spike off a feed from White.
In addition to winning a regional championship, Orange showed its mental toughness after dropping a classic third set, which had eight lead changes and 18 ties. Carrboro had five set points, starting when they were ahead 24-22. White scored on a block for Orange, and a return by Rucker that went long evened it up at 24-24. Orange fought off another set point when McGuire sent a serve into the net. Rucker scored off a kill to make it 26-25, but Wimsatt extended the set. Carrboro ended the struggle when McGuire scored off a block to put Carrboro ahead 28-26.
It was the first time all year that Orange won a match where they trailed by one set.
Orange captured the opening frame 25-20. In another example of Orange’s depth, five different Orange players had kills in its opening seven points. Jordan scored set point off an assist from White.
In the second set, Orange led 12-8 after a kill by Wilkerson. Jordy triggered five straight points to put Carrboro ahead 13-12. Jordy had an ace and a kill in that run. She evened the match with an ace to give the Jaguars the second set 25-21.
Orange principal Jason Jordan and several security guards kept the massive amount of Orange students from rushing the floor. After Athletic Director Jason Knapp presented the regional championship trophy to the Lady Panthers, the students and players joined as one in a joyous celebration that was a long time coming.
Awesome accomplishment Lady Panthers!!! Thanks, Jeff, for a fabulous call….we felt as if we were in the gym watching!