MEBANE–The public address announcer inside Tal Jobe Gymnasium ripped off Michael Buffer and bellowed “Let’s get ready to rumble” to conclude pregame festivities for Orange vs. Eastern Alamance volleyball on Tuesday night.
Orange did most of the rumbling.
The Lady Panthers concluded the first half of its Central Conference schedule with a 3-0 sweep of the Eagles on scores of 25-11, 25-6 and 25-15. It was Orange’s (7-6, 5-1 in the Central Conference) sixth sweep of the year.
Junior Ava Wilkerson finished with 15 kills while outside hitter Aubrey Jordan came away with seven kills. Setter Katie Silcott finished with 27 assists, eleven digs and four kills.
Playing with blowing fans on both ends of the court, Orange didn’t leave any room for suspense early on. The roared out to a 6-1 lead after an ace from sophomore Addison Guentensberger and a kill from Milleka Purcell, who earned her first varsity start. After the Eagles got to within 7-5, Orange took control with an 8-1 run that started when Wilkerson slammed down a spike onto the light brown hardwood off an assist from Silcott. Mariah Poole delivered consecutive aces to put Orange ahead 15-6. Wilkerson had an unassisted kill on set point.
Wilkerson had eight kills in the second set, which started with Orange leading 13-2. It wouldn’t get any closer as Poole delivered two more aces. The Lady Panthers scored the final four points with Wilkerson scoring consecutive kills to close out the set.
Eastern Alamance’s Kayden Manning gave the Eagles its first lead of the night when she scored a block on the opening point of the third set. Orange would easily overcome that with a 7-1 run, which included an ace from Abby Silinski and a kill from Sawyer White. Orange led 16-13 before they closed out the match with nine consecutive points. Guentensberger served Orange out and White had back-to-back kills leading up to match point.
Orange will travel to Western Alamance for a crucial Central Conference match on Thursday night.
Cedar Ridge 3, Roxboro Community School 0: Cedar Ridge honored seniors Charlotte Lowry, Ellie Miller, Alleah Fredrick and Leah Pritchard before sweeping Roxboro Community School on Monday night. The Red Wolves won on scores of 25-19, 25-18 and 25-13 to improve to 9-3 overall.
Junior Ellamarie Perel finished with nine kills, while outside hitter Claire Hargett had eight kills and five digs. Setter Mia Marty finished with eleven digs, 18 assists and four aces.
With Hargett serving, Cedar Ridge scored eleven consecutive points in the opening set to take an 11-1 lead. Hargett had four aces in that run, while Perel had two kills assisted by Marty. Roxboro’s Delayna Welch had consecutive aces during a 5-0 Bulldog run, but Cedar Ridge reeled off seven straight points behind an ace from Miller and a block from Kayla Stoll. Cedar Ridge built its lead up to 23-14 and withstood a late charge by RCS, who got three aces from Welch. Perel scored set point off a feed from Marty.
Hargett had six kills in the second set, where the Red Wolves jumped out to a 5-2 lead. The Bulldogs came back to even the frame at 11-11 after two aces from Cecelia Fitzgerald. Marty delivered consecutive aces to start a 7-1 Red Wolf splurge. Hargett and Fredrick had kills to push the Red Wolves lead to 18-14. Marty scored back-to-back points, including an ace to make it 24-18. An attack by the Bulldogs went wide on set point.
The two teams split the opening ten points in the third set before Cedar Ridge went on a 6-0 run. Hargett scored a block, followed by consecutive aces by Miller that made it 11-5. Pritchard closed out the match with two aces.
Midway through the Central Conference slate, the Red Wolves are in first place at 6-0. They will host Person on Thursday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium.