Cedar Ridge Volleyball

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is senior middle blocker Cameron Lanier. Through the course of her four years at Cedar Ridge, Lanier is just the second player in school history to reach 500 career kills. She actually surpassed the mark last year during the 3A State Championship match when the Red Wolves defeated North Iredell at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. The funny thing is that volleyball wasn’t Lanier’s first choice of sport when she was growing up. In her adolescent years, Lanier was a softball player. Once she moved to the hardwood, she adapted quickly. Lanier was a starter during her freshman year at Cedar Ridge. Since then, she has won seven championships, including three conference regular season championships, two conference tournaments and a regional title, along with the state championship. Earlier this year, Lanier announced she would attend Elon University to play volleyball. She will go down as a vital member of the volleyball class of 2023, which has a career-record of 83-10 as of now. In her career, she has 623 kills and has won eleven state playoff matches. On Tuesday night, Cedar Ridge will travel to Greenville to face J.H. Rose for the 3A Eastern Regional Championship.

Over the last four years, the senior class of the Cedar Ridge volleyball team has scored 3,714 points at home.

It would have been more if they had played more than three home games during the pandemic year of 2020-2021.

While Saturday’s 3-0 win over Wilson Hunt (23-5) in the 3A NCHSAA State Quarterfinals will go down as Cedar Ridge’s 24th sweep in 25 wins, it was also the seniors’ final win inside Red Wolves Gymnasium. In a year where suspense has yielded to dominance, the final five points ever scored by the Cedar Ridge seniors at home are emblematic of the excellence and mental toughness that has become their hallmark.

Ahead by two sets against Wilson Hunt, the Warriors largely controlled play in the third frame behind the play of junior Gracelynn Wolzen and senior Alex Williams, who surpassed 1,000 career kills in her final game.

The Warriors, who led 17-12 at one point in the third set, were only two points from the set after a kill from senior Kayla Haley, who injured her knee earlier in the match and couldn’t even stand during team huddles.

With Cedar Ridge (25-1) trailing 23-20, the Red Wolves seniors took their final bow in Hillsborough and left a mark that will live forever.

It started when Cameron Lloyd, who finished with 13 kills, spiked home a cross-court pass from junior Rachel Alverson.

Cedar Ridge coach Fiona Cunningham immediately put in senior Julie Altieri, who has made aces and assists her trademark since she was a freshman on the varsity. Isolating on Hunt libero Lanier Johnson, Altieri fired a line drive that skipped off Johnson’s fists and into the front row of bleachers, propelling the Red Wolves student section into hysteria.

After a timeout, Altieri aimed at Johnson again, who ducked her head on what was, to the truest sense of the term, a headhunter. The ball sailed over Johnson’s back and landed firmly in the upper left corner for another ace to tie the set.

Of course, the storybook way for the senior class to close out its last home game would be for the school’s all-time assist leader to set up the school’s all-time kills leader. Which is exactly what happened on the final two points.

After Johnson made a dig on Lloyd’s first attack, senior Melissa Benkowitz bumped it to Altieri. Lloyd took the pass and opted for a soft tap that was briefly kept alive by middle blocker Audrey Earp, but quickly fell to the floor.

Altieri set the Fike defense off balance on match point when her serve had to be chased down by setter Ashton Frazier. After Addie Reid got the dig, it was Altieri to Lloyd one final time inside Red Wolves Gymnasium.

The smooth swing sent the ball crashing to the floor between three outstretched fists of Hunt players who all dove in vain. Really, it looked no different than hundreds of points before it which Altieri had set up for Lloyd. The only thing special about it was it’s the last time it will happen in Hillsborough.

“Cameron really stepped up when we needed her in that third set,” Cunningham said. “She was really a consistent force for us.”

Hunt, who went undefeated in the Quad County Conference, quickly fell behind in the first set due to Cedar Ridge’s serving. Altieri and Benkowitz each recorded aces during Cedar Ridge’s 9-4 run to open the match. After the Warriors closed the gap to 10-7, a block by Reid triggered a 9-3 spurt that put the Red Wolves in control of the set. Lloyd had three kills during the run. Cameron Lanier, who finished with eight kills, earned set point off an assist from Alverson.

The second set was even at 8-8 before the Red Wolves went on another of its patented sprees. This time it was a 10-2 run that was triggered by a thunderous kill by Lanier. Senior libero Grace Young recorded three straight aces to build the Red Wolves’ advantage to 22-12. Alverson had a quick kill, her only one of the day, to put the Red Wolves ahead two sets.

Cedar Ridge recorded 13 aces, including four by Benkowitz. Altieri and Young each had three. Alverson finished with eight assists.

Now Cedar Ridge will venture back to where its 2022 journey started. They will face J.H. Rose in Greenville for the Eastern Regional Championship on Tuesday night. Last November, the Red Wolves swept the Rampants to win the regional championship in Hillsborough.

On August 18, in the Red Wolves’ season-opener, the Rampants got revenge in a 3-1 victory in Greenville. It’s Cedar Ridge’s only loss of the season. They’ve lost just one set since then.

J.H. Rose, the champions of the 4A/3A Big East Conference and the #1 East seed, has won 30 in a row at home.

Cunningham, who was sick the night of the August matchup against the Rampants, isn’t expecting another sweep by anybody on Tuesday night.

“It’s going to be about who is more calm, cool and collected,” Cunningham said. “Both teams are phenomenal. Both teams are gonna play their absolute best that day and I can promise it’s going to be more than three sets one way or the other. Neither team has much experience this year going to sets four and five. So it’s going to be a lot about who can stay composed and who can keep pushing through to the end.”

It was the 45th and final home game for the Cedar Ridge volleyball team’s class of 2024 on Saturday afternoon. They made it an afternoon worth remembering as the Red Wolves defeated Wilson Hunt 3-0 on scores of 25-15, 25-15 and 25-23 in the state quarterfinals. The Cedar Ridge senior class end their careers with a record of 42-3 inside Red Wolves Gymnasium, winning its last 28 home matches. With the Red Wolves trailing 23-21, senior setter Julie Altieri stepped back and delivered two straight aces to even the match. Altieri fed senior Cameron Lloyd for the final two points of the match. Lloyd finished with 13 kills, two assists and one ace in her final match in Hillsborough. Altieri, who is nearing over 2,000 assists for her career, came away with 23 assists and three aces. The Red Wolves have won 25 matches in a row. The senior class has a career record of 83-10. On Tuesday night, the Red Wolves will journey to Greenville to continue the season where it starter—against J.H. Rose. The Rampants are the only team to beat the Red Wolves this season. It was will be for the 3A Eastern Regional Championship. The two teams met for the East Region championship last year, with Cedar Ridge coming away with a 3-1 victory. 

The Cedar Ridge volleyball team has won its 24th consecutive game after beating First Flight 3-0 in the 3rd round of the 3A State Playoffs on Thursday night. It was another game where the Red Wolves showed off its depth. Junior Rachel Alverson had 14 assists, while starting setter Julie Altieri made her return to the lineup and had 15 assists. No less than seven Cedar Ridge players registered kills. Junior Addie Reid had five kills and two blocks. Cedar Ridge has now won 27 straight matches at home. The senior class has a lifetime record of 82-10, 41-3 at home. On Saturday, the Red Wolves will start play in the state quarterfinals when they face Wilson Hunt, the champions of the Quad County Conference. It could be the final home game for the Cedar Ridge seniors who have taken the program from three consecutive losing seasons from 2016-18 to a 3A State Championship, three straight regular season championships, two CCC Tournament championship and the 2021 3A Eastern Regional Championship. 

For any volleyball team with state championship aspirations, the season comes down to three Saturdays in the fall.

The first one is when the state playoffs start. The final one is the day of the state championship.

Cedar Ridge is now at the second one. Again.

With the return of senior setter Julie Altieri, the all-time school leader in assists and aces, #2 seeded Cedar Ridge never trailed in eliminating #7 First Flight 3-0 on scores of 25-10, 25-6 and 25-17 on Thursday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

Cedar Ridge (24-1), the defending 3A State Champions, will host Wilson Hunt in the state quarterfinals on Saturday. Hunt, seeded #3, defeated West Carteret 3-1 on Thursday.

Altieri, who has missed the first four postseason games for Cedar Ridge, immediately made her presence felt by serving up four aces during a 7-0 Red Wolf run to open the game and quickly remove any thoughts of an upset by the Nighthawks (16-8).

“It’s great to have Julie back,” said Cedar Ridge coach Fiona Cunningham said. “Her leadership on the floor, her confidence and her defense are just huge for us. It was great to see her playing again. She’s absolutely one of our best servers and she got us off to a great start.”

The super-charged emotion of Tuesday’s state playoff match against crosstown rival Orange yielded to yet another Cedar Ridge sweep on Thursday that was so dominant, the crowd was in a hush for much of the night. Even members of the Wolfpack, Cedar Ridge’s vaunted student section, watched the final points with palms supporting their heads.

First Flight was limited to a season-low 38 points. Camden County held the Nighthawks to 39 points on October 4.

“I think we were a little more level headed tonight,” Cunningham said. “We were more confident. On Tuesday, we knew how high the emotions were against Orange and that played into it.”

Cedar Ridge’s depth was on full display as seven players registered kills. Once again, senior Cameron Lloyd led the Red Wolves with eight kills. Cameron Lanier, who is second on Cedar Ridge’s all-time kills list (behind Lloyd), finished with seven kills, two aces and a block. Junior Addie Reid had her best performance of the postseason with five kills and two blocks.

“We’ve been pushing our setters to get our middle blockers a little more involved in the play,” Cunningham said. “Tonight, our passing was really able to be on and we were able to see big swings from all of our middles.”

Altieri added another 15 assists and four aces to her school records, while junior Rachel Alverson finished with 14 assists. The Red Wolves have won 27 straight home matches. After dropping the season-opener to J.H. Rose in Greenville, they’ve won 72 of its last 73 sets. It was their 23rd sweep of the year.

The Red Wolves upped its lead to 19-5 in the opening set after an unassisted kill by Reid, which led to a timeout from First Flight coach Anna Zappulla, who wore a smile of encouragement mixed with resignation as her team came to the bench. Lanier spiked down set point off an assist from Altieri.

The second set was even more lopsided. After freshman Claire Hargett, who finished with four kills, slammed down another point, the Red Wolves led 13-2. Hargett had three of her four kills in the middle portion of the 2nd set. An ace from junior Graylinn Serge pushed the lead to 18-4. Kills by Lloyd and Reid closed the frame with the Red Wolves winning 25-6.

The Nighthawks were able to notch the only ties of the entire match to open the third set, but the Red Wolves quickly pulled away after an 8-2 run that was triggered by three kills and an ace from Lanier. Reid scored match point off an assist from Altieri.

Cedar Ridge’s senior class now has a lifetime record of 82-10. They’re 41-3 at home. As the wins have piled up, there’s also a sense of reality creeping in that Saturday’s match against Hunt could be the final home game for the seniors who have won seven championships.

Cunningham doesn’t want that as a distraction when the Warriors come to town.

“We’re really hoping to stay calm and not focus on that part,” Cunningham said.