Orange Volleyball

Rodney Brooks: St. Augustine’s defeated Livingstone 20-12 at George Williams Comp Stadium in Raleigh on Saturday. Rodney Brooks, who graduated from Orange in 2017, tied for the Livingstone team lead with six tackles. He also had a pass breakup. Brooks has now played six games since arriving in Salisbury last summer. The Blue Bears have dropped two in a row and are 3-2, 2-1 in the CIAA. They return to Raleigh next weekend to face Shaw, led by former Southern Durham head coach Adrian Jones.

Payton Wilson: On Thursday night, N.C. State earned its first ACC win of the season with a 16-10 victory over Syracuse. Wilson finished with three tackles. After six games, Wilson has 26 tackles, including three tackles for loss.

Trent Gill: As State found itself in a rugged defensive battle with the Orange, Gill found himself busy as a punter. He had six punts for an average of 48.8 yards per boot. His longest punt was 55 yards, and he had two over 50 yards. Gill had two punts downed inside the 20-yard line. N.C. State faces Boston College next Saturday at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, MA.

Adam Chnupa: A rousing day for the Elon football team on Saturday. The Phoenix defeated Delaware, ranked #15 in FCS, 42-7 at Rhodes Stadium in Elon. Chnupa, a redshirt freshman who graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2017, saw action in his third game of the season. Elon travels to Rhode Island next weekend. The Phoenix are 3-4, 2-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Kevin Wright: It was a memorable day for the Division III North Carolina Wesleyan football team on Saturday. The Battling Bishops played its first game on its own campus. Wesleyan defeated Greensboro College 44-7 at the Vernon T. Bradley Complex. The Bishops are 3-2, 2-0 in the USA South Athletic Conference. They face Averett in Danville, VA next weekend.

Jackson Schmid: Though Schmid hasn’t played for Division III Wheaton College since September 21st, the Thunder is now ranked #5 in Division III. The Thunder defeated North Park University 63-0 in Chicago on Saturday to improve to 5-0, 1-0 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Schmid graduated from Orange in 2017.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone women’s soccer team defeated Converse College 2-0 at Saints Field in Gaffney, SC on Saturday. Jean posted her fifth shutout of the season starting as goalkeeper for Limestone. She made one save to earn her fifth win of the year. Limestone is 5-5, 4-2 in Conference Carolinas.

Jordan Rogers: Division III Methodist defeated William Peace University 2-0 at Monarch SoccerPlex in Fayetteville on Saturday. Rogers started at wingback for the Pacers. She has started all 14 of the Pacers’ games this season. Peace falls to 6-6-1, 2-2 in the USA South Conference.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: Th Division III Dickinson men’s soccer team defeated Washington College 2-1 for its third straight win on Saturday at Miller Memorial Field in Carlisle, PA. Reid-Shaw started for the Red Devils at center back. He has started nine games this year. Dickinson is 8-5, 4-1 in the Centennial Conference.

Lili Henry: The Division III Methodist volleyball team dropped both of its tilts in a tri-match at Greensboro College on Saturday. Greensboro swept the Monarchs to open the day at Hanes Gymnasium. Henry had eleven assists and five digs against the Pride. William Peace upended Methodist in four sets. Against the Pacers, Henry had 17 assists, six digs and two aces. Methodist falls to 3-13, 2-6 in the USA South Conference. They travel to Salem College in Winston-Salem on Wednesday.

Kayla Hodges: The Elon women’s soccer team played to a 1-1 tie with Drexel at Rudd Field in Elon on Sunday. The Phoenix remain undefeated at home. Hodges, a 2018 Orange graduate, scored Elon’s only goal in the 15th minute off a header from six yards out. Hannah Doherty assisted on the goal. Hodges now had three goals for the Phoenix this season. Elon is 8-3-2 overall, 2-1-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association. They travel to Maryland to play Towson on Sunday.

Taylin Jean: The Division II Limestone women’s soccer team fell to Queen’s College 2-1 at Dickson Field in Charlotte on Wednesday night. Jean, a 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate, made seven saves starting as the Saints’ goalkeeper. After not playing in her freshman year, Jean has started nine games this season. She has made 36 saves. Limestone is 4-5, 3-2 in Conference Carolians. They host Converse College at Saints Field in Gaffney, S.C. on Saturday.

Brittany Daley: Division III Greensboro College defeated Meredith College 1-0 at Pride Field on Wednesday night. Daley started her 13th game of the season at center back. Greensboro improved to 9-3-1 overall, 3-0-1 in the USA South Conference. They host Mary Baldwin University on Tuesday.

Jordan Rogers: For the first time in women’s soccer, Division III William Peace defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 2-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Wednesday night. Rogers made her 13th start of the season at wingback. Peace improved to 6-6-1 overall, 2-1 in the USA South Conference. They face Methodist in Fayetteville on Saturday.

Alfredo Rodriguez: The 2017 Orange High graduate is now a forward for NAIA Montreat men’s soccer team in Black Mountain. Rodriguez has yet to play varsity this season and has shuttled between varsity and junior varsity with the Cavaliers. Montreat has won five in a row and has an overall record of 9-3-1.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: Reid-Shaw was back in the lineup for Division III Dickinson men’s soccer on Tuesday night. It was another down-to-the-wire win for the Red Devils, who defeated Misericordia 3-2 in overtime at Mangelsdorf Field in Dallas, PA. Dickinson’s Kevin Gilbert scored the game-winning goal in the 98th minute. Reid-Shaw has stared seven games this season for Dickinson. The Red Devils improved to 7-5 overall.

Lili Henry: The Division III Pfeiffer volleyball team defeated Methodist in a sweep at the Riddle Center in Fayetteville on Tuesday night. Henry had 15 assists, six digs and two aces for the Monarchs. She played all three sets. Methodist falls to 3-11, 2-4 in the USA South Conference. The Monarchs will travel to Greensboro on Saturday for a tri-match-match against Greensboro College and William Peace at Hanes Gymnasium.

Lauren Cates: The leading scorer from Orange’s women’s basketball team unofficially started her college career last weekend. The Wake Tech women’s basketball team had an exhibition during the Southeast JUCO Jamboree in Albany, GA. The Eagles will officially starts its season against Meredith at Wake Tech on October 22.

Story by Tim Hackett

It was a matchup between two teams that are among the top 20 seeds in HighSchoolOT’s first 3A volleyball playoff projections. It was a matchup between two teams that are among the top 20 teams in MaxPreps’ adjusted rankings. It was a matchup between two rival schools that have practically split the head-to-head series over the last dozen years. It was a matchup in front of a packed house of fans sporting the colors of their chosen side, with a little extra added for the sake of the rivalry – black shirts with “Beat Orange” on one side of the gym, white shirts with “Beat The Ridge” on the other. And the second installment of Orange vs. Cedar Ridge 2019, volleyball edition, lived up to the billing on Tuesday night in Hillsborough. 

“With a rival team there’s usually high emotion. There’s a bigger fan group, and so there’s more noise and you can kind of become nervy,” Cedar Ridge head coach Anna Seethaler said. “The mentality of this game was just ‘This ball. Next ball. Let’s get this ball. How about this ball?’ So just a one point at a time mentality rather than ‘Let’s win in five.’” 

The Red Wolves would need a serious comeback to even have a chance to win in five on this day, but their bounce-back efforts fell short: after splitting four tight sets with their cross-town rival, Orange (12-6, 7-3 Big 8) dominated in the fifth, fending off Cedar Ridge (15-4, 7-3) in a five-set affair. After Cedar Ridge took the first meeting between the two in five sets at Orange a month ago, Tuesday’s win brings Orange even with Cedar Ridge at third place in the strong Big 8 Conference, and adds another high-quality win to the Panthers’ ledger.

“Once we got into a rhythm we really showed up together and…well, it sucks to lose,” Seethaler said with an honest chuckle. “I mean, they’re a good team, and they showed up tonight.” 

The gameplan that has proved successful for Kelly Young’s Panthers all season was evident again in the first two sets Tuesday: serve and pass well, cycle setters and set up offense from the middle and the right side. Seethaler says it isn’t necessarily harder to coach or defend a team that attacks from the right side as much as Orange does – “it’s the same as an outside, just on the opposite side of the court,” she quipped – but that didn’t help Cedar Ridge slow down Lottie Scully, who was strong in the second set especially in leading Orange to identical 25-21 victories in the first two frames.

Defensively, Orange did well to limit top Cedar Ridge outside Cameron Lloyd, but she can only be contained for so long – as the tight third set wore on, she finally broke out, delivering three kills over four points to vault the Red Wolves into a 23-22 edge. With Orange on match point just moments later, Cameron Lanier delivered a middle kill and Julie Altieri dropped in back-to-back service aces to give the home team the 26-24 win. Altieri sent the first serve of the fourth set long, but that was the only time Cedar Ridge trailed – a Scully ace brought Orange to within 19-17, but solid serving from Haley Cothran and Lanier helped Cedar Ridge to a comprehensive 25-19 victory. 

Orange had played well in the first two sets, but Cedar Ridge had fully flipped the momentum – and the atmosphere – in the gym. But not for long. The Panthers’ level of play increased at the same rate as the “This is our house!” chants from their fans on the left side of the gym increased – Orange won the first four points of the fifth set and won nine of the first ten overall before Lloyd finally got the Red Wolves settled with a kill. But by then, it was too late: Seethaler had to burn both of her timeouts, and the Panthers’ lead in the first-to-15 sprint was much too great for the Red Wolves to overcome. Avery Miller provided a rare left side kill to put Orange up match point, but Cedar Ridge persisted through a Lloyd kill and a Lanier ace. But then, with the chants from the white-clad visiting contingent loud as ever, chaos struck: Lanier served at Orange libero Brooke Fryar, a common strategy despite her solid passing, again. Fryar’s return went back over the net but the only person who could make a play was Lanier, hustling in from the service line – her diving bump pass attempt sailed out of play, and Orange had sealed a five-set upset win over their longtime rivals with a 15-9 victory in set five. 

It’s looking likely that both of these teams will make an appearance in the 3A volleyball playoffs in 2019, but there aren’t many more chances for either side to prove it deserves a higher seed than they are currently projected to hold. Cedar Ridge only has four regular season matches left, including one at home next week against a strong East Chapel Hill side, while Orange still has the two-time conference champ Chapel Hill among its final five contests. A loss almost certainly wouldn’t knock either Hillsborough team out of the postseason, but those games might serve as the final chance for them to turn some heads – if nothing else, Tuesday’s match proved both schools belong in the conversation for best in the conference, even though the 2019 season split won’t help to prove which school is the best in the city.

It wasn’t just another rivalry game for Orange senior Emma Clements against Cedar Ridge on Tuesday night. It was, in all likelihood, her last game against Cedar Ridge. Orange started with a purpose, winning the first two sets against the Red Wolves. After Cedar Ridge rallied back to force a fifth set, Orange prevailed in the end to earn a season split with the Red Wolves. Clements, a senior co-captain, returned to action after missing several games because of an injury.  After Tuesday’s win, Cedar Ridge and Orange are tied for 3rd in the Big 8 Conference. Orange will travel to Northwood on Thursday night. 

This was the week that was: This is the first time all year that Cedar Ridge volleyball starts the week outside of first place in the Big 8 Conference. After losses to East Chapel Hill and Chapel Hill, the Red Wolves enter Tuesday’s match against Orange still battling for an automatic spot in the playoffs.

For those unfamiliar with how the current playoff structure works in North Carolina, the teams that finish in the top two of their conference automatically make the playoffs. The remaining teams are determined by MaxPreps rankings. As of Sunday night, Cedar Ridge and East Chapel Hill are tied for 2nd with 7-2 conference marks. Orange is 6-3, which makes Tuesday’s match between the Red Wolves and the Lady Panthers all the more important. A second place finish guarantees a home state playoff match for whoever captures it.

However, Orange and Cedar Ridge are shoo-ins for the state playoffs. Cedar Ridge’s MaxPreps ranking is #15. East Chapel Hill is #18. Orange is #24. Neither Cedar Ridge or Orange are on the bubble to make the playoffs, but they sure would love to host a match in the state playoffs. That’s much more questionable in the final two weeks of the regular season.

However, the Cedar Ridge and Orange men’s soccer teams are on the bubble. Cedar Ridge has a critical match against Northwood on Monday night. The Red Wolves swept Southern Durham and Vance County last week. Orange defeated Southern Durham but fell to Northern Durham. Cedar Ridge’s MaxPreps ranking is #65, while Orange is #71.

In women’s tennis, Orange and Cedar Ridge will compete in the Big 8 Conference Tournament on the Lindsay Linker Tennis Courts at East Chapel Hill on Wednesday afternoon. Orange guaranteed itself a winning season on Thursday by beating Roxboro Community School, it’s first winning campaign in at least eight years.

Here’s the Magnificent 7 from an interesting Week 7. As always, two of the following athletes will be named the Orange Panther of the Week and the Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week sometime in the days ahead.

The Magnificent 7:

Reese Weaver: Scored the opening goal in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Southern Durham at Spartan Stadium. On Monday night, Weaver scored two goals as the Red Wolves defeated Vance County 6-1 in Henderson. Weaver, a senior, now has eight goals this season.

Zoe Wade: After her teammate Anne Morrell was honored last week when the Red Wolves women’s cross country team won the Greensboro Invitational, Wade is inducted into the Hall of Awesome this week after coming in 10th at the Wendy’s Invitational at McAlpine Park. Wade crossed the finish line at 20:31.50. Morrell finished 7th as the Red Wolves won its second open race in two weeks. Cedar Ridge finish 1st out of 25 teams.

Brianna Cellini: Won her singles and doubles match as Cedar Ridge defeated Vance County in Henderson 9-0. It was Cellini’s final dual match as a member of the Red Wolves. In her career, Cellini helped the Red Wolves win the 2016 Big 8 Championship. Now, she will focus on the Big 8 Tournament on Wednesday in an attempt to qualify for regionals.

Cameron Lanier: Finished with eleven kills, a block, an ace and a dig in the Cedar Ridge volleyball team’s 3-2 win over Vance County on Monday. On Wednesday, she had the final two kills in Cedar Ridge’s sweep of N.C. School of Science and Math. Cedar Ridge is 14-3 headed into Monday’s road trip to Bartlett Yancey.

Sydney Allison: The Orange women’s tennis team won its final home match of the season against J.F. Webb on Wednesday. Allison was selected by head coach Justin Webb as the player of the match. She won her match at #2 singles 8-6. Later on in doubles, Allison teamed with Gaylaw Eh to win 8-1. On Friday, Allison teamed with Elsa Landeros to win at #3 doubles as the Lady Panthers clinched a winning season.

Tyler Werden: Werden scored the game-winning goal in the first period of extra time as the Orange men’s soccer team defeated Southern Durham 3-1 on Monday night. On September 27, Werden scored two goals in a loss to Carrboro. He also scored in a loss to Northern Durham on Thursday.

Avery Miller: The sophomore stepped up with seniors Emma Clements and Elizabeth Vosburg out of the lineup against East Chapel Hill last Tuesday. Miller had eleven kills in a tight 3-1 loss to the Wildcats. On Thursday in Orange’s 3-0 win over Vance County, Miller led Orange with eleven kills. She also had eight digs and an ace as Orange improve to 11-6.

Kayla Hodges: The Elon women’s soccer team had a thrilling 3-2 win over William & Mary at Rudd Field in Elon on Thursday night. Former Orange High star Kayla Hodges opened the scoring with a goal in the 47th minute. It was the 2nd goal of her career. Hodges headed in a cross from the five yard box on a cross sent in by Beky Myers. Elon scored the game-winning goal in extra time from Jessica Carrieri in the 101st minute. Hodges, a sophomore, finished with three shots, two of them on net. She has started in all 12 of the Phoenix’s games this year. Elon is 8-3-1 overall, 2-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Hodges also started in Sunday’s 5-0 loss at Hofstra in Hempstead, N.Y. on Sunday. Elon hosts Drexel at Rudd Field on Sunday.

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team defeated Averett University 4-1 on Tuesday at Campbell Stadium in Danville, VA. Daley, a sophomore who graduated from Cedar Ridge in 2018, started her eleventh game of the season at center back. Greensboro is 8-3, 2-0 in the USA South Conference. The Pride will hosts Methodist University on Saturday in Greensboro.

Jordan Rogers: On Tuesday, the Pfeiffer women’s soccer team shut out William Peace University 5-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Jordan Rogers started at wingback for the Pacers, who are now 4-5-1, 1-1 in the USA South Conference. Rogers, a sophomore who graduated from Orange in 2018, has started in all ten of Peace’s games this season. Peace hosts Trinity Washington University on Friday night in Cary.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: On Wednesday night, Franklin & Marsh defeated the Division III Dickinson men’s soccer team 2-1 in Lancaster, PA. Franklin & Marsh came into the match ranked #4 nationally in Division III. Former Orange star Lionel Reid-Shaw started for the Red Devils. Dickinson is now 5-5, 2-1 in the Centennial Conference. Reid-Shaw has played in all ten of the Red Devils’ games this year, starting five. Dickinson host Ursinus on Saturday in Carlisle, PA.

Bryse Wilson: As the Atlanta Braves started its National League Divisional Series against the St. Louis Cardinals at SunTrust Park on Thursday night, Wilson’s season officially came to an end earlier this week. Wilson was left off Atlanta’s 25-man playoff roster. It marks the second year in a row that Wilson finished the regular season with Atlanta as they wrapped up a National League East Division Championship. Wilson ends the year with a 10-7 record with the AAA Gwinnett Braces of the International League. He had a 3.42 ERA in 21 starts and 121 innings. He had 118 strikeouts and 26 walks. Wilson started the season with Atlanta and was recalled from Gwinnett five times during the course of the season. In Atlanta, Wilson made four starts and six overall appearances. He had a 1-1 record with a 7.20 ERA in 20 innings.

Lili Henry: The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate started for the Division III Methodist volleyball team on Tuesday night. Pfeiffer swept the Monarchs at the Riddle Center in Fayetteville. Henry had 15 assists, six digs and two aces. The Falcons won on scores of 28-26, 25-14 and 25-23. Methodist falls to 2-10, 1-3 in the USA South Conference. The Monarchs travel to Methodist College on Saturday for a tri-match with Meredith and Mary Baldwin University.

Last week, the Orange women’s tennis team defeated Cedar Ridge for the first time since 2013. The Cedar Ridge volleyball team maintained its share of first place in the Big 8 with a five-set victory over Vance County, then rolled past Southern Durham on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Orange volleyball team showed its depth. They started the week with a convincing 3-1 disposal of East Chapel Hill, the Wildcats’ first Big 8 Conference loss of the season. Orange, despite missing senior Emma Clements and sophomore Avery Miller, still swept Northern Durham on Thursday for its third win in four days.

Yet Cedar Ridge and Orange will hardly get a chance to enjoy their victories. Both teams have monster road games this week.

Cedar Ridge starts the week tied with Chapel Hill for 1st place in the Big 8. The Red Wolves travel to CHHS on Thursday.

Orange has a rematch against East Chapel Hill, this time at Wildcat Gymnasium on Tuesday.

In football, it’s Orange-Southern Durham week. From 2012-2017, the winner of Orange-Southern dictated the Big 8 Conference Champion. After Southern’s 13-0 shutout of Northern Durham on Friday night, the Spartans appear poised to win its first conference title since 2015, when current Wake Forest wide receiver Kendall Hinton was the quarterback for Southern.

On top of all that, the Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team won the women’s invitational race at the Greensboro Cross Country Invitational on Saturday afternoon. Cedar Ridge finished with 55 points, beating East Chapel Hill, who wound up with 63.

And the Orange football team won its Big 8 opener over East Chapel Hill on Friday 40-7.

Think the candidates’ list for the Magnificent 7 was long this week? Well, it was. As always, two of the following seven athletes will be named the Orange Panther of the Week and the Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week on Tuesday.

Here is the Magnificent 7 for Week 6 of the Fall Sports season.

1. Anne Morrell: The Cedar Ridge junior was the top finisher at Saturday’s Greensboro Cross Country Invitational at Hagan Stone Park. Among 106 runners, Morrell finished 7th with a time of 20:52.34. Last season, the Cedar Ridge women finished 2nd in the Greensboro Invitational.
2. Emma Vosburg: In the Orange volleyball team’s 3-1 win over East Chapel Hill, Vosburg had eight kills, one ace, nine blocks, three digs and an assist. Orange would go on to defeat Southern Durham and Northern Durham over the subsequent three days.
3. Cameron Lanier: Another one of the power Cedar Ridge volleyball freshmen with Cameron Lloyd and Julie Altieri. Lanier had ten kills, one ace, one block and five digs in the Red Wolves victory over Bartlett Yancey. Cedar Ridge is guaranteed its first winning season since 2015.
4. James McAdoo: The Orange defensive end helped the Panther defense hold East Chapel Hill to 173 yards total offense. McAdoo caused a fumble for the third game in a row. McAdoo had two sacks as the Panthers secured back-to-back home wins for the first time since 2016.
5. Elliott Woods: The junior Orange wingback had a career-high 58 rushing yards and scored the first two touchdowns of his varsity career. Woods also leads the team in tackles at the end of five games. Woods added two receptions for 37 yards.
6. Lindsey Jouannet: The Orange junior tennis player won her match at #5 singles against Cedar Ridge 6-2, 6-1 on Monday. Jouannet teamed with Sydney Allison to win at #3 doubles 8-2 to sew up Orange’s first win over Cedar Ridge in women’s tennis since 2013.
7. Isaiah McCambry: Gave the Cedar Ridge football team its first lead of the season against Northwood by scoring a first quarter touchdown. McCambry also had Cedar Ridge’s first 100-yard rushing game since 2016 against the Chargers. Though Northwood won 24-8, McCambry showed more promise as a running back as the Red Wolves return home to face Northern Durham on Friday night at Red Wolves Stadium.

Payton Wilson: Florida State defeated N.C. State 31-13 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, FL on Saturday night. In his fifth college game, Wilson had a career-high with seven tackles, including a sack of Seminoles quarterback Alex Hornibrook. Wilson also had a pass breakup. As Florida State pulled away in the second half, Wilson’s impact wasn’t lost on longtime Raleigh News and Observer sportswriter Joe Giglio.

As a redshirt freshman, Wilson is 3rd on the team with 23 tackles. He has three tackles for losses, tied for third on the Wolfpack.

Trent Gill: The former Cedar Ridge star had six punts for N.C. State against Florida State. Gill averaged 47.5 yards per punt. Two of the punts landed inside the 20-yard line. Two more went over 50 yards. Gill also had four kickoff, three of which went for touchbacks. Gill, who instructs current Orange kicker Nigel Slanker, is averaging 47.2 yards per punt on 20 punts this season. N.C. State is off next weekend. They return to action on October 10 against Syracuse in Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Keyshawn Thompson: The FCS Campbell Camels defeated Mercer 34-27 at Five Star Stadium in Macon, GA on Saturday night. Thompson, who was put on scholarship over the summer, played defense put didn’t record a tackle. Campbell is 3-1. They host Presbyterian in its Big South Conference opener next Saturday at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek.

Adam Chnupa: The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate made his debut for FCS Elon on Saturday. #2 James Madison defeated the #24 Phoenix 45-10 at Rhodes Stadium at Elon. Chnupa, a redshirt freshman who was an All-Big 8 Conference football and baseball player at Cedar Ridge, entered the game in the fourth quarter. Elon, now 2-3, will travel to New Hampshire next Saturday.

Rodney Brooks: The Livingstone Blue Bears defeated Lincoln University (PA) 35-19 at Lions Stadium in Pennsylvania on Saturday. Brooks registered two tackles. Livingston is 4-0, 1-0 in the CIAA. They host Virginia Union next Saturday in Salisbury.

Kayla Hodges: The Elon women’s soccer team defeated UNC Wilmington 3-1 at Rudd Field in Elon in its Colonial Athletic Association opener on Thursday night. Hodges, who was featured on the front of the team’s program that night, assisted on the final Phoenix goal scored by Jessica Carrieri. Hodges, a sophomore, has started all ten of Elon’s games this year. Elon is 7-2-1 going into Sunday’s game against Hofstra in Hempstead, N.Y.

Taylin Jean: Division II Barton College defeated Limestone 2-0 at Bulldogs Athletic Complex in Wilson on Saturday. Jean started in net for Limestone. She made five saves in the loss.

Jordan Rogers: The Division III William Peace University women’s soccer team defeated Mary Baldwin 6-2 in its USA South Athletic Conference opener on Saturday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Rogers made her ninth start of the season, this time as a wingback. Peace is 4-4-1 overall, 1-0 in the USA South Conference.

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team defeated Salem 2-1 in its USA South Athletic Conference opener at Varsity Field in Winston-Salem on Saturday. Daley started at centerback for the Pride, her tenth start of the year. Greensboro is 7-3.

Lilli Henry: The Methodist volleyball team had a tri-match in USA South Athletic Conference action on Saturday at the Riddle Center in Fayetteville. The Monarchs defeated North Carolina Wesleyan 3-1 to end the day. Averett started the afternoon by beating Methodist 3-1. In the Monarchs’ win over Wesleyan, Henry had 22 assists, seven digs and an ace. In Averett’s victory against Methodist, Henry finished with 12 assists, seven digs and an ace. Methodist is 2-9, 1-2 in the USA South.

The Orange volleyball team swept Northern Durham to complete a strong week on Thursday night. Junior Chloe Riley finished with one kill, two aces and eight digs. Orange only trailed once in the entire match to finish a stretch of three wins over four days, starting with the East Chapel Hill victory on Monday night. Sophomore Lottie Scully had 13 kills for Orange, while Ella Van Tiem had ten. Kaitlyn Werden chipped in 18 assists as Orange finished the month of September with a 10-5 overall record. Orange is 5-2 in the Big 8 Conference with a road trip to East Chapel Hill next on the slate coming up Tuesday night. Orange hosts Vance County on Thursday. 

The Cedar Ridge volleyball team is learning on the job what it’s like to be the hunted. Especially for a team that starts three freshmen.

On Tuesday night, the Red Wolves retained its share of first place in the Big 8 Conference with a 3-2 win over Vance County at Red Wolves Gymnasium. The Red Wolves prevailed on scores of 25-14, 16-25, 25-15, 20-25, 15-3. It was the second five set match of the year for Cedar Ridge. Two weeks ago, the Red Wolves stunned Chapel Hill in five set in front of a rowdy crowd in Hillsborough.

With the win, Cedar Ridge is 11-2, 5-1 in the Big 8 Conference. Cedar Ridge will host Southern Durham on Thursday night. With one more win, the Red Wolves will clinch its first winning season since 2016, when they reached the Eastern Regional Championship match.

The Red Wolves remain tied with Chapel Hill and East Chapel Hill for first place in the Big 8. East Chapel Hill, who lost to Orange on Monday, rebounded with a 3-1 victory over Northwood in Pittsboro on Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, Chapel Hill swept Northern Durham 25-11, 25-16, and 25-8. Since losing to Cedar Ridge, the Tigers have won five in a row, dropping just one set in the process.

In the Bull City on Tuesday night, Orange rolled past Southern Durham 3-0 for its third win in four matches. The Lady Panthers cruised on scores of 25-4, 25-15 and 25-10.

Sophomore Avery Miller led Orange with eleven kills. It’s the fourth time this year that Miller has finished in double-digits in kills. Her career-high of 13 kills came in the 3-2 loss to Cedar Ridge on September 12.

Senior Kaitlyn Werden had ten aces, three digs and 23 assists. Freshman Erin Jordan-Cornell had six kills.

Orange is now 9-5 overall, 4-2 in the Big 8. After its win over East Chapel Hill on Monday, the Lady Panthers’ MaxPreps ranking went up to #21 among 3A teams. Chapel Hill is #2, Cedar Ridge is #11, East Chapel Hill is #18. Person, who Orange split the season series with, is #12.

Orange will host Northern Durham on Thursday. The Knights defeated Orange three times last season, including in the opening round of the Big 8 Conference Tournament last October.

Men’s Soccer: Orange opened the week with back-to-back matches. Northwood held off Orange 2-1 in Pittsboro, despite the Panthers having many chances that they failed to convert. The Chargers earned a penalty kick with nine minutes remaining, which they converted. Tyler Werden scored the Panthers’ only goal.

On Tuesday night, the defending 3A State Champion Chapel Hill defeated Orange 2-0 in a match that was scoreless at halftime. The Panthers are 4-6, 1-4 in the Big 8 Conference. Orange will travel to Carrboro on Friday.

On Monday, Northern Durham defeated Cedar Ridge 5-0 at Jack Armstrong Stadium in Durham. The Red Wolves are 3-6-1, 1-3 in the Big 8 Conference. Cedar Ridge hosts East Chapel Hill at Red Wolves Stadium on Wednesday night (tonight).