Since 2019, Hillsborough has been Volleyball Town in central North Carolina.
Cedar Ridge added to its claim by claiming a share of its fourth Central Conference regular season crown in five years last week. Playing three matches over a span of three days to culminate the regular season, the Red Wolves easily disposed of Walter Williams 3-0 in Burlington to finish with a conference record of 10-2. Junior Claire Hargett finished with her first triple-double of her career, registering 15 kills, 10 aces and 16 digs.
Cedar Ridge will be the #1 seed in this week’s Central Conference Volleyball Tournament and receive a bye to the semifinal round. On Wednesday night, the Red Wolves will face Person. If Cedar Ridge wins, they will host the championship match on Thursday.
Cedar Ridge, which enters the tournament 15-5 overall, started its preparation for the conference tournament a week early. They opened last week with a sweep of Granville Central on Monday. Following the sweep of Williams, the Red Wolves went to Person County and swept Roxboro Community School on scores of 25-17, 25-10 and 25-20.
“I think all games are planned strategically,” said Cedar Ridge head coach Latasha De Oliveira. “It was good for us to have some good touches and have these games ready to go for next week.”
In the regular season finale against Roxboro Community, Hargett finished with 17 kills to finish the season with a team-high 303. She also added 14 digs, finishing second on the team with 299. Only Sydnee Tapper, with 389, had more.
Hargett had double-doubles in 14 matches this year.
“Right now, we’re focused on playing our side of the net no matter who we face,” De Oliveira said. “I want to make sure we’re executing with the ball. I think we’ve been up-and-down with that a little bit. I want to focus on playing our game.”
Against the Bulldogs, Cedar Ridge only trailed once over three sets. They opened with a 6-2 run, triggered by an unassisted kill from Kayla Stoll. Mia Marty, who finished with 33 assists, eight digs and one kill, set up Hargett with two kills in the opening run. Cedar Ridge would stretch its lead to 22-14 following an ace from Tapper, who registered a team-high 19 digs. Junior Emory Williams closed out the set with an ace.
Cedar Ridge pulled out ahead in the second set with four straight points, starting with a kill from senior Charlotte Lowry. Hargett followed with consecutive kills to put the Red Wolves ahead 8-4. Cedar Ridge increased its lead to 13-5 thanks to consecutive aces from Hargett and a kill by Ellamarie Perel. Lowry and Stoll registered blocks in the second set. Cedar Ridge pushed its lead to 23-8 following a kill by Hargett. A kill by Stoll assisted from Marty put the Red Wolves ahead by two sets.
Hargett had six kills in the third set, which was the tightest of the match. Roxboro Community took its only lead of the match by scoring the opening point, which Cedar Ridge erased quickly enough with four consecutive points, including a block from Stoll. A kill from Lowry increased the Red Wolf lead to 14-9. The Bulldogs reduced its deficit to 17-15 before senior Alleah Fredrick scored on a spike assisted by Marty. Cedar Ridge ended the match by scoring the final three points, two of which came from Stoll. Hargett spiked down match point.
Cedar Ridge will look to win its fourth consecutive Central Conference Tournament this week. Last year, the Red Wolves actually entered the postseason as a dark horse after Orange swept the regular season championship. But Cedar Ridge upset the Panthers in four sets in Hillsborough in the tournament championship match.
Cedar Ridge won the 2021 and 2022 Central Conference Tournaments behind Cameron Lloyd, Cameron Lanioer, Julie Aliteri, Grace Young, Melissa Benkowitz and Anaya Carter, all of whom are now playing in college.