Orange Volleyball

Growing up in the community of Schley in northern Orange County is a long way from playing college volleyball in New York. But that’s exactly what Orange senior Lottie Scully has signed a letter of intent to do. On Monday afternoon in the trigonometry classroom of head volleyball coach Kelly Young, Scully formally signed to play with the Binghamton Bearcats volleyball team, who play in the America East Conference. Scully was the 2020 Big 8 Conference Player of the Year after leading Orange in kills, aces, and assists. Scully played volleyball, softball, soccer and ran track in her early years before deciding to make volleyball her future. Scully was surrounded by her teammates inside Coach Young’s classroom as she formally signed on Monday. She will enroll at Binghamton in January after a successful career at Orange.

Photo by Averett University

Braden Homsey: Braden Homsey captured the 197-pound championship for Division III Ferrum College during the Averett Cougar Open at the Grant Center in Danville, VA on Saturday. Homsey defeated Jackson Shumate 16-1 in the 2nd round. In the quarterfinals, Homsey grabbed a major decision over Austin Suess of Southwest Virginia 11-2. In the semifinals, Homsey pinned William Headley of Liberty in 2:12. Homsey scored another technical fall in the championship match over William Baldwin of Averett 21-4. In a field of 20 teams, the Panthers finished third with 127 points.

Joey McMullin: The Sandhills Community College men’s basketball team defeated Hosanna Bible College 99-76 at The Hangar in Pinehurst last Monday. McMullin, who scored over 1,000 points in his Orange High career, scored a career-high 27 points for the Flyers. He shot 12-of-15 from the field, including two 3-pointers. On Wednesday, the Flyers defeated Guilford Technical Community College 106-99 in Greensboro. McMullin, who started, had 17 points and six rebounds. On Saturday, Wake Technical Community College defeated Sandhills 126-109 in Pinehurst. McMullin, who started and played 16 minutes, scored six points. He also added two rebounds and an assist. The Flyers are 4-2, 0-2 in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association. They will play the Methodist University junior varsity squad in Fayetteville on Tuesday.

Connor Crabtree: The Richmond Spiders started its men’s basketball season with a a 70-60 victory over North Carolina Central in the Robins Center on Tuesday. Crabtree came off the bench and scored two points, grabbed one rebound and dished out two assists. On Friday, Utah State defeated Richmond 85-74 in the opening game of the Veterans Classic at Alumni Hall in Annapolis, MD. Crabtree had a stickleback basket to put Richmond in the lead 65-63 with 5:38 remaining, but the Aggies went on a 18-3 run to take control of the game. Crabtree scored six points and four rebounds in 14 minutes. Richmond hosts Georgia State on Tuesday night.

Trenton Gill: Former Cedar Ridge All-Conference punter Trenton Gill was named a co-Captain for #21 N.C. State’s game against #13 Wake Forest at Truist Field in Winston-Salem. In the highest-scoring game in 115 all-time matchups, the Demon Deacons defeated the Wolfpack 45-42. Gill had six punts for an average of 45 yards. Two punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. His longest was 52 yards, one of two punts over 50-yards. Gill also had seven kickoffs, six of which were touchbacks. The Wolfpack, who are now ranked #25 by the Associated Press, will host Syracuse at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on Saturday.

Keshawn Thompson: For the fifth time this year, Thompson led the Campbell football team in tackles. Thompson had ten tackles in the Camels’ 28-21 loss to Hampton at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek on Saturday. It was Thompson’s senior day. Campbell has lost five in a row and is now 3-7 overall, 2-4 in the Big South Conference. They will wrap up the season at Robert Morris on Saturday.

Adam Chnupa: The Elon football team defeated Towson 37-14 at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, MD on Saturday. It was the Phoenix’s fourth road win of the season. Chnupa played special teams and defense for the Phoenix, who improved to 5-5, 4-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Phoenix will wrap up the regular season against #25 Rhode Island at Rhodes Stadium in Elon on Saturday.

Emerson Talley: The Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team received an at-large birth for the Division II NCAA Tournament. The Bears, which includes former Cedar Ridge forward Emerson Talley, will face Catawba in the opening round in Salisbury on Saturday at 6PM. Last week, the Bears lost to Queens 1-0 in double overtime in the semifinals of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament in Matthews. The Bears will enter the NCAA Tournament 11-5-2 overall.

Kate Burgess: The UNC rowing team finished its first official race of the season at the Rivanna Romp in Charlottesville, VA on Sunday afternoon. Burgess was aboard the 2V8+ boat, which finished 21st at 15:02.00. In the Varsity Four race, Burgess was aboard the 4V4+, which finished 24th at 17:21.8.

Bailey Lucas: Bailey Lucas’ career with the Meredith volleyball team has come to an end. The Avenging Angels were snubbed from the NCAA Division III volleyball tournament despite a 23-8 record and reaching the championship match of the USA South Athletic Conference tournament. This season, Lucas was 2nd on the team with 506 assists. She had 24 aces.

Kayla Hodges: Hodges was named to the first team All-Colonial Athletic Association for the Elon women’s soccer team last week. Hodges, a junior, played in all 17 games and compiled 1,561 minutes for the Phoenix, who finished the season 9-6-2 overall, 4-3-2 in the CAA. Hodges, playing along the backline, helped Elon to six shutouts, second in the CAA. She was tied for the team lead with three goals. One of them came against rival UNC Wilmington to tie the game in the 84th minute.

Emerson Talley: Talley returned to action for Division II Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team against Carson-Newman on Wednesday. The Bears took the win over the Eagles 3-2. Talley checked in late in the game at Mortez Complex in Hickory.

Taylin Jean: Jean earned the victory as goalkeeper for the final win of the season for the Limestone women’s soccer team last Wednesday. Jean posted a clean sheet against Lincoln Memorial in a 2-0 Saints win. She made three saves as Limestone held the Railsplitters to four shots. On Saturday, Limestone played the aforementioned Lenoir-Rhyne Bears in the quarterfinals of the South Atlantic Conference tournament at Mortez Sports Complex in Hickory. Jean started as goalkeeper. On paper, at least, it pitted two former Cedar Ridge teammates against each other, though Talley didn’t play for the Bears. Lenoir-Rhyne won 2-0. Jean played all 90 minutes and made four saves. Limestone ends the year 10-5-1 with a sixth-place finish in the SAC.

Trenton Gill: Gill was named a co-Captain for the Wolfpack in its 28-14 win over Florida State on Saturday night at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, FL. Gill had eight punts and averaged 45.2 yards per boot. His longest was 60 yards. He had another punt that went 53 yards. There were five punts downed inside the 20-yard line. The Wolfpack, ranked #21 in the Associated Press, will face Wake Forest in a huge matchup on Saturday at Truist Field in Winston-Salem.

“Field position is a great friend to a defense,” said N.C. State coach Dave Doeren. “Ninety-yard fields, when you’re a defensive coordinator, are nice to call the game in. Trent’s a weapon. He’s really, really kicking the football well on kickoffs, too. This isn’t a one-time thing. This has been multiple games this year. He’s flipping the field, too. He had a bomb on one of those punts. We’re very fortunate to have the specialist crew that we do right now.”

Keshawn Thompson: James Madison throttled Campbell 51-14 at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, VA on Saturday. Thompson had nine tackles for the Camels, who have lost four straight. Campbell will host Hampton for Senior Day on Saturday.

Adam Chnupa: #10 Villanova routed Elon 35-0 at Rhodes Stadium on Saturday. Chnupa entered the game as a defensive reserve for the Phoenix. Elon falls to 4-5, 3-3 in the CAA. They will travel to Towson on Saturday.

Bailey Lucas: The Meredith College volleyball team reached the championship game of the USA South Conference Tournament. On Saturday, Southern Virginia defeated the Avenging Angels 3-1 for the championship at Knight Arena in Buena Vista, VA. Lucas, in what may have been her final game, led Meredith with 21 assists. She also had ten digs and two aces. In the semifinals on Friday, Meredith defeated Maryville 3-2. Lucas started and again led the Avenging Angels with 24 assists. She also had seven digs and one block. In the quarterfinals, Meredith swept William Peace. Lucas had 18 assists (a team-high) with four digs and two aces. Lucas, a setter for the Meredith College volleyball team, was named to the USA South Athletic Conference All-Sportsmanship team. Meredith will now wait and see if they receive an at-large bid for the NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament. The field will be announced later today.

Joey McMullin: The Sandhills Community College men’s basketball team opened its regular season with a 95-84 victory over Lenoir Community College in Kinston last Wednesday. McMullin started his first official game with the Flyers and scored ten points off 5-of-12 shooting from the field. He also had five rebounds. On Friday, Anne Arundel Community College defeated Sandhills 82-75 in the Flyers’ home opener. McMullin led the Flyers with 20 points off 10-of-19 shooting.

On Saturday, Sandhills defeated Shooting For Greatness Academy 96-72 in Pinehurst. McMullin had 18 points, seven rebounds and two steals.

Braden Homsey: The Division III Ferrum wrestling team started its dual season with a loss to Washington & Lee 35-7 last week. Homsey won the first match of his senior season with a 10-3 decision over Matt Majoy at 197 pounds. On Sunday, Homsey competed in the Southeast Open at Roanoke College in Salem, VA. Homsey dropped both of his matches.

Brittany Daley: As her women’s soccer career winds down at Division III Greensboro College, former Cedar Ridge centerback Brittany Daley was honored by the USA South Conference. Daley was named to the All-Sportsmanship team. In her final game at Greensboro College’s Pride Field, Greensboro defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 1-0 on Sunday. Daley had a chance to score her first career goal for the Pride as she lined up for a penalty, but the kick was knocked away by Battling Bishops’ goalkeeper Alicia Jacobs in the 80th minute. Daley had a career-high three shots in the match. On Tuesday, Mary Baldwin University defeated Greensboro 2-0 in the opening round of the USA South Conference Tournament in Staunton, VA. In her final game, Daley played all 90 minutes. The Pride ends the year 5-10-3 overall, 3-4-2 in the USA South. Daley concludes her Greensboro College career with 55 career games and 52 starts. She was a starter for the Pride when they won the USA South East Division championship last spring.

Kayla Hodges: The former Orange High midfielder was honored on Senior Day by the Elon women’s soccer team last Sunday before its game against Towson at Rudd Field. The Tigers defeated the Phoenix 1-0. Hodges had a shot on goal and finished with two shots. Elon is 6-5-1 overall, 1-2-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Elon will conclude the regular season with a trip to Drexel on Sunday.

Taylin Jean: On Saturday, the Carson-Newman women’s soccer team defeated Limestone 1-0 at McCown Field in Jefferson City, TN. Jean replaced starting Limestone goalkeeper Katie Maher in the the 40th minute. Jean played the final 50 minutes and made one save. Limestone falls to 9-4-1 overall, 5-4-1 in the South Athletic Conference.

Jordan Rogers: Like Daley, Rogers was named to the All-USA South Sportsmanship team for William Peace University. The Pacers ended its season last weekend after a double overtime loss to Salem College. Peace concluded the season 4-7-3 overall, 2-5-2 in the USA South.

Trenton Gill: The N.C. State football team became bowl eligible after beating Louisville 28-13 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on Saturday night. Gill, the Wolfpack’s punter, was busy on a night where the defenses largely dominated. He had six punts for an average of 45.4 yards. His longest was 53 yards, one of two punts over 50 yards. Five of his six punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. Gill also had five kickoffs with three touchbacks. The Cardinals were coached by former Orange High quarterback Scott Satterfield.

Keshawn Thompson: Charleston Southern defeated Campbell University 27-14 at Buccaneer Field in Charleston, S.C. on Saturday afternoon. Thompson, coming off 12-tackle game against Kennesaw State, finished with six tackles for the Camels. Campbell is now 3-5 overall, 2-3 in the Big South Conference.

Adam Chnupa: The Elon football team suffered a disappointing 45-21 loss to #5 James Madison at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, VA on Saturday. Adam Chnupa played special teams and defeated for the Phoenix. Elon drops to 4-4 overall, 3-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association. They will host Villanova next Saturday at Rhodes Stadium

Bailey Lucas: The Meredith volleyball team build a ten-game winning streak before it was snapped during a quad-match on Saturday afternoon. To start the day, the Avenging Angels defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 3-1 at the Grant Center in Danville, VA. Lucas started and finished with 16 assists, one kill and four digs. The winning streak ended when Averett defeated Meredith on scores of 25-14, 25-15, 19-25 and 25-20. Lucas had 16 assists and 12 digs. Meredith concluded the regular season 21-7 overall, 15-3 in the USA South Conference. On Tuesday, Meredith defeated crosstown rival William Peace 3-1 at the Hermann Athletic Center in Raleigh. Lucas led Meredith with 29 assists and six digs. Meredith will start play in the USA South Tournament on Tuesday with another match against Peace.

Photo by Marc Reidel:

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith College volleyball team honored senior and former Orange star Bailey Lucas during a tri-match at Weatherspoon Gym in Raleigh on Saturday. The Avenging Angels won both matches to extend its winning streak to nine, a season-long. Meredith defeated Pfeiffer 3-0 on scores of 25-16, 25-20 and 25-15. Lucas started and had a game-high 17 assists along with two digs and one ace. Meredith also swept Greensboro 3-0 on scores of 25-21, 25-17 and 25-21. Lucas had 19 assists with seven digs and an ace. Meredith also won two matches over Salem last week. On Tuesday, Meredith defeated the Spirits 3-0 on scores of 25-13, 25-18 and 25-16 at Varsity Gym in Winston-Salem. Lucas led the Angels with 17 assists, one ace and six digs. On Thursday, Meredith swept Salem again in Raleigh. Lucas finished with eleven assists and seven digs. The Angels are 18-6 overall, 12-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference.

Joey McMullin: The Sandhills Community College men’s basketball team was named the preseason #1 team in Division III of the National Junior College Athletic Association media poll. The Flyers continued to prepare for the upcoming season with a 105-64 win over Blue Light College in a scrimmage in Pinehurst on Wednesday. McMullin lead the Flyers with 14 points. He also tied for the team lead with nine rebounds. Sandhills will start the regular season against Lenoir Community College in Kinston on November 3.

Trenton Gill: Miami defeated #18 N.C. State 31-30 at Hard Rock Stadium in Coral Gables, FL on Saturday night. Gill had six punts for an average of 49.2 yards per boot for the Wolfpack. His longest was 59 yards, one of three punts that went over 50 yards. Three punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. Of Gill’s seven kickoffs, six were touchbacks.

Keshawn Thompson: For the third time this year, former Orange High linebacker Keshawn Thompson led Campbell in tackles in a game. Thompson registered 12 tackles, but #11 Kennesaw State routed the Camels 30-7 at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek. Thompson leads Campbell in tackles with 41 on the season. The Camels are 3-4 overall, 2-2 in the Big South Conference. They will travel to Charleston Southern next Saturday. Thompson has started all seven Campbell games.

Adam Chnupa: The Elon football team defeated New Hampshire 24-10 at Rhodes Stadium on Saturday. Chnupa entered the game as a reserve defensive back and assisted on a tackle. Elon has now won three in a row and is 4-3 overall, 3-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Phoenix will travel to James Madison next Saturday.

Kayla Hodges: Hodges made two more starts for the Elon women’s soccer team in a couple of marathon games last week. On Sunday, Elon defeated Northeastern 2-1 in overtime at Parson Field in Brookline, MA. Hodges played all 93 minutes before Kenney Jones scored the golden goal in overtime. On Thursday, the Phoenix played to a scoreless tie against William & Mary at Albert-Daly Field in Williamsburg, VA. Hodges fired one shot and played all 110 minutes. Elon is 7-5-2, 2-2-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Elon will host #23 Hofstra on Sunday at Rudd Field.

Emerson Talley: Talley started Lenoir-Rhyne’s game against Newberry at the Smith Road Complex on Saturday. Newberry came away with a 1-0 win in double overtime. Talley played 36 minutes. Last Sunday, Lenoir-Rhyne defeated Tusculum 5-0 at Pioneer Field in Greenville, TN. Talley came off the bench and played 13 minutes. The Bears, in the Division II South Atlantic Conference, are 9-3-2, 7-2-1 in the SAC.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone women’s soccer team shut out Tusculum 4-0 at Saints Field in Gaffney, SC on Wednesday. Former Cedar Ridge goalkeeper Taylin Jean entered the game in the second half and preserved the clean sheet for the Saints, making one save. Limestone is 9-3-1, 5-3-1 in the SAC.

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team played to a 1-1 tie against Mary Baldwin University at Pride Field in Greensboro on Wednesday. Daley played all 110 minutes for the Pride. Greensboro is 4-9-3 overall, 2-4-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference. Daley will be honored on Senior Day on Sunday when Greensboro hosts North Carolina Wesleyan.

Jordan Rogers: The Division III William Peace women’s soccer team lost in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday. Salem College scored in the final minute of the second overtime to defeat the Pacers 3-2 at Varsity Field in Winston-Salem. Rogers, a former Orange Panthers, started for the Pacers and played all 110 minutes. She fired one shot. On Wednesday, Peace played Pfeiffer to a 1-1 tie in Misenheimer. Once again, Rogers started and played all 110 minutes. Peace is now 4-6-3 overall, 2-4-2 in the USA South Athletic Conference.

Photo by Angie Hurdle

There’s a wonderful uncertainty about conference tournaments that you can’t experience until you see it yourself.

Look no further than Monday night at Orange. The Lady Panthers volleyball team faced Western Alamance, a team that Orange had little trouble with in the regular season. Just last week, Orange traveled to Elon, could have parked in a one-hour zone and faced no repercussions, disposing of the Warriors 25-22, 25-8 and 25-15.

It was considerably different on Monday. No one could explain why, but the Warriors jumped out to a 2-sets-to-nothing lead. Perhaps Orange looked ahead to a potential third matchup against Cedar Ridge on Tuesday. Perhaps Western Alamance was more motivated to make a run for a 3A State Playoff birth.

A week after dominating the Warriors, the Lady Panthers had to rally and rally in order to pull out its second five-set win of the season, and its first since the season opener against Jordan. To start the fifth set, Western Alamance led 5-0 after several close calls went against Orange, which sparked a comeback triggered by junior Allie Wilkerson, who has consecutive kills.

After Avery Miller earned a side out for Orange to reduce the Western Alamance lead to 10-6, Orange sophomore libero Sadye Porter lined up to serve. And she would serve nine consecutive points to finish out the match. During that run, Wilkerson had two blocks and two kills, including match point as Orange finally earned a 15-10 fifth set win and the match.

The lesson is that in conference tournaments, nothing is ever certain.

While conference tournaments were common in men’s and women’s basketball during the Big 8 Conference, they were a non-entity in volleyball. But not in the Central Carolina Conference. And now, on Tuesday night, Orange and Cedar Ridge will meet for a third time this season.

As Western Alamance proved on Monday, it’s hard to beat a team three times.

It was another strong week for Hillsborough volleyball last week, which brings us to the Magnificent 7. Here are the seven athletes who established themselves last week on the tennis court, volleyball court, soccer pitch and gridiron:

Olivia Aitkin: A three-sport athlete at Cedar Ridge, Aitkin qualified for the 3A Central Women’s Golf Regionals. Aitkin competed in the Central Carolina Conference Tournament at Mill Creek Country Club in Mebane. Aitkin also recently committed to play softball at Amherst College in Massachusetts.

Melissa Benkowitz: The Cedar Ridge volleyball team had three players register 100 kills during the regular season. Benkowitz, who was arguably East Chapel Hill’s best player in 2020, transferred to Cedar Ridge over the summer and has grown into her role as an outside hitter. In the regular season finale against Carrboro last Wednesday at Red Wolves Gymnasium, Benkowitz led Cedar Ridge with eight kills. She also had six digs as the Red Wolves broke the school record for most wins in a regular season with 23. Cedar Ridge also finished with a perfect 12-0 record in the CCC after sweeping Williams on Monday.

Chloe Patz: A senior co-Captain for the Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team, Patz earned her first trip to the Mideast Regionals during the Central Carolina Conference tournament on Friday. Patz defeated a participant from Northwood to extend her season. Patz has been Cedar Ridge’s regular #2 singles player this season and has had several key victories, including one against Northwood on September 27 to ensure a 6-3 win. Northwood would go on to claim a share of the CCC championship with Walter Williams.

Jera Hargrove: Reached the 3A Mideast Regional women’s tennis finals for the third time in her career last week. Hargrove teamed with Erin Sollars in doubles play to defeat Williams’ Kaori Naruse and Lauren Turner during the Central Carolina Conference Tournament at the Burlington Tennis Center. Hargrove reached the Mideast Regionals in her freshman and sophomore years as a singles player. She was one of six Orange women’s tennis players who qualified for the Mideast Regionals.

Avery Miller: Had 12 kills and eight digs as the Orange volleyball team ended the regular season with a 3-0 win over Eastern Alamance on Thursday. It was Miller’s final regular season game for the Lady Panthers. Last Tuesday, Miller had five kills in a win over Western Alamance.

Ella Wimsatt: Led Orange with eleven kills in the win over Western Alamance. Also had a strong game against Eastern Alamance in Mebane as Orange secured fourth place in the CCC. The Lady Panthers will likely host a 3A State Playoff game on Saturday.

Konnor Johnson: The Orange freshman midfielder scored two goals as the Panthers defeated Person 4-2 on Wednesday at Rocket Stadium. Johnson also set up several scoring opportunities for the Panthers in its 1-1 draw with Cedar Ridge at Orange Soccer Park on October 11. It was the first brace for Johnson in his varsity career. He has four goals on the season.

It was a dramatic night for the Orange volleyball team in the opening round of the Central Carolina Conference tournament. The Lady Panthers trailed 2-sets-to-nothing against Western Alamance before staging a comeback to win 3-2. In the final set, Orange was down 5-0 before junior outside hitter Allie Wilkerson had consecutive kills. The Lady Panthers were down 10-6 before a kill by Avery Miller, assisted by Ella Wimsatt, led to a side out. Then Orange reeled off nine consecutive points with sophomore Sadye Porter serving. Wilkerson had two blocks during the 9-0 run, including one that put the Panthers ahead for good 11-10. After Porter delivered an ace, Miller had consecutive kills before Wilkerson scored match point. Orange improved to 10-8 and advances to the semifinals of the CCC Tournament. On Tuesday night, Orange will travel across town to face regular season champion Cedar Ridge.

Through eight years in the Big 8 Conference, the Orange and Cedar Ridge volleyball teams annually competed against state championship contenders–namely Chapel Hill.

Yet they never had a chance to compete in a conference tournament simply because the league never held one.

This week that will change. The 7-team Central Carolina Conference volleyball tournament gets underway tonight with games in Hillsborough, Pittsboro and Roxboro. It will start an eventful week.

On Tuesday, the CCC semifinals will unfold with Cedar Ridge guaranteed to host one of the games. On Wednesday, there will be the tournament championship game. On Thursday, the pairings for the 3A State Tournament will be unveiled by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. On Saturday, the state playoffs begin.

After they finished the regular season with road wins against Western Alamance and Eastern Alamance, Orange earned the #4 seed for the CCC Tournament. Once again, the Lady Panthers will face Western Alamance to open the tournament tonight at Panther Gymnasium in Hillsborough. Orange swept the regular season series from the Warriors, both by 3-0 scores.

The winner of Orange-Western Alamance will travel to Cedar Ridge on Tuesday. The Red Wolves received a bye into the semifinals after they captured the regular season title.

Also tonight, second-seeded Northwood faces 7th-seeded Williams. In Roxboro, 3rd-seeded Person welcomes #6 Eastern Alamance.

In Orange’s win over Western Alamance last week, sophomore Ella Wimsatt led Orange with eleven kills with an impressive 79% kill percentage. Wimsatt is second on the team with 104 kills. Senior Ella Van Tiem, who had ten kills against the Warriors, leads the team with 117.

Junior Caitlin Carden had 17 assists. Carden finished the regular season with 355 assists. She also led the team with 21 aces.

Cedar Ridge has already earned the top seed for the 3A State Tournament from the Central Carolina Conference after winning the regular season championship with a 12-0 record. The Red Wolves will hold that top spot regardless of who wins this week’s conference tournament. In all likelihood, Cedar Ridge will be the #1 seed for the Eastern Regional when the brackets are released on Thursday morning, meaning the Red Wolves will have home court advantage throughout the state playoffs.

As of right now, Northwood will be the #2 seed out of the CCC for the state playoffs.

Last week, the Red Wolves concluded the regular season with wins over Williams and Carrboro. The victory over the Jaguars was the sixth victory for Cedar Ridge against a team that has won its conference championship or will be the #1 seed out of its own league for the 3A State Playoffs (D.H. Conley, a 4A squad who lost to Cedar Ridge in August, plays in the 4A/3A Big East Conference and has won the league title. J.H. Rose will be the top-seeded 3A team from the Big East).

Cedar Ridge finished the regular season 23-2 overall. The school record for wins in a season is 24, held by the 2015 squad that hosted the 3A Eastern Regional Championship game, where it lost to Asheboro with a trip to the state championship match on the line.

Junior Cameron Lloyd, who eclipsed 500 kills in her career last month, finished the regular season with a team-high 213 kills. Another junior, Cameron Lanier, was second on the squad with 45 kills. Melissa Benkowitz, who transferred to Cedar Ridge from East Chapel Hill over the summer, successfully made the transition from libero to outside hitter and registered 117 kills.

Junior setter Julie Altieri, who will likely surpass 1,200 career assists this week, has a team-high 414 assists this season. Her career high for a season is 586 in 2019.

On Sunday, the NCHSAA released the latest RPI rankings. Cedar Ridge maintained its #1 ranking with a .712 RPI. J.H. Rose, who lost to the Red Wolves in three sets during a quad match at Chapel Hill High School on October 9, was ranked #2 at .695.

The CCC had four of the top eleven teams in the latest RPI rankings. Northwood, who finished behind only Cedar Ridge in the CCC, was ranked #3. Person was ranked #4. Orange came in at #11.

The Orange volleyball team won its final regular season match of the season against Eastern Alamance in Mebane on Thursday night. The Lady Panthers prevailed 3-1 on scores of 25-16, 23-25, 25-17 and 25-10. It was the final regular season match for Orange seniors Avery Miller, Ella Van Tiem and Aubri Wright. In the final set, Miller had six kills. Van Tiem finished with five kills in the fourth set, alone. Van Tiem led Orange with 117 kills this season going into the Eastern Alamance game. She also was fourth on the team with 119 digs. Miller registered 98 kills, which was third on the squad. She also had 105 digs as Orange finished the regular season 9-8, good enough for fourth place in a very difficult Central Carolina Conference. Wright was third on the team with 127 digs going into the Eastern Alamance game. She also had five aces. Orange will now prepare for the inaugural Central Carolina Conference tournament. The Lady Panthers will play at home on Monday night at 6 PM against either Eastern Alamance or Western Alamance. The winner will face Cedar Ridge in the semifinals on Tuesday.