Cedar Ridge Football

The Magnificent 7: Fall back and spring up

The fall sports season will officially end in Hillsborough on Saturday—unless Orange football can make the state playoffs.

The possibility of that appears remote, at best, as of Wednesday night. Orange’s current MaxPreps ranking is #69. Assuming that Orange beats Chapel Hill on Friday night, three of Orange’s five wins will have come against teams ranked in the bottom ten of 3A football, according to MaxPreps.

The Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team narrowly missed the state playoffs. The field of 64 was announced on Monday morning. Cedar Ridge was on the bubble, but missed out after losing to Southern Durham in the season finale.

Cedar Ridge ended the season 7-12-1, 5-9 in the Big 8 Conference.

The Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team has a good showing in the 3A Mideast Regionals at Northwood High School in Pittsboro. While Cedar Ridge didn’t qualify for the state championships as a team, like last year, there are several individual Red Wolves who will participate in the states on Saturday at Ivey Redmon Park in Kernersville.

Here is this week’s Magnificent 7, which will be the next-to-last edition for the fall sports season. We’ll begin focusing on winter sports next week.

Anne Morrell: Finished 12th at the 3A Mideast Regional Cross Country Championships at Northwood High. Morrell, a junior, qualified for the state championships for the third year in a row with a time of 20:16.4.

Zoe Wade: Finished 24th at the Mideast Regional Championships. Crossed the finish line at 21:05.84. Wade also qualified for the 3A State Championships. A sophomore, Wade will have participated in the state championships each of her first two years at Cedar Ridge.

Desi Raspberry: Cedar Ridge junior wide receiver had three receptions for 69 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown pass from William Berger against crosstown rival Orange on Friday night. Raspberry had the most yards from scrimmage for the Red Wolves.

Elliott Woods: Had 87 rushing yards and two touchdowns for Orange in a victory over Cedar Ridge at Red Wolves Stadium. Woods also had two tackles. Coming into the game, Woods led Orange in receptions and tackles. He was named this week’s Orange Panther of the Week.

Omarion Lewis: A sophomore, Lewis had a career-high 173 yards rushing against Cedar Ridge. Lewis added two touchdowns. He now leads the team in rushing yards and touchdowns this season, even though he missed the season-opener against R.J. Reynolds because it appeared he would spend this season on the junior varsity team.

Joseph Kiger: Led Orange in receiving with a career-high five receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown. On defense, Kiger led the team with six tackles. He also had ten rushing yards. Kiger also was the long snapper on extra points for kicker Nigel Slanker. He will play his final game in Hillsborough against Chapel Hill on Friday.

Bennett Fleming: The top finisher for the Orange men’s cross country team last week at the Mideast Regionals. Fleming came in 32nd with a time of 18:08.88. At the Big 8 Cross Country Championships at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, Fleming was also the top finisher for Orange.

Alumni Update: Gill nominated for Ray Guy Award

Trenton Gill: In his first year playing for the N.C. State football team, 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate Trent Gill has been put on the watch list for the Ray Guy Award, presented to the college punter of the year. This season, as a sophomore, Gill has averaged 47.1 yards per punt. Of his 40 punts, eleven have been downed inside the 20-yard line. He’s had eighteen punts of over 50 yards, along with five touchbacks. Gill also handles kickoffs for the Wolfpack. At Cedar Ridge, Gill was an All-Big 8 Conference performer in football and men’s soccer. The Wolfpack will host #4 Clemson this Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Kayla Hodges: The Elon women’s soccer team had its season come to an end on Sunday in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. Top-seeded Hofstra defeated the Phoenix 3-1 on Sunday at Hofstra Soccer Stadium. Hodges started at midfield at fired one shot. After winning only three games in 2018, Elon went 12-6-2 this year. Hodges was named second-team All-CAA. She finished the year with four goals, two assists and ten points. Hodges, a sophomore, started all 18 games that she appeared in for Elon.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone women’s soccer team ended the regular season with a 2-0 victory over King University at Parks Field in Bristol, TN on Sunday. Jean started as goalkeeper for the Saints and earned the win by making one save. She played 77 minutes. Limestone finished the regular season 9-8, 8-3 in Conference Carolinas. Limestone is the #4 seed in the Conference Carolinas Tournament, which starts on Friday. In the opening round, Limestone will host North Greenville University. In the regular season, Jean started all 17 games for the Saints in net. She went 9-8 with a 1.37 goals against average. She had six shutouts.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: The Division III Dickinson men’s soccer team finished its regular season on Saturday. Johns Hopkins defeated the Red Devils 4-1 at Homewood Field in Baltimore. Reid-Shaw, who scored the first goal of his four-year career last week, started for the Red Devils at centerback. Dickinson ended the regular season 10-7 overall, 6-3 in the Centennial Conference. The Red Devils earned a #3 seed for the Centennial Conference tournament, which starts Saturday at Franklin & Marshall University in Lancaster, PA. Dickinson will face Johns Hopkins, once again, in the opening round.

Madison Wardlow: Now playing for the Guilford Technical Community College women’s basketball team, Wardlow scored 28 points for the Titans in an exhibition game in Apex. Interestingly enough, one of the officials for the game was Felton Page, who was Wardlow’s high school coach. Page resigned as Cedar Ridge women’s coach in March. On a totally and completely unrelated note, Wardlow finished the game with one foul. Wardlow will officially start her career on Wednesday night at Methodist College in the Riddle Center in Fayetteville.

Lauren Cates: The 2019 Orange High graduate started her college career with the Wake Technical Community College Eagles on Monday night. Cates started and scored nine points as the Eagles defeated Caldwell Community College 57-47 in Raleigh. Cates was 3-of-11 from the field. All of her field goals were 3-pointers. Wake Tech continues its season at Fayetteville Technical Community College on Wednesday night.

New ADM figures show Cedar Ridge will lowest enrollment in Big 8

It isn’t really news that Cedar Ridge High has the lowest enrollment in the Big 8 Conference, according to the latest Average Daily Membership figures released by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association on Monday afternoon.

However, enrollment is up at Cedar Ridge compared to last year, while Orange High’s ADM had a minor drop.

Cedar Ridge’s ADM is 1076 for the 2019-2020 academic year. Last year, it was 1025. Both figures were easily the lowest in the Big 8 Conference.

On the other side of Hillsborough, Orange’s ADM was 1,306. That’s down slightly from last academic year, when it was 1,326.

In the 2017-18 academic year, Cedar Ridge’s ADM was 1,145. Orange was at 1,324.

Of the 109 3A schools in the state of North Carolina, only eleven have a lower ADM total than Cedar Ridge. Those schools are Eastern Wayne (891), Hunter Huss (1,046), Monroe (1,006), White Oak (1,057), Montgomery Central (a new school that is the only 3A member of the 3A/2A Rocky River Conference with 1,060), South Brunswick (1,033), Havelock (1,036), East Rowan (939), Tuscola (948), Southwest Randolph (1,026), and Stuart Cramer (1,032).

Among Big 8 Conference schools, Northern Durham has the highest ADM (1,707). Southern Durham was second with 1,575. Chapel Hill finished with 1,536, followed closely by crosstown rival East Chapel Hill (1528), and Northwood (1,306). Vance County, which consolidated Northern and Southern Vance in 2018, had 1,245.

The ADM numbers are released just in time for the state football playoffs. The brackets will be released on Saturday.

The Orange football team finishes its season against Chapel Hill on Friday night. The Panthers currently have a MaxPreps ranking of #69, placing them on the bubble to make the state playoffs. Chances are, if the Panthers do make the postseason, it will be in the 3A State Tournament, as opposed to the 3AA.

These figures will also be used by the NCHSAA Board of Directors when discussions continue regarding realignment this winter.

In May, NCHSAA President Que Tucker announced that the association would delay the realignment process by one year to pursue a fifth class. A proposal to allow the NCHSAA to add a 5A class is expected sometime next spring. Tucker was quoted as saying that if a fifth class is added, it would end the practice of awarding eight state champions in football. Instead, the NCHSAA would crown five state champions.

The new realignment plan would take effect in August 2021.

The subdivision of the four classifications started in 2002 in North Carolina.

Some Cedar Ridge parents and graduates want the Red Wolves to return to the 2A classification. The Red Wolves were members of the 2A/1A Carolina 10 Conference until the end of the 2012-13 academic year. In 2010, the Cedar Ridge football team reached the 2AA Eastern Regional Championship game, where they lost to traditional power Elizabeth City Northeastern.

For comparison’s sake, there are other neighboring schools that have an ADM in the same ballpark as Cedar Ridge. That includes Orange’s former PAC-6 Conference rival Person, which had 1,095. Rockingham County, who competes against Cedar Ridge in several sports, had an ADM of 1082. Southern Guilford, West Rowan, West Carteret (who Cedar Ridge has defeated each of the last two years in the state softball playoffs), Forestview, North Gaston and North Henderson all had ADMs of under 1,100.

The largest 3A school was Clayton with 1,951. Eastern Wayne was the smallest.

The largest 2A school was Atkins at 1,138. The smallest 4A school was West Mecklenburg at 1,262. Myers Park has the largest public school enrollment in the state at 3,688.

Alumni Update: Wilson leads N.C. State in tackles at Wake

Payton Wilson: It was another long day for the N.C. State football team on Saturday. #23 Wake Forest handled the Wolfpack 44-10 at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem. For the first time in his college career, Wilson led the Wolfpack with eleven tackles, including one for a loss. Wilson also had a pass breakup. A redshirt freshman, Wilson is now third on the team with 46 tackles. He’s also tied for third with 4.5 tackles for loss. N.C. State will face #4 Clemson next Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Trenton Gill: The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate was busy for N.C. State on Saturday. Gill had eight punts averaging 46 yards per boot. Three of the punts went over 50 yards and two were downed inside the 20-yard line. His longest punt was 61 yards. Gill also had three kickoffs, two of which were touchbacks.

Adam Chnupa: Many people know Virginia Tech and UNC played the first college football game ever that ended with dueling two-point conversions in the fifth and sixth overtimes two weeks ago. On Saturday, Adam Chnupa played in the second for the FCS Elon Phoenix. William & Mary defeated Elon 31-29 in five overtimes at Rhode Stadium on the Phoenix’s Homecoming. Chnupa played special teams for Elon. The Phoenix are now 4-5, 3-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association. They host Maine next week.

Keshawn Thompson: The FCS Campbell Camels loss in heartbreaking fashion at North Alabama 25-24 at Braly Stadium in Florence, AL on Saturday. The Lions’ Joe Gurley kicked a 20-yard field goal as time expired. Thompson played the game on special teams for the Camels, whose six-game winning streak was snapped. Campbell is still undefeated in the Big South Conference (North Alabama will officially join the Big South in 2020. They’re a provisional FCS program this season after jumping up from Division II). Campbell hosts Kennesaw State next Saturday.

Rodney Brooks: Division II Fayetteville State defeated Livingstone 32-0 at Alumni Memorial Stadium in Salisbury on Saturday. Brooks made three tackles for the Blue Bears, including one for a loss. Livingston falls to 4-5, 1-5 in the CIAA. They end the season next week against Johnston C. Smith for Senior Day.

Kevin Wright: Division III North Carolina Wesleyan defeated Methodist 48-24 at Monarch Stadium in Fayetteville. Wright, a 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate, had two tackles for the Battling Bishops. Wesleyan is 4-4, 3-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference. They travel to Huntingdon next Saturday.

Taylin Jean: Mount Olive defeated Division II Limestone 2-1 at Saints Field in Gaffney, S.C. on Saturday in a showdown for first place in Conference Carolinas. Jean started as goalkeeper for the Saints once again and made two saves. Limestone is 8-8, 7-3 in Conference Carolinas . The Trojans wrapped up the Centennial Conference regular season championship with the victory.

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team advanced to the USA South Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday. The Pride defeated Huntingdon 2-0 at Pride Field in Greensboro. Daley started her 18th game of the season at center back. Greensboro will face Covenant in the semifinals at Maryville College in Tennessee on Friday.

Lili Henry: The Division III Methodist volleyball team ended its regular season on Saturday in a tri-match at the Riddle Center in Fayetteville. William Peace defeated the Monarchs 3-0 on scores of 25-20, 25-20, and 25-15. Henry had 13 assists, five digs and one ace against the Pacers. Earlier in the day, Greensboro College edged the Monarchs 3-2 on scores of 16-25, 25-22, 11-25, 25-16 and 12-15. Henry led the team with 29 assists, eleven digs and one ace. Methodist concludes the regular season 6-19, 5-11 in the USA South Conference. The Monarchs still play in the USA South Conference tournament with a road trip to William Peace on Tuesday.

Alumni Update: Chnupa plays in Elon football win

Adam Chnupa: On Saturday, the Elon football team came from behind to defeat Rhode Island 38-13 in Meade Stadium in Kingston, RI. Chnupa, a former Cedar Ridge All-Big 8 football and baseball player, played on special teams as the Phoenix won its second straight game. This season, Chnupa has played in four games for Elon, who are now 4-4 overall, 3-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Phoenix host William & Mary for Homecoming next Saturday at Rhodes Stadium.

Keshawn Thompson: Among the wild games throughout the country on Saturday was Campbell’s 49-47 triple overtime win over Gardner-Webb at Spangler Stadium in Boiling Springs. Thompson, a redshirt sophomore who graduated from Orange in 2017, assisted on two tackles for the Camels. He also had a tackle for loss. Campbell is 6-1, 3-0 in the Big South. They travel to North Alabama next Saturday for a nonconference game.

Rodney Brooks: In the CIAA on Saturday, Winston-Salem State shutout Livingston 21-0 at Alumni Memorial Stadium in Salisbury. Brooks entered the game as a safety, made one tackle and assisted on two others. The Blue Bears fell to 4-4, 1-4 in the CIAA. They host Fayetteville State next Saturday.

Kevin Wright: In Rocky Mount, Division III Brevard defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 26-20 at Rocky Mount Stadium. Wright had one solo tackle and assisted on two others as the Battling Bishops fell to 3-4, 2-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference. Wright has played in four games for Wesleyan this season. The Bishops travel to Methodist next Saturday.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: On senior day for the Division III Dickinson men’s soccer team on Saturday, Reid-Shaw started at centerback as the Red Devils defeated Haverford 2-1 in Carlisle, PA. Reid-Shaw fired a shot on goal as Dickinson improved to 9-6, 5-2 in the Centennial Conference. On Wednesday, Reid-Shaw will play his final home game for Dickinson, who will host Muhlenberg on Wednesday night. Dickinson is in 3rd place in the Centennial Conference, one game in the loss column behind Franklin & Marshall.

Kayla Hodges: The Elon women’s soccer team suffered a tough loss on Thursday. Delaware defeated the Phoenix 2-0 at Grant Stadium in Newark, DE. Hodges, who had goals in three consecutive games coming into the game, started at midfield and fired a shot on net. The Phoenix had only three shots on net in the game. Elon is 11-4-2 overall, 5-2-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Elon is now tied with Delaware for third in the loss column in the CAA.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone women’s soccer team defeated Southern Wesleyan University 2-0 at Saints Field in Gaffney, SC on Saturday. Jean posted her seven shutout of the season. She started and played 52 minutes before being replaced by Paige Renkosik, who was among eight seniors who played their final home game. Jean is 8-6 as the goalkeeper of the Saints this season. Limestone is 7-2 in Conference Carolinas. They’re in 3rd place in the league, two games behind Mount Olive for 1st place.

Brittany Daley: On Senior Day for the Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 2-0 at Pride Field on Saturday. Daley started again at centerback. She has started all 17 games for Greensboro. The Pride ended the regular season 12-4-1, 6-1-1 in the USA South Athletic Conference. They will be the top seed for the USA South Athletic Conference Tournament, which starts later this week.

Jordan Rogers: The William Peace women’s soccer team defeated Averett University 3-0 at Campbell Stadium in Danville, VA on Saturday. With the victory, the Pacers set the program record for most wins in a season. Rogers, who graduated from Orange in 2018, started her 18th game of the season for Peace. The Pacers are now 7-10-1, 3-5 in the USA South. The Pacers will also start play in the USA South Conference Tournament this week.

Lili Henry: On Friday night, two former Hillsborough volleyball players squared off against each other again. Lili Henry, who graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2018, suited up for Division III Methodist against Meredith. The Avenging Angels defeated the Monarchs 3-1 on scores of 21-25, 25-13, 25-22 and 25-7. Henry had 15 assists, one ace, one kill and two digs. Methodist is 6-16, 5-9 in the USA South.

Bailey Lucas: Lucas played all four sets for Meredith against Methodist. She finished with 16 assists and five digs. The Avenging Angels are 16-7 overall, 10-2 in the USA South. Meredith is tied in the loss column with Averett for 1st place in the conference.

Southern swamps Cedar Ridge in pursuit of Big 8 Title. By Tim Hackett

For the better part of the last decade, Southern Durham has been one of the most dominant teams in central North Carolina. But now, in 2019, after two surprising back-to-back losing seasons, the Spartans are back among the state’s elite – and on Friday night in Durham, Southern showed that it absolutely is a team to be reckoned with in the 3A state playoffs in a few weeks. Cedar Ridge came to town hoping to play spoiler and uproot one of the best seasons in recent Southern history, but the Spartans (8-1, 5-0 Big 8) scored 20 points within the first four minutes and dominated an outmatched Cedar Ridge (1-8, 1-4) squad from start to finish, 54-0. It was the eighth straight win this year for Southern, and the third loss by shutout for Cedar Ridge. 

Even in the face of such a strong team with very few flaws, Cedar Ridge sure didn’t look scared. The Red Wolves looked calm as ever during warmups and never looked like giving up even in the dying moments of the game itself, but, in all fairness, this was always going to be an uphill battle – and that was evident from the opening series. The usually sure-handed Isaiah McCambry fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, and, three plays after that, Southern punched it in on a two-yard score from running back Logan Harper. 

But that was only the beginning. On the ensuing kickoff, Sincere Lecraft hit return man Elijah Whitaker at the 15-yard line, spun him around, ripped the ball away like a vice grip, and jogged down the sideline with the ball, escorted by an entourage of teammates for the strip-and-score. McCambry was pummeled on the next Cedar Ridge possession and coughed the ball up again, and, two plays later, Omari Smith hit top receiver Xavier Rhodes on a quick in, and Rhodes did the rest, evading tacklers and racing 40 yards for the touchdown. The Red Wolves looked up at the small endzone scoreboard: it read 20-0, and four minutes hadn’t even gone by.

Southern wasn’t done. Later in the first, punter Zach Holmes had to scramble to field a poor snap and right after he found the ball Lecraft found him for a tackle for loss on fourth down, and Harper soon scored again to make it 27-0. Cedar Ridge punted on all three of its possessions in the second quarter, and Southern scored on two of their own, one on a bullet of a touchdown pass from Smith to Cinsere Clark, and the other on a 25-yard touchdown run almost unimpeded from Smith himself. Mercifully, the first half came to an end with the home team on top 41-0.

Sure, the running clock was in effect for the entirety of the second half, and sure, the Spartans had nothing more to prove in a game that was no longer in doubt, but the Red Wolves’ defense still showed marked improvements after the halftime break. But even with that said, the Southern offense was just too strong, and the Spartans were able to add an eight-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-goal from linebacker Jaki Brevard, his first career score, as well as a 96-yard touchdown run from safety Jacquez Warren – a remarkable play where Warren somehow dodged tacklers in his own end zone, and ended up in the other end zone in a matter of seconds. The final score at Spartan Stadium on this night was 54-0, the most lopsided loss in a season that has featured a few of them. 

But as always, there were bright spots for Cedar Ridge. Aiden Seagroves showed some more flashes as the newly appointed number two running back. Jake Mergenthal and Desi Raspberry both recorded their first career catches. Zach Holmes ran a long-awaited fake punt, where the former quarterback baffled the Spartan defense by hitting Whitaker for a big gain on fourth down from midfield. Braxton Mergenthal added another note on the ledger of his excellent Cedar Ridge career by picking off a poor Smith pass in the backfield in the second half. Whitaker and the rest of the Red Wolves blocked John Paulino’s final PAT. And above all else – and yes, this too sounds trite and hard to conceptualize, but it’s true – the Red Wolves never gave up. Even on that Warren TD run with just minutes to go in the game, it’s not like the Red Wolves turned around and let him walk in from 96 yards out – they nearly tackled him around his own goal line, and from there, he was just simply too fast and did the rest himself. At that point, all the Red Wolves could do was tip their collective caps for a job well done.

For Southern, this was just another step towards a perfect conference season – and with matches with Chapel Hill and East left on the ledger, it would be stunning if the Spartans don’t finish this undefeated conference season off. For Cedar Ridge, Friday night was a night to forget, but the Red Wolves will have one more chance to create a night to remember when they host Orange for Senior Night and the football edition of the Hillsborough Rivalry at Cedar Ridge next Friday at 7 PM. Even with all the losses, all the injuries, the trials and the travails that Cedar Ridge has had to suffer this year in its return to varsity football, a win against Orange, a team with legitimate playoff aspirations after a legendary victory on Friday, might help make the 2019 season feel a whole lot better. 

Alumni Update: Guentensberger suits up for Appalachian



Colin Guentensberger: On Saturday, #24 Appalachian State defeated Louisiana-Monroe 52-7 at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone. The Mountaineers improved to 6-0, 3-0 in the Sun Belt Conference. It was the first time that former Orange Panther Colin Guentensberger suited up for the Mountaineers. Guentensberger is a freshman walk-on. He didn’t see action on Saturday. Guentensberger was the Hillsboroughsports.com Player of the Year in 2018. He was second on the team with 100 tackles and also had 23 receptions, behind only Zyon Pettiford.

Payton Wilson: On a dismal day for N.C. State, Wilson had a career-high nine tackles for the Wolfpack in a 45-24 loss to Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA. Wilson had one-half tackle for loss. He was tied with Louis Acceus for 2nd on the team in tackles. Through seven games, Wilson third on the team with 35 tackles, including three-and-a-half for loss.

Trent Gill: The former Cedar Ridge kicker had six punts for N.C. State against the Eagles. Gill had an average of 45.5 yards. His longest was 62 yards, one of three punts over 50 yards for Gill. Three punts were downed inside the 20. Gill also had three kickoffs that totaled 173 yards. N.C. State will take this week off and travel to Wake Forest on November 2.

Keshawn Thompson: The FCS Campbell Camels defeated Hampton 31-16 at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek on Saturday. Thompson returned to action after missing the Presbyterian game on October 5. Thompson assisted on two tackles. After losing the season opener at Troy, Campbell has won five in a row and is 2-0 in the Big South Conference. The Camels travel to Gardner-Webb next Saturday.

Rodney Brooks: Shaw defeated Livingston 27-20 in CIAA action at G. Williams Complex in Raleigh on Saturday. Brooks had three tackles for the Blue Bears. Livingstone falls to 4-3, 2-3 in the CIAA. The Blue Bears will return to Salisbury and take on Winston-Salem State on Saturday.

Kevin Wright: The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate had five tackle as Division III North Carolina Wesleyan lost to Averett 41-24 at Frank Campbell Stadium in Danville, VA on Saturday. The Battling Bishops are 3-3. They will host Brevard next week in Rocky Mount.

Brittany Daley: Two former Hillsborough products played against each other as Division III Greensboro College defeated William Peace University 3-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Daley, who played at Cedar Ridge, started her 15th game of the season for Greensboro. The Pride sit atop the USA South Conference with a 5-0-1 record. They are 11-3-1 overall.

Jordan Rogers: Rogers started at wingback for Peace against Greensboro. Peace falls to 6-9-1, 2-4 in the USA South.

Lili Henry: The Division III Methodist volleyball team split in their tri-match at North Carolina Wesleyan in Rocky Mount on Saturday. The Monarchs defeated Wesleyan in five sets on scores of 14-25, 26-24, 21-25, 25-9 and 15-5. Henry had a season-high 25 assists for Methodist. She also had nine digs and one ace as Methodist improved to 4-15, 3-8 in the USA South. Earlier in the day, Averett defeated Methodist 3-1 on scores of 25-17, 18-25, 25-15 and 25-19. Against the Cougars, Henry had 12 assists, one ace and seven digs. Methodist returns home to face Pfeiffer at the Riddle Center in Fayetteville on Tuesday.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith volleyball team won both its matches inside Weatherspoon Gymnasium in Raleigh on Saturday. The Avenging Angels swept Pfeiffer 25-9, 25-22 and 25-22. They also defeated Greensboro in five sets on scores of 15-25, 25-20, 25-15, 23-25 and 15-8. Lucas played in both matches for Meredith. Against Greensboro, Lucas had two kills, 18 assists, 13 digs and 3 aces. In the sweep of Pfeiffer, Lucas had one kill, 12 assists and one dig. Meredith is 15-7, 9-2 in the USA South. The Angels travel to North Carolina Wesleyan on Tuesday.