Orange Volleyball

A low percentage of high school athletes understand what it’s like to reach the biggest stage in their sport and compete for a state championship. Orange volleyball senior Abby Silinski is one of the few that can say they reached the pinnacle. In 2023, Silinski walked under the spotlight at Reynolds Coliseum as Orange faced Kings Mountain for the 3A State Championship. On Wednesday afternoon, Silinski formally signed with Division III Franklin & Marshall University based out of Lancaster, PA. In 2023, Silinski was a valuable defensive presence as Orange finished undefeated in the regular season and secured its first conference championship since 2005. This year, Orange tied with Cedar Ridge for the conference regular season title, then won the conference tournament. The Lady Panthers reached the state quarterfinals. Silinski was named the team’s Most Valuable Defensive Player. In her first year as the starting libero, Silinski led the team with 359 digs. In her sophomore season, Silinski had 209 digs. This year, she was tied for third with 34 aces. In her junior season, Silinski finished with 62 aces. Silinski will graduate in June after serving as a valuable defensive presence for two Orange teams that reached new heights for the program. At Franklin & Marshall, she will be teammates with former Cedar Ridge outside hitter Melissa Benkowitz, who is in the midst of her sophomore year.

Orange volleyball’s Abby Silinski signs with Franklin & Marshall University

A low percentage of high school athletes understand what it’s like to reach the biggest stage in their sport and compete for a state championship. Orange volleyball senior Abby Silinski is one of the few that can say they reached the pinnacle.

The past two years have brought the longest sustained success for the Orange volleyball program. They have won two Central Conference regular season championships, a Central Conference Tournament championship, eight state playoff victories and the 2023 3A Eastern Regional championship. They have a combined record of 45-14. On Tuesday night, the Panthers took J.H. Rose, the #1 ranked team in the 3A East Region, to the limit in the state quarterfinals. It was the final match for senior Abby Silinski, Karleigh Johnson and Peyton Sigmon. This season, Silinski was the starting libero for the Panthers and led the team with 336 digs. Silinski also had 33 aces, which was tied for fourth. Silinski had some crucial aces late in the second set against Rose, which led to the Rampants losing their first set in the state playoffs. Johnson was another important defensive player for the Panthers in 2024. Johnson had 70 digs. Sigmon’s mother attended Orange High School and was in the Class of 1991. Sigmon had several aces in the Panthers senior night win over Walter Williams earlier this month. Together, Silinski, Johnson and Sigmon got to take the most important walk in state volleyball last year. They stood under the spotlight inside Reynolds Coliseum as they were introduced in the 3A State Championship match. It’s a memory now, but some memories last forever.

Orange volleyball seniors Abby Silinski, Karleigh Johnson & Peyton Sigmon discuss their final year

The past two years have brought the longest sustained success for the Orange volleyball program. They have won two Central Conference regular season championships, a Central Conference Tournament championship, eight state playoff victories and the 2023 3A Eastern Regional championship. They have a combined record of 45-14.

Photo courtesy of 252Buzz

GREENVILLE–The crowd had long filtered out of Rose High School’s gymnasium as Rampants athletic director Clay Medlin talked with an observer about the volleyball match that had just finished an hour earlier.

“That was one of the greatest matches I’ve ever seen,” said Medlin.

The stories that will be told about Orange vs. J.H. Rose in the state quarterfinals from the observers who watched it will go on for years to come.

Unfortunately for Orange, a lot of the sentences in those stories will include the two most painful words in the English language: what if?

Rose fended off five Orange match points to defeat the Panthers 3-2 in the 3A State Quarterfinals inside a sweltering Rose Gymnasium on Tuesday night. The Rampants (22-4) prevailed on scores of 25-27, 29-27, 23-25, 25-19, 18-16.

It was the embodiment of a match with state playoff pressure where the level of play eclipsed the high stakes. Rose outside hitter Clara Evans, who has committed to play at TCU, finished with 41 kills and 27 digs.

Both teams lost vital players as the match, spanning over two-and-a-half hours, continued with a feverish intensity. One Orange player threw up during a timeout. Another Panther missed most of the fourth set after feeling lightheaded, but eventually returned. Rose sophomore Kate Wallen, who came into the match 2nd on the team with 225 kills, injured her left hand early in the third set and was immediately taken to the locker room. She didn’t return until the fourth set and only played sparingly the rest of the way.

In the fifth set, Orange put up five straight points to take a 13-10 lead. Katie Silcott delivered a kill, followed by another from Aubrey Jordan. When Jordan slammed down a kill, Orange had three match points leading 14-11.

After Jordan sent a serve long, Evans ended a long rally with a spike that hit the end line. The subsequent point will be the subject of discussion for years to come around Orange circles. Rose’rs Breanna Joyner and Maya Swaggerty both came up with digs as played bogged down around the net. Silcott sent a return to Caroline Bayes, who fed Evans for an overhead stroke. The ball was ruled to have hit the line and was called in, though several Orange spectators standing in the end zone vehemently disagreed.

Regardless, the score was tied 14-14, the third set of the night to advance to overtime. Orange earned another match point following a kill from Ava Wilkerson. Evans came back with another kill. Sawyer White responded with a block at the net to provide Orange with a fifth match point, but a return from the Panthers went into the net.

That was the first of three straight Rose points to end the match. Evans got her 37th kill down the line for the Rampants to set up a match point. Orange set up Wilkerson, who faded back for an attack off her back foot that went across the court and over the far sideline. Rose’s players spilled out in a victory pileup after their season in joyous relief after it appeared to be fading into the abyss.

Instead, the Rampants will host West Carteret for the Eastern Regional championship on Thursday night.

“It’s never easy to not come out on top,” said Orange coach Hope Heverly, who guided Orange to the 3A State Championship match in 2023. “We asked the girls one thing. We asked to leave it all out on the floor. And they can all walk away saying they definitely left it all out on the court. They faced a few different adversities throughout the match with a couple of players going out for a few minutes. But they came right back out and took care of what they needed to do.”

Orange ends the year 18-9, champions of the Central Conference regular season and conference tournament.

Orange became the first team in the state playoffs to take a set from the Rampants when they won the second 29-27. There were nine lead changes and 20 ties in the set. Freshman Aubry Hodges forced the first set point off a block, but the Rampants scored consecutive points. After a kill by Evans, Rose got a set point, which was canceled out when Evans sent an attack into the net. Silcott and Jordan each scored kills to earn Orange the set to even the match at one-set apiece.

Orange scored the opening six points of the second set, but the Rampants roared back and took a 16-13 lead. The Lady Panthers responded with four straight points, including two straight kills from Wilkerson and another block by Hodges. Silcott forced set point with a kill to make it 24-22. After a kill by Taylor Loesner of Rose, Silcott sent an overhead spike that rolled along the tape of the net, then fell down on the sideline to put Orange ahead two-sets-to-one.

Rose took the closest thing resembling a decisive set in the fourth, winning 25-19. Wallen returned and the Rampants took a 18-13 lead after back-to-back kills from Maya Swaggerty. Mariah Poole delivered an ace to cut the lead to 21-19, but Rose forced a fifth set by scoring the final four points of the frame, three of which were kills by Evans.

While anyone who attends Cedar Ridge and Orange will tell you the schools aren’t one and the same, the classic match on Thursday night likely ends a remarkable chapter of Hillsborough volleyball vs. Rose in the state playoffs. It dates back to 2021, when Cedar Ridge defeated Rose to win the 3A Eastern Regional championship. The following year, Rose got revenge and ended the storied careers of the Magnificent Six, Cedar Ridge’s senior class of Cameron Lloyd, Cameron Lanier, Julie Altieri, Grace Young, Melissa Benkowitz and Anaya Carter, who delivered a state championship.

Last year, Orange defeated Rose in the state quarterfinals in Hillsborough. Like Cedar Ridge before them in 2021, the Lady Panthers would find their way playing in Reynolds Coliseum for the state championship.

The final chapter in Greenville on Tuesday night was a story in itself. While the careers of Orange seniors Abby Silinski, Karleigh Johnson and Peyton Sigmon are over, the epilogue hasn’t been written for the core of this Lady Panther team. That will be in 2025, when Wilkerson, Silcott, Jordan, Poole, White and Addison Guetensberger, among others, will seek to complete the business that went unfinished, by one painful point, on Tuesday night.

“I’m very proud of the girls,” Heverly said. “Even though we didn’t come out with the win, they definitely turned the season around. I don’t know anybody who thought we were going to be in the Elite Eight. And they proved everybody wrong. This group will hold a special place in my heart.”

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There was nothing unusual about Orange facing Cedar Ridge in the state playoffs on Saturday afternoon. The two teams have played 13 times since 2021, five in the postseason if you count conference tournaments.

The Lady Panthers had won the previous two meetings with the Red Wolves, but unlike those matches, this time Orange was convincingly the better team.

Junior setter Katie Silcott finished with ten kills, 24 assists and ten digs for her second career triple-double as Orange advanced to the state quarterfinals with a 3-1 win over the Red Wolves on scores of 19-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-18. Junior Ava Wilkerson added 19 kills as Orange (18-8) advanced to face J.H. Rose in the state quarterfinals.

Cedar Ridge junior Claire Hargett tied her career-high with 25 kills as the Red Wolves, who tied Orange for the regular season championship, ends the year 18-7.

Cedar Ridge had won two straight matches inside Panthers Gymnasium, including a sweep on September 3. In the rematch on September 25, Orange trailed by two sets before they rallied back to win in five sets. On October 17, Orange won 3-2 in the Central Conference Tournament championship match.

On Saturday, Orange’s attacking depth wore down the Red Wolves. Five different players registered at least five kills. Hargett’s 25 kills came on a whopping 76 attacks. Junior Kayla Stoll finished with eleven kills, but no one else for the Red Wolves had more than three.

Freshman Aubry Hodges had two kills and three blocks for Orange, who won on its own home court against the Red Wolves for the first time since September 28, 2023.

“The girls really step up in really big moments,” said Orange coach Hope Heverly. “All of them do. Hodges makes really big blocks. It seems that every time we need a big block, Hodges gives us that. She’s doing a really good job of where the ball is and impacting the game.”

Afterwards, tears were evident on the faces on some of the players from Cedar Ridge, who claimed a share of the regular season championship in a conference that turned out to be the deepest in the state. Four of the final eight teams from the 3A East Region were from the Central Conference, with Person beating league rival Southern Alamance on Saturday to join Orange in the quarterfinals.

“We got a little frazzled,” said Cedar Ridge head coach Latacha De Oliveira. “We started playing not to lose instead of playing to win. I think our confidence got shaken a little bit. I think they got in a rhythm and that got us out of sorts a little bit.”

Cedar Ridge controlled the first set behind the stellar play of Hargett and excellent defense from junior libero Sydnee Tapper, who had nine digs in the first game. The Red Wolves went on a 7-3 run following a block by Mia Marty, which put the Red Wolves ahead for the rest of the set. Hargett followed with consecutive kills assisted by Marty. Following a block by senior Charlotte Lowry and a kill by Hargett, Heverly called a timeout. Stoll scored the Red Wolves’ final two points of the set, including match point on a overhead strike from the right sideline that went off the hands of Silcott at the net and out of bounds.

The second set turned on a tight call with Orange leading 14-12. Ellamarie Perel delivered a nosediving attack that Orange libero Abby Silinki dove to get under. The Orange bench though the ball went off Silinski’s hand, but the officials ruled it hit the floor, reducing the Panther lead to 14-13. The decision incensed the Orange student section, who grew more animated. Whether it was the intensity from the crowd or a jolt injected into the players, Orange finished the set on a 9-3 run, starting with a kill from Wilkerson. On set point junior Aubrey Jordan delivered a kill assisted by Sawyer White, who finished with nine digs, 20 assists, six kills and two blocks.

Orange’s depth began to settle in the third set. Orange peeled off seven straight points, starting with a tap by White for a kill that put the Lady Panthers ahead 15-11. White delivered consecutive aces to extend the Lady Panthers lead to 21-11. The Red Wolves made a late run with Stoll scoring on three straight kills, but Hargett’s face was as red as her blood-colored uniform as the frame wore on. Hargett still delivered another kill to whittle Orange’s lead to 23-18, but an attack by the Red Wolves went long. Once again, Jordan scored on set point to put Orange ahead two-sets-to-one.

Orange had five different players register kills in the fifth set, which included a block by junior Mariah Poole to put Orange ahead 11-7. Hargett finished with six kills in the third set, including one that reduced Orange’s lead to 13-11. Orange steadily pulled ahead following five kills from Wilkerson. White set up Silcott to trigger a 6-2 Panther run to end the match. Wilkerson scored from the near pole on match point.

It wouldn’t be a playoff run by a Hillsborough team without running into J.H. Rose at some point. The Lady Panthers will travel to Greenville to face the Rampants on Tuesday (tonight).

Cedar Ridge defeated Rose for the 3A Eastern Regional championship. In 2022, Rose defeated the Red Wolves in a rematch. Last year, Orange defeated Rose in the state quarterfinals on its way to the state championship match.

Hillsborough Sports | Cedar Ridge at Orange volleyball in 3rd round of 3A State Playoffs

A great matchup between the Red Wolves and the Lady Panthers, which the Panthers captured 3-1.

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The Orange volleyball team is moving on to the round of 16 in the 3A State Playoffs. The Lady Panthers defeated South Central 3-1 in the 2nd round at Panther Gymnasium on Thursday night. Junior Ava Wilkerson finished with 17 kills as Orange won its seventh playoff game over the past two years. Orange trailed 23-20 in the first set before Wilkerson scored three straight points. In overtime, Wilkerson slammed down set point. Junior setter Katie Silcott finished with eight kills, 16 digs and 23 assists. Last week against Western Alamance, Silcott had her first career triple-double as the Lady Panthers advanced to the Central Conference Tournament championship match. Junior outside hitter Aubrey Jordan finished with eight kills. Orange will face crosstown rival Cedar Ridge in the round of 16 later today (Saturday). It will be the 13th matchup between the two teams since 2021 and their fourth meeting this year. Last week, Orange defeated Cedar Ridge in five sets to win the Central Conference Tournament, which led to Orange hosting this afternoon’s state playoff match. Cedar Ridge has won in their last two trips to Orange High School, including a sweep of the Lady Panthers on September 3. The Red Wolves also defeated Orange to win the 2023 Central Conference Tournament championship.

Orange volleyball’s Ava Wilkerson, Aubrey Jordan & Katie Silcott discuss win over South Central

The Orange volleyball team is moving on to the round of 16 in the 3A State Playoffs. The Lady Panthers defeated South Central 3-1 in the 2nd round at Panther Gymnasium on Thursday night. Junior Ava Wilkerson finished with 17 kills as Orange won its seventh playoff game over the past two years.

There’s always an aura of the unknown when any team ventures into the state playoffs. In most cases, they’re facing opponents they’ve never played before.

For this postseason, the Orange volleyball team’s situation is unique. It turns out among the best teams they’ve faced have been in their own conference all along.

On Saturday, they’ll be facing their crosstown rival for a spot in the state quarterfinals.

Junior Ava WIlkerson registered 17 kills while junior Katie Silcott came away with eight kills, 16 digs and 23 assists to lift Orange over South Central 3-1 in Panther Gymnasium on Thursday night in the 2nd round of the 3A State Playoffs. Orange improved to 17-8 on scores of 27-25, 25-16, 17-25, 25-20.

South Central, who defeated top-seeded J.H.Rose last week, ends the year 14-9.

Though South Central lacked Orange’s size, the Falcons kept the match close with 12 blocks, including six from middle blocker Hannah Ebeling. Freshman Taryn Wilson-Ruffin finished with 16 kills.

In tight moments, Orange rode Wilkerson to victory. South Central led 23-20 in the opening set after a kill by Wilson-Ruffin, leading to a Panther timeout. Wilkerson scored back-to-back kills, including a light tap off a set by Addison Guentensberger to reduce the Falcon lead to 23-22. An attack by Wilson-Ruffin went long, tying the set at 23-23. Ebeling hammered a hanging ball over the net and hard off the floor to set up the Falcons’ first set point. Once again, Wilkerson came through with a kill. Orange sophomore Sawyer White delivered an ace for Orange’s first set point at 25-24, which was promptly canceled out off another attack by Wilson-Ruffin.

White took a feed from Abby Silinski for a kill in overtime. Wilkerson delivered an ace to end the tight set of the match, which had five lead changes and eleven ties.

“We changed our defense midway through the first game,” said Orange coach Hope Heverly. “We talked about being a little more efficient with our first ball contact. The girls were able to make that adjustment like they normally do and we were able to come out on top.”

Orange reeled off ten consecutive points to take control of the second set, starting with a kill from Aubry Hodges assisted by White to increase Orange’s lead to 11-9. From there, Wilkerson served up nine straight winners, which included a quick attack by Silcott to push the Panther advantage to 14-9. Wilkerson spike down set point off a feed from Silcott.

“Hodges had a really great game at the net,” Heverly said. “It was nice seeing her involved in our offense and getting some big kills. She’s always been a brick wall at the net. So it’s nice to see her developing.”

South Central’s Brook Evans, who entered the game with a team-high 264 kills, served up an ace to start the third set. The Falcons got points from Ruffin-Wilson and Blaire Adee to go ahead 4-0 and never trailed the entire game. Aubrey Jordan, who finished with eight kills, laid down a block to trim the Lady Panther deficit to 12-7. But the Falcons immediately put the Panthers in its rear view mirror with four straight points, including three straight aces from Ebeling. Junior Riley Brooks ended a dominant frame with a kill on set point.

Evans dealt another ace as the Falcons jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the fourth. White banged down a spike off a feed from Silcott that stated a string of nine straight Orange points. White delivered an ace to put Orange ahead for good 7-6. Hodges scored a kill at the net, then rejected an attack from Evans to vault the Panthers ahead 12-6. After Silcott’s kill off a feed from Silinski, Orange led 14-6.

The Falcons fought back with an 8-2 run, narrowing Orange’s lead to 22-20. Hodges delivered a gritty play with another big kill where South Central setter Somer Davenport dove for the ball on the floor, but the officials ruled the ball hit the hardwood despite play continuing on for several more seconds. After White laid down an ace, Silcott slammed match point off the hands off Eberling and into the bleachers.

On Saturday, Orange will face crosstown rival Cedar Ridge for the fourth time this year. It will be their 13th matchup since 2021 with Cedar Ridge leading the series 8-4. The winner will face either J.H. Rose or Cape Fear in the state quarterfinals.

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