Orange 3, Western Alamance 0: Two weeks into the season, the Orange volleyball team has had one demanding test after another.
There have been two matches with D.H. Conley and another against Falls Lake, the defending 1A Eastern Regional champion. It left the Lady Panthers with a 2-3 record, but Orange found its dominant form in its Central Conference opener on Tuesday night in Hillsborough.
Junior Ava Wilkerson finished with 16 kills while Kaine Silcott registered six kills, 18 digs and 26 assists as the Lady Panthers swept Western Alamance on scores of 25-19, 25-20 and 25-21. Orange (3-3, 1-0 in the Central Conference) claimed its eleventh straight win over the Warriors since the two teams became conference rivals in 2021.
The Warriors, who came into the match with a 5-0 record, put the pressure on Orange early after junior Taliah Walker got back-to-back blocks in the first set that triggered a 7-1 Western Alamance run. A kill by sophomore Reese Walker put the Warriors ahead 14-11 and forced an Orange timeout. The Panthers reeled off eight straight points off the serve of senior Abby Silinski, who had consecutive aces. A kill by Mariah Poole assisted by Silinski put Orange ahead 19-14. Wilkerson had an ace on set point.
Orange had five aces in the second set, where they jumped out to an 9-3 lead. The Warriors closed its deficit to 11-10 after a kill by Haley Clayton, but Aubrey Jordan scored two straight kills, followed by another from freshman Aubrey Hodges to build Orange’s lead to 17-13. Hodges stuffed down a lobbed return to close out the second set.
Western Alamance led the third set 12-8, but Orange peeled off eleven straight points. Silcott had four aces in the run which vaulted the Panthers ahead 19-12. Jordan scored on a kill to put Orange ahead 24-18. Western Alamance scored four straight points before Silcott slammed down match point off a feed from White.
Orange will continue a challenging nonconference slate with a trip to Raleigh tonight (Wednesday) to face Millbrook.
Cedar Ridge 3, Person 0: Junior Kayla Stoll had a career-high 13 kills as Cedar Ridge won its Central Conference opener in Roxboro over the Rockets on Tuesday night. Sophomore Claire Hargett, who leads the team in kills, spent much of the night on the backline and had a team-high 23 digs. She also had 12 kills. Mia Marty, a setter, had 23 assists and 12 digs.
Cedar Ridge improved to 3-1, 1-0 in the Central Conference. Person falls to 2-3, 0-1 in the Centra.
Person scored the first three points of the opening set, which was also its largest lead of the night. Stoll had seven kills in the first game as the Red Wolves built a 17-10 lead following an ace from Marty. A finish by Hargett, assisted by Marty, put Cedar Ridge ahead 21-12. A return by Person went wide on set point.
Cedar Ridge had six aces in the second set, where Person had a 2-1 advantage. Stoll had an unassisted kill on a dunk at the middle of the floor to put the Red Wolves ahead. Cedar Ridge scored ten straight points to take control of the set, which included another ace from Marty and consecutive kills from Stoll. On set point, Stoll had an ace as Cedar Ridge won 25-12.
Cedar Ridge took a 5-2 lead to start the third set. Person fought back with five consecutive points, its longest run of the match, to briefly hold the lead at 7-6. Cedar Ridge responded with four in a row off kills from Marty, Hargett and a block from Charlotte Lowry to take a 10-7 lead. Hargett slammed down an attack from eleven feet away to give Cedar Ridge an 19-14 lead. Cedar Ridge scored the final three points of the match with Marty scoring match point off an assist from senior Ellie Miller.
Cedar Ridge will host Southern Alamance on Thursday night in Hillsborough.