Cedar Ridge Volleyball

The 2023 Cedar Ridge volleyball team lost the school’s all-time leaders in kills, digs, assists and aces from last year’s squad due to graduation.

But they didn’t lose any toughness.

That’s been on full display since last week, when the Red Wolves stunned Orange to capture the Central Carolina Conference Tournament at Panther Gymnasium.

On Tuesday night, in its fifth match in eight days, the Red Wolves fought back from one obstacle after another to defeat Franklinton, champions of The Big East Conference, 3-2 in the second round of the 3A State Playoffs on the Lester Wilder Court. The Red Wolves advanced on scores of 25-21, 20-25, 24-26, 25-12, 15-10.

Cedar Ridge (17-8) will travel to Greenville to face J.H. Rose on Thursday night in the third round. It will be the third straight year that the Rampants and the Red Wolves have faced off in the state playoffs.

Franklinton ends the year 19-6.

Sophomore Claire Hargett finished with 18 kills and 15 digs. Senior Graylinn Serge registereed 14 kills and 20 digs. Setter Rachel Alverson had 46 assists and 13 assists for the Red Wolves, who won its first road state playoff game 2014 when they defeated Northern Guilford in Greensboro, also in five sets.

Every five-set match is a roller coaster ride and Tuesday night was no different. In the final set, Cedar Ridge jumped out to a 4-2 lead following an ace from senior libero Natasha Buchler-Fosado. The Rams came back with five consecutive points, keyed by a kill and an ace from Angelica Turnage. With its season six points from ending, the Red Wolves regrouped after a timeout from head coach Latacha De Oliveira and ended the match on a 9-1 run.

It started when Hargett scored off an assist from Alverson, the first of kills by Hargett during a 5-0 run. Hargett would notch another point to even the set 9-9. After a serve by Cecilia Kenan went long to put Franklinton back in the lead 10-9, the Red Wolves got a side out after a serve by Turnage went long.

Hargett went back to serve and Cedar Ridge never lost possession again. Kenan made two crucial digs off attacks by Franklinton’s Turnage and Ava Shane. Turnage’s next return was out and Cedar Ridge led 11-10. Serge got her only block of the night when she stuffed an attempt by Mikayla Taborn, which led to a Ram timeout. Hargett delivered a knuckleball serve that threw the Rams defense out of sorts. Tierrah Simmons return clipped the antenna. On match point, Hargett served up an ace and the Red Wolves reserves sprang off the bench like they were sitting on ejector seats, mobbing Hargett on a pileup on the Rams home floor.

It was the Red Wolves second five-set win this year, and its first since outlasting East Chapel Hill at Wildcats Gymnasium on September 11.

Cedar Ridge ended Franklinton’s 21-set winning streak in the opening frame, where the Rams scored the first three points. Hargett established herself with six kills in the first set, including one to end a 5-1 run that gave the Red Wolves an 8-5 lead. The Rams responded with a 6-2 run, including an ace from sophomore Kylie Sykes. Cedar Ridge went on a 6-2 spree following a spike from Addie Reid, who had 12 kills on the night, to take a 21-17 lead. On set point, Serge unleashed a swing that sent the ball that hugged the near sideline.

The second set had eight lead changes and seven ties. The Red Wolves were in position to go ahead two-sets-to-nothing after an ace from Buchler-Fosado put them ahead 17-13. Franklinton responded with five straight points, the capper coming off a block from Tabron that evened the set 17-17. The Rams scored the final four points to even the match, with set point coming off a block by Shontalae Evans.

Cedar Ridge was battling from behind the entire third set. An ace from Turnage put the Rams ahead 10-5, but the Red Wolves came back from three straight points, ending with a kill from Reid. Franklinton pushed its lead to 20-12 behind two blocks from Turnage and a kill from Taborn, but the Red Wolves rallied again. Two spikes from sophomore Kayla Stoll and another kill from Serge pulled the Red Wolves within one at 23-22. An ace from Serge evened things at 24-24, but Turnage scored the first point of overtime off a feed from Shane. Taborn got set point off a block.

As dominant as the Red Rams were in the third, Cedar Ridge totally controlled the fourth. Serge started things with an ace on the opening point, which triggered a 9-1 run. Hargett had consecutive aces to put the Red Wolves ahead 22-6. Serge ended the frame with another kill supplied by Alverson.

Cedar Ridge will return to J.H. Rose on Thursday night, which brings back the best of memories from 2021 and dark moments from last year. The Red Wolves won the 3A Eastern Regional championship against the Rampants in Hillsborough two years ago, which led to the crowning moment in women’s sports at Cedar Ridge: the 2021 3A State championship.

Last year, the most successful team senior class in Cedar Ridge history, regardless of sport, had a disappointing end to their careers when the Rampants swept the Red Wolves in a hostile atmosphere in Greenville, once again for the 3A Eastern Regional title. It also turned out to be the final game for Fiona Cunningham, who would later depart the Red Wolves as head coach to become an assistant at North Carolina Central.

The current senior class of Red Wolves won’t go into Greenville with the lofty individual or team numbers that the Class of 2023 did, but they’ll be every bit as gritty.

It was likely the final home game for the Cedar Ridge volleyball team of the 2023 season on Saturday when they defeated Scotland County in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. The Red Wolves seniors won their 12th state playoff match in the past four years when they swept the Fighting Scots in Hillsborough. Senior Graylinn Serge finished with six kills and 21 digs as the Red Wolves improved to 43-4 at home since 2020. Senior libero Natasha Buchler-Fosado had eight digs, two aces and one assist against Scotland County. The Red Wolves were coming off winning the Central Carolina Conference Tournament with an upset of Orange on Wednesday night. Against the Lady Panthers, Buchler-Fosado had a career-high 25 digs. It was the fourth straight year that Cedar Ridge won a conference championship. Serge finished with a double-double with 12 kills and 28 digs. Senior Cecilia Kenan had seven digs against Orange. The Red Wolves will look to reach the round of 16 for the fourth straight year on Tuesday night when they journey to Franklinton, the champions of the The Big East Conference. The Rams are 19-5 and have won seven straight matches. The match at Franklinton High will start at 6PM.

Cedar Ridge’s Graylinn Serge, Natasha Buchler-Fosado & Cecilia Kenan talk playoff win vs. Scotland

It was likely the final home game for the Cedar Ridge volleyball team of the 2023 season on Saturday when they defeated Scotland County in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. The Red Wolves seniors won their 12th state playoff match in the past four years when they swept the Fighting Scots in Hillsborough.

In a volleyball season that has been predictable locally, Cedar Ridge went into this week searching for something that previous teams had found.

A special senior moment.

In 2021, Phoenix Smith, Justice Wilborn, and Ava Lowry were members of a state championship squad that defeated North Iredell at Reynolds Coliseum. They were members of the first female team in school history to win a state championship.

Last year, Cameron Lloyd, Cameron Lanier, Julie Altieri, Grace Young, Anaya Carter and Melissa Benkowitz won 62 consecutive sets en route to a Central Carolina Conference regular season and tournament championship.

This year’s group of seniors had not found its senior moment.

Until Wednesday night.

In a stunning upset, Cedar Ridge shocked crosstown rival Orange 3-1 to win the CCC Tournament championship. Sophomore Claire Hargett finished with 23 kills and 14 digs, while senior setter Rachel Alverson had 46 assists and 15 digs as Cedar Ridge ended Orange’s 20-match winning streak.

Orange (22-4) suffered its first loss since August 19 and its first at home this season. The Lady Panthers won both matches in the regular season against Cedar Ridge, never allowing the Red Wolves to take more than 21 points in any of the previous six sets.

Just three weeks ago, Orange defeated the Red Wolves 25-19, 25-19 and 25-11 to sew up the CCC regular season title.

“I knew this has been possible all year,” said Cedar Ridge coach Latacha De Oliveira. “They just had to believe it. Today they believed it and today they showed it. Claire set the tone for us. Claire found holes, no matter how many people tried to block her. She found the holes, she put the ball down and came up with some big swings. I think Addie (Reid) did the same thing. That’s what we needed.”

Orange senior Ella Wimsatt had 15 kills and 20 digs for Orange.

The Lady Panthers won 35 of 36 sets during an undefeated run through the CCC regular season championship, but struggled to find a rhythm offensively on Wednesday night.

“I think that each team has evolved throughout the season,” said Orange coach Hope Heverly. “Cedar Ridge really came out with a lot of drive and desire to win tonight. They came out and had a really good match. We came out and played hard as well. Some of our X’s and O’s weren’t really following through today.”

It’s the third straight year that Cedar Ridge (15-8) has won the CCC Tournament. The Red Wolves have won either a conference regular season or tournament championship each of the past four years.

Less than two weeks ago, Cedar Ridge lost to Western Alamance and Cary Crowns. It was the first time since 2019 that the Red Wolves dropped consecutive matches.

“I think since then they’ve just brought into their game,” De Oliveria said. “They were tired of losing and started believing in themselves. We’ve had a good week. It started with a solid performance on Monday. It continued yesterday and they came in today believing it was our turn.”

Nothing about the environment inside Panther Gymnasium hinted the biggest upset in local volleyball this year was brewing. Orange’s student section didn’t start filling up until late in the first set. Even the once daunting Cedar Ridge student group, which traveled in mass regardless of location as a constant source of amusement or irritation depending on your perspective, had a pedestrian turnout.

They sure missed a stellar presentation from their team.

From the moment Wimsatt knocked over two chairs along the Orange bench trying to chase down an attack by Kayla Stoll on the first point, it was clear that this would be no easy night at the office for anyone. There were six ties in the opening set, but Orange maintained the lead until Hargett served up an ace to trigger a 6-1 Red Wolf run. Hargett, who had five kills and three digs in the opening set, delivered another ace following an Orange timeout to increase Cedar Ridge’s lead to 17-13. The Red Wolves finished the set with the final four points, closing with a thunderous strike by Addie Reid.

It was the first time since September 20 against Falls Lake, a span of eight matches, that Orange dropped the opening set.

Heverly inserted freshman Sawyer White as a setter in the second set, repositioning sophomore Katie Silcott to an outside hitter.

“We wanted to get our right side hitter involved,” Heverly said. “We wanted to broaden our hitting options.”

Orange used superior blocking to take the second set. Neither team could get beyond a two-point lead until White came through with a huge block of an attack by Reid to put Orange ahead 19-16, which greased the wheels for the Panthers best sequence of the night. Wimsatt and Mariah Poole followed with kills, and Silcott evened the match with an ace on set point.

Cedar Ridge responded with a 6-3 run to start the third, which led to Orange playing catch up the whole way. Hargett and Serge each had five kills in the frame, while Cecilia Kenan stroked an ace to put the Red Wolves ahead 11-5. Orange’s patented rally from a bad start never materialized as the Red Wolves’ increased its lead in front of a stunned Panthers student section, which eventually rose as one as the urgency of the situation increased with every Cedar Ridge point. Hargett had a kill to put the Cedar Ridge lead at 20-11. Orange chained together three straight points to trim the gap to 23-16, but it was too late. Alverson delivered a flash kill off a dig by Natasha Buchler-Fosado, and Serge scored set point to a loud road from the Cedar Ridge contingent.

Trailing two-sets-to-one, Heverly used the full three minutes between sets talking to her team in the huddle, but Cedar Ridge roared out of the gate with a 6-1 run to start the fourth, ending with consecutive kills by Stoll. Hargett saved her best for last, racking up seven kills in the fourth set. Orange did rally with three straight points, including an ace by White and a kill by Wimatt, to tie the set 9-9. Cedar Ridge responded with four straight points and never trailed again.

Cedar Ridge reeled off five straight points to increase its lead to 19-11, which included a key block from Reid on an attack by Ava Wilkerson, and two more kills from Hargett.

Orange scored six straight points to make a late charge and cut the Red Wolves lead to 22-18 after a block by Wilkerson. Hargett scored a key strike on a swing that caught the back left corner. On match point, Serge’s strike from the far post rebounded off Aubrey Jordan and went into the stands, setting off a huge celebration as the Red Wolves mobbed each other along the left side of the floor.

Orange, who will still be the #2 overall seed in the East Region for the state playoffs, will look ahead to Saturday and a matchup with Swansboro in the opening round.

“I really do believe that losing a match or losing a set can build character,” Heverly said. “If you’re going to lose, this is the one to lose so that we can rebuild and get ready for a nice run in the state playoffs.”

While the odds are against another deep Cedar Ridge state playoff run, the seniors relished in their championship moment on a memorable night on their archrival’s floor.

“We talked about what we needed to do to beat them and we knew that we needed to change our offense,” De Oliveria said. “In the prior two games against Orange, we haven’t been able to execute as well. We knew we had to keep them out of systems, but in order for us to win we knew we had to be offensively aggressive. Tonight, that’s exactly what happened.”

It may sound strange to some that Cedar RIdge volleyball pulled a major upset considering the Red Wolves won a state championship just two years ago. But the Red Wolves became the first Central Carolina Conference team to beat Orange this season on Wednesday night, and it happened in the Central Carolina Conference tournament championship game. The Red Wolves defeated Orange 3-1 on scores of 25-18, 18-25, 25-16, 25-20. Sophomore Claire Hargett finished with 23 kills and 14 digs. Senior Rachel Alverson had 46 assists and 15 digs as Cedar Ridge ended Orange’s 20-match winning streak. Graylinn Serge registered 12 kills and 25 digs as the Red Wolves won the CCC Tournament for the third year in a row. It’s the fourth straight year where Cedar Ridge has won a regular season or conference tournament championship and its fourth win at Orange in the last five trips. It brings a great measure of satisfaction to seniors like Alverson, Serge, Addie Reid, Natasha Buschler-Fosado, Eliana Miller, Cecilia Kenna, Caroline Park, Ellie Woodson and Alexandra Hood, who had a true Senior moment against its arch rival on Wednesday. Cedar Ridge will open play in the 3A State Playoffs at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Saturday. Opponent and time will be announced on Thursday.

Cedar Ridge’s Graylinn Serge, Rachel Alverson & Claire Hargett discuss volleyball upset over Orange

It may sound strange to some that Cedar RIdge volleyball pulled a major upset considering the Red Wolves won a state championship just two years ago. But the Red Wolves became the first Central Carolina Conference team to beat Orange this season on Wednesday night, and it happened in the Central Carolina Conference tournament championship game.

It was a special night for Cedar Ridge senior volleyball setter Rachel Alverson. On Monday night, Alverson surpassed 1,000 career assists as the Red Wolves defeated Walter Williams 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the Central Carolina Conference tournament. Alverson ended the night with 28 assists to become only the second player in school history with 1,000 assists. Alverson joined her former teammate Julie Altieri, who is now playing at Salisbury University in Maryland. Alverson is in her second year at the varsity level. This season, according to records from MaxPreps.com, Alverson has set the single-season assist record with 721, breaking Altieri’s previous mark of 717 set during the State Championship season of 2021. Alverson is a two-sport athlete at Cedar Ridge. She has also played in women’s soccer with teammate Addie Reid. The Red Wolves have won the two previous CCC Tournaments. On Tuesday night, they will host Person in the CCC Semifinals. Cedar Ridge will likely host a home match in the 3A State Playoffs on Saturday. The pairings will be announced on Friday. Cedar Ridge won both its previous matchups against Person this year.

Cedar Ridge senior Rachel Alverson discusses 1,000 career assists with Jon Franklin

It was a special night for Cedar Ridge senior volleyball setter Rachel Alverson. On Monday night, Alverson surpassed 1,000 career assists as the Red Wolves defeated Walter Williams 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the Central Carolina Conference tournament. Alverson ended the night with 28 assists to become only the second player in school history with 1,000 assists.

It’s an emotional week for the Cedar Ridge volleyball team.

In all likelihood, it will be the final home games for the senior class that is the last connection to the 2021 3A State Championship squad. There will be a Central Carolina Conference semifinal match on Tuesday against Person inside Red Wolves Gymnasium with an outside chance of hosting the tournament title tilt.

In all likelihood, there will be one, final, state playoff match on Saturday at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

Together, Graylinn Serge, Rachel Alverson, Addie Reid, Natasha Buchler-Fosado, Ellie Woolson, Caroline Park, Cecilia Kenan, and Alexandra Hood have been a part of championship teams. Serge, Reid and Buchler-Fosado walked together under the spotlight of Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh for the 3A State Championship match against North Iredell, a memory that still clear in their minds.

They have also witnessed milestones. Cameron Lloyd, now at Bucknell College, recorded 1.062 kills, a school record. In her sophomore year, Lloyd became the first Red Wolf in school history with 500 kills.

Her teammate, Cameron Lanier, joined the 500 kill club in the state championship match against Iredell, though no one noticed at the time with a state title on the line and all. Setter Julie Altieri, another member of the Class of 2023, became the first Cedar Ridge player with 1,000 assists.

Now, Altieri has company.

Rachel Alverson, who has been at the varsity level for two years, reached 1,000 career assists in Cedar Ridge’s 3-0 win over Walter Williams in the opening round of the Central Carolina Conference Tournament on Monday night. The Red Wolves (13-8), the 2nd seed out of the CCC, will host Person on Tuesday night in the semifinals. The Rockets defeated Eastern Alamance 3-1 on Monday in Roxboro.

Alverson, who has 721 assists on the season, appears to have broken the single-season ecord, held by Altieri. In 2022, Altieri is registered with 717 assists, according to MaxPreps.com.

Altieri is now a freshman setter, already starting, for the Division III Salisbury University Seagulls of the Coast to Coast Athletic Conference.

The Red Wolves, who have won the previous two CCC Tournaments, never trailed against Williams in securing its fifth straight conference tournament win stretching back to 2021. Sophomore Claire Hargett finished with 12 kills and five digs. Alverson ended the night with 28 assists, five digs and one kill. Reid finished with six kills and one block. Serge had 13 digs and four kills.

Williams ends the year 3-13.

From the time Alverson set up Kayla Stoll for a kill on the opening point, the Red Wolves were never seriously challenged. Serge had an ace while Hargett notched consecutive kills to send the Red Wolves off to a 8-0 lead in the first set. The Red Wolves reeled off nine consecutive points to take a 19-4 lead, which included four aces from Park and three more kills from Reid. Woolson had a block on set point to conclude the frame 25-12, and that was the most competitive frame of the night.

Cedar Ridge scored the first six points of the second set, with Hargett scoring the first three off a block and two kills. The big run of the second set was eight straight points, three of which came off kills by Hargett, who now leads the team with 253 kills. The Red Wolves scored the final seven points of the set, with Kenan racking up an ace on set point to win 25-5.

Woolson had consecutive kills to open the third set. Woolson also had a block to increase the Red Wolves lead to 7-1, leading to a Bulldogs timeout. Hargett registered two aces during a 6-0 run. Hood ended the match with an ace as Cedar Ridge took the third set 25-9.

There will be volleyball action on both ends of Hillsborough on Tuesday night. In addition to Cedar Ridge’s match against Person, top-seeded Orange will host Western Alamance. The Warriors defeated Southern Alamance on Monday to advance to the semifinals.