Jeff Hamlin

On this edition of Prep Sports Tonight, we talk with five seniors from the Orange Volleyball team: Jordan Lloyd, Mileah Shriner, Macy Hughes, Julia Lovingood and Eva Porter. The Panthers clinched the 2nd spot in the Big 8 conference after a win on senior night against Webb on Tuesday. Also joining us is Ian Elliott, who clinched his 2nd straight Big 8 Conference Cross Country individual championship on Wednesday at Chapel Hill High.

It was a senior night to remember at Jim King Gymnasium.

Jordan Lloyd, Macy Hughes, Mileah Shriner, Eva Porter and Julia Lovingood played their final matches at home, which is noteworthy in itself. Porter and Lloyd have played together since 5th grade inside diminutive White Cross gym, where Lloyd’s father Joel coached the team.

Then there was the opponent, the race for playoff positioning and finishing the regular season strong. Orange faced Webb, who was a game ahead of OHS for 2nd place. However, the Panthers defeated the Warriors 3-1 in Oxford on September 22nd. A win for Orange would clinch 2nd place in the league.

And the Panthers got it, though they sure may everyone one of the parents sweat it out until the very end.

After roaring out to a 2-0 lead, the Panthers dropped the following two sets 25-15 and 25-16. In the 5th, Bailey Lucas had two aces as Orange bolted out to a 12-6 lead and held on to win 15-11.

With the win, the Panthers clinch 2nd place in the Big 8, finishing the regular season 11-9, 8-4 in the Big 8. Chapel Hill captured the conference championship with an 11-1 mark, losing only to Cedar Ridge two weeks ago.

In her final match in Hillsborough, Lloyd finished with two aces, 13 kills, 32 digs and an ace. Hughes had two aces, ten kills, one block and four digs. Porter had nine kills and twelve digs. Lovingood registered six kills and two digs. Shriner, with her father Bobby and brother Nicholas in the crowd, had an ace, seven kills, three blocks and four digs.

Like many other fall sports, Orange will now sit and wait for the playoff field, which was thrown into disarray after the North Carolina High School Athletic Association delayed each fall sport by one week due to heavy flooding in eastern North Carolina because of Hurricane Matthew. The playoff brackets won’t be announced until next Tuesday.

Our Orange Panthers of the Week this week are Ashley Tilley and Natalie Darveaux. Last week during the Big 8 Tennis Tournament at Orange High Tennis Courts, Tilley and Darveaux finished 4th in the Big 8 Doubles Tournament, qualifying for the 3A Mideast Regionals this Friday at Burlington Tennis Stadium.

Orange Panthers of the Week: Ashley Tilley and Natalie Darveaux

Tilley and Darveaux qualified for the 3A Regional doubles tournament this weekend in Burlington after finishing 4th in the Big 8 Tournament last week.

Rodriguez scored two goals while Davis added to his team lead with another goal, but Orange lost to Southern Durham 5-4 on Wednesday night at Panthers Soccer Park.

Jamar Davis and Alfredo Rodriguez discuss the loss to Southern Durham in home finale

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A regular season that started with promise for the Orange boys soccer team will end with the Panthers missing the state playoffs.

On Monday night, the Panthers postseason fate was sealed after a 4-1 loss to Chapel Hill. In the process, the Tigers clinched the Big 8 Conference championship for the fourth consecutive season.

The loss that wounded the Panthers’ chances came the previous Wednesday, when Southern Durham rallied from a 3-2 halftime deficit to defeat Orange 5-4. The Spartans’s Luis Vidal scored off a corner kick with 9:43 remaining moments after Orange’s Alfredo Rodriguez tied the game. Vidal, a punter for Southern’s football team, finished with four goals. Rodriguez notched two goals for Orange, while Jamar Davis and Malcolm Phillips also scored.

Orange roared out of August 4-1 after beating Graham, Northern Durham, Bartlett Yancey and Wake Forest by a combined score of 25-5. Aside from a forfeit victory over Northern Vance, the Panthers have lost seven straight, three by one goal.

The Panthers are now 6-9-1 this season, 2-6-1 in the Big 8. They travel to Northwood tonight.

With Chapel Hill having clinched the Big 8 Boys Soccer Championship, the race is on for the 2nd place, which is more alluring that it sounds.

A potential first-round state playoff home match could be laying in wait for the squad that finishes behind CHHS, and now it’s a three horse race on the final week of the regular season between Cedar Ridge, Southern Durham and Northwood.

After playing to a 1-1 tie against J.F. Webb last week, Cedar Ridge fell to Northwood 5-3 in Hillsborough on Monday night. Tatha Hso scored a hat trick for the Red Wolves, pushing his total to twelve goals on the season. Hso has 27 points, 2nd only to Trent Gill’s 36, who had two assists on Monday. Seth Maile also had an assist for CRHS.

Tied at the half 2-2, the Chargers scored three times in the final 40 minutes. J.R. Godwin notched his own hat trick for Northwood, while Thomas Russell scored two goals.

On Wednesday night, Cedar Ridge ends the regular season with a home match against Webb with plenty on the line. Currently, Southern Durham is in 2nd place in the Big 8 at 6-3-1. They travel to Chapel Hill next week and host Orange. The Red Wolves are 6-3-2. Northwood is 5-3-2 with a home match against Orange on Wednesday and another home game against Northern Vance next week.

The Red Wolves could finish as high as 2nd in a best case scenario. In a worst case, they’ll miss the playoffs.

Gear up for tonight’s Orange-Cedar Ridge football game with the latest edition of Prep Sports Tonight, presented by Occoneechee Golf Course. This week, we’re joined by Orange defensive lineman Stone Edwards and running back Marvante Beasley. Plus, Cedar Ridge running backs Shemar Miles and London Saunders. Also, an update on the Big 8 Girls Tennis championships, which we held on Wednesday at Orange High. Congratulations to Big 8 singles champion Faith Peoples of Northwood High School and the doubles champions Seenera Sauers and Kate Milner.

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It was an unlikely gift that Orange volleyball received last week. A stunning upset by crosstown rival Cedar Ridge over Chapel Hill gave the Panthers a chance to tie for the Big 8 Conference Championship if Orange could pull off a victory of its own at CHHS.

It wasn’t to be.

The Tigers defeated the Panthers 3-0 on Tuesday night on scores of 25-18, 25-17 and 25-11. With the win, Chapel Hill wins the Big 8 Championship. Bailey Lucas had five kills, eleven assists and five digs for the Panthers. Emma Clements had eight digs, five kills and an ace. Senior Macy Hughes also finished with five kills.

Orange is now 10-8, 7-3 in the Big 8. They are assured a spot in the 3A state playoffs and are tied with J.F. Webb for 2nd place in the conference.

Chapel Hill received 14 kills from Kaya Merkler. Kyra Crider finished with ten aces. Senior Shea Golden ended up with 13 digs and seven kills. Katie Huge had 25 assists.

The Tigers also swept Orange in Hillsborough on September 15th. Under first-year head coach Lee Fields, the Tigers are now 17-4.

Orange travels to Northwood on Thursday. They host Webb for senior night next Tuesday.