Orange Volleyball

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior middle blocker Ava Wilkerson. In 2023, Wilkerson played a huge role in the Lady Panthers winning its first volleyball conference championship in 18 years, going through the Central Conference undefeated. Orange reached the 3A State Championship match for just the second time in school history. Playing inside Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, Wilkerson had 14 kills and eight blocks against Kings Mountain. In the 3A Eastern Regional championship match against Carrboro, Wilkerson had 13 kills and four blocks as the Lady Panthers defeated the Jaguars in five sets. Last week, Wilkerson had a career-high 27 kills as Orange defeated Cedar Ridge 3-2 to force a tie for first place in the Central Conference. In August, Wilkerson committed to play at UCF, the first-ever Big 12 commitment from Orange High. Wilkerson has played varsity volleyball since she was a freshman, when she played alongside her older sister, Allie, now playing at Division III Averett. This season, Ava leads Orange with 199 kills and 32 blocks. She is determined to help Orange win its second straight conference championship. This season, Orange has played a difficult slate against opponents like D.H. Conley, Falls Lake and Millbrook. Coming up tonight, the Lady Panthers host Person in Hillsborough. On Wednesday, Orange will host Carrboro before heading to Graham on Thursday to face Southern Alamance.

Orange Panther of the Week: Ava Wilkerson

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is junior middle blocker Ava Wilkerson. In 2023, Wilkerson played a huge role in the Lady Panthers winning its first volleyball conference championship in 18 years, going through the Central Conference undefeated. Orange reached the 3A State Championship match for just the second time in school history.

The race for the Central Conference volleyball championship dramatically changed this week. Orange is now tied with Cedar Ridge and Western Alamance after a dramatic win by the Lady Panthers over Cedar Ridge in five sets on Wednesday night. Orange came back down two sets for the victory. Orange’s Aubrey Jordan had a season-high 23 kills, including five in the final set. Jordan sparked Orange’s comeback with six kills in the fourth set, which Orange claimed 25-22. Orange middle blocker Mariah Poole had a crucial ace that put Orange tied the fifth set 3-3. Poole finished with three aces and two blocks as Orange improved to 9-7. Junior Ava Wilkerson led all players with 27 kills. Her presence was also felt defensively with ten digs. Orange showed grit after they lost the second set 30-28. Cedar Ridge fought off three Orange set points to go ahead two-sets-to-nothing. Orange, Cedar Ridge and Western Alamance are now tied for first place with a 7-2 conference record. Orange will host Person in Hillsborough on Tuesday night. Cedar Ridge will travel to Eastern Alamance on Tuesday, then face Western Alamance in what could be a battle for first place on Wednesday night in Hillsborough. Also on Wednesday night, Orange will host Carrboro in a rematch of last year’s 3A Eastern Regional championship match.

Orange volleyball’s Aubrey Jordan & Mariah Poole discuss win over Cedar Ridge

The race for the Central Conference volleyball championship dramatically changed this week. Orange is now tied with Cedar Ridge and Western Alamance after a dramatic win by the Lady Panthers over Cedar Ridge in five sets on Wednesday night. Orange came back down two sets for the victory.

Orange volleyball’s conference championship hopes were dangling from a thread on Wednesday night.

They were down two sets after dropping a draining, emotional 2nd game to crosstown rival Cedar Ridge 30-28, where Orange had led most of the way and had three set points, but couldn’t cash any of them in.

Instead of laying into her team between sets, Orange coach Hope Heverly found the right words.

She said nothing.

“I talked to my assistant coach and we turned around and saw the players talking to each other,” Heverly said. “They didn’t turn to go water. We saw in their eyes and their demeanor that we were going to win this next set.”

And they did, along with the fourth and fifth sets in front of a loud house at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

Now, instead of being out of the conference championship race, Orange is tied with Cedar Ridge and Western Alamance for first place in the Central Conference with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

Junior outside hitter Aubrey Jordan finished with 20 kills, including four in the fifth set, as Orange rallied to defeat Cedar Ridge 3-2 on scores of 20-25, 28-30, 25-15, 25-22, 15-10. Jordan finished with 20 kills, a season-high, while junior Ava Wilkerson registered a career-high 27 kills.

The last time that Orange won a five-set match after dropping the first two games was October 18, 2022, when they defeated Western Alamance.

Cedar Ridge had spent the month of September building a two-game lead in the Central Conference, only to have it all washed away within 48 hours. On Tuesday, Southern Alamance upset the Red Wolves in four sets while Orange swept Williams.

Junior Claire Hargett finished with 22 kills for the Red Wolves (10-5 overall, 7-2 in the Central Conference). It was Cedar Ridge’s fourth five-set match of the year, which have all been at home. They’re 1-3 in those matches.

Wilkerson, who has committed to play at UCF, has been Orange’s most consistent striker during a season where the Panthers have struggled to find consistency against one of the toughest schedules in the state. Jordan started to find her groove in the fourth set, finishing with four kills, and Orange found the form that put them three points away from a state championship last November.

“We knew they had it in them,” Heverly said. “We’ve seen little glimpses of it and they showed what they can do with heart and determination. So they came out and put the pieces together.”

Trailing two-sets-to-one, Orange built a 13-9 lead in the fourth set behind consecutive kills from Jordan. After Cedar Ridge’s Mia Marty delivered an ace, the Panthers pushed its lead to 21-13 with a 10-2 run. Sawyer White, who registered eight kills and ten assists, started the run with a kill, which was followed by consecutive points from Wilkerson and an ace from Mariah Poole. Wilkerson delivered three more kills to push Orange’s lead to 21-13. Cedar Ridge roared back with seven straight points to cut the Orange lead to 21-20, ending with a block from Hargett. Wilkerson delivered a block of her own to gain a side out for Orange. After Cedar Ridge was called for touching the net, Jordan spiked down an unassisted kill to force a fifth set.

It was Orange’s second five-set match this year. They lost to Western Alamance in Elon last Thursday.

Marty, who finished with five kills and 23 assists, scored on a flash attack to even the fifth set 5-5. That’s when Jordan found her groove, triggering a 5-1 Orange run where she scored on five straight Panther points. Wilkerson delivered an ace as Orange pushed its lead to 10-8. Cedar Ridge cut its deficit to 12-10 after Hargett slammed down a point, but Wilkerson finished the match with three straight kills, the final one unassisted.

Orange’s Katie Silcott has seven kills, 29 assists and three aces.

Cedar Ridge never trailed in the first set, playing confidently despite losing the night before. Calla Lundberg opened the match with a kill as the Red Wolves built an 11-5 lead after White was called for a lift. Another kill by Lundberg pushed the Cedar Ridge lead to 14-7, which would be its largest advantage of the match. Hargett scored set point as Cedar Ridge took the frame 25-20.

Orange led most of the second set, where they took the opening three points starting with a kill from Jordan. Emory Williams delivered an ace to even the second at 10-10, but Orange built a 15-12 lead following a spike from Silcott assisted by White. Cedar Ridge took its first lead of the second set with four straight points, led by a block from Charlotte Lowry to put the Red Wolves ahead 16-15. The remainder of the set was played at a torrent pace that included 13 ties and ten lead changes. Orange had three set points, the first coming when they led 24-23 but Silcott pushed a soft palm strike wide. After Marty flipped a quick strike to the heart of the Orange floor for Cedar Ridge’s first set point, Wilkerson erased it with a kill to force overtime. Silcott delivered a kill to make it 26-25, but Hargett delivered again, followed by a kill from Ellamarie Perel to give Cedar Ridge a 26-25 lead. Jordan delivered a point and had earned a third set point when an attack by Perel went long. But Orange set the subsequent serve into the next. Tied at 28-28, Orange had two attacks go over the end line and Cedar Ridge won the set 30-28.

Orange never trailed in the third set, jumping out to an 8-1 lead behind a block from Poole. Cedar Ridge reduced the deficit to 13-9 following an ace from Marty, but Orange went on a 7-3 run to build a 17-11 lead. Jordan scored set point with an assist from Silcott, which ended a run of seven straight sets that the Red Wolves had taken from Orange dating back to last year.

In the first three years of the Central Conference, there’s been a clear front runner in volleyball.

In 2021, Cedar Ridge won 14 consecutive league matches en route to the state championship. A year later, they won 62 consecutive sets in clinching another league regular season and conference tournament title. Last year, Orange won 29 straight sets during an undefeated run to its first conference title since 2005.

This year, it’s different. While Orange and Cedar Ridge remain formidable opponents, there’s no dominant team this year because the Alamance County schools are making some noise.

Last week, Western Alamance upset Orange, which put Cedar Ridge in the lead by two games at the midway point of the conference season.

On Tuesday night, Southern Alamance pulled its own upset, beating the Red Wolves 3-1 in Graham on scores of 16-25, 25-23, 25-21 and 25-23. Cedar Ridge falls to 10-4 overall, 7-1 in the Central Conference. The Red Wolves are now one game ahead of Orange, who swept Williams on Tuesday night in Hillsborough.

Orange (8-7, 6-2) is now tied with Western Alamance for second place. If that wasn’t dramatic enough, Cedar Ridge and Orange will meet tonight at Red Wolves Gymnasium. The match was moved from Thursday to Wednesday because of rain in the forecast, which led to Cedar Ridge’s Homecoming football game being shifted to Thursday night.

Cedar Ridge suffered just its second loss to an Alamance County team in the four years of the Central Conference.

Cedar Ridge closed out the opening set against the Patriors with a 4-1 run. Kayla Stoll ended a long rally with a kill set up by Mia Marty on set point.

There were 13 consecutive points with a side out in the 2nd set as neither team could gain momentum. Kayedance Wright delivered three straight aces during a 6-0 Patriots run. The Red Wolves evened things up following an unassisted kill by Stoll in the midst of a 7-0 spurt. Ellamarie Perel had four kills in the set. A kill by Stoll gave Cedar Ridge a 19-17 lead, but the Patriots scored five of the next six points, starting with an ace from junior Roslyn Taylor. Cedar Ridge led 23-22, the Patriots closed out the set with three straight points, ending with a kill by Poppie Shanklin.

The third set was tied 11-11 when Lexie Crawford spiked down a point off a feed from setter Ava Duggins. The Patriots didn’t trail again in the set, leading by as much as 21-16 after an ace from Duggins.

In the fourth, Stoll scored a kill, followed by an ace from Marty to put the Red Wolves ahead 15-14. Southern evened things up with a kill from Taylor, which started a 4-0 Patriots run. Sydnee Tapper delivered an ace to get the Red Wolves within one at 23-22, but the Patriots scored off a spike from Duggins. Taylor scored on match point leading to a big Patriots celebration.

ORANGE 3, WALTER WILLIAMS 0: Orange kept its chances alive to win the Central Conference title by crushing over the Bulldogs on scores of 25-12, 25-14 and 25-13.

Sophomore Sawyer White had eight kills, seven digs and eleven assists. Junior Ava Wilkerson finished with nine kills as the Panthers led for nearly the entire match. Junior Katie Silcott finished with 18 assists.

Orange finished the first set with five of the last six points, which included an ace from White. Wilkerson and White had kills to close out the first set.

The Panthers scored seven straight points to take a 7-2 lead in the second set. Mariah Poole had a block and Addison Guentensberger added an ace. Wilkerson closed out the set with a powerful spike along the near post.

Orange scored the opening seven points of the third set, which included three straight kills from Wilkerson. Silcott closed out the match with a kill assisted from Wilkerson.

Cedar Ridge volleyball was due for good fortune in a five-set match.

Its first loss of the season came against East Chapel Hill, where they fell at home in five sets. The Red Wolves started this month by sweeping crosstown rival Orange, the defending 3A Eastern Regional champions at Panthers Gymnasium. The following night, Cedar Ridge faced Carrboro, the team that Orange defeated to win that Regional title.

Cedar Ridge led two-sets-to-nothing before Carrboro roared back to win in five sets, taking the fifth 15-7.

On Thursday night, the stakes were greater. Cedar Ridge faced a Person team that they had swept in its conference opener last month. But the Rockets arrived to Hillsborough healthier, wiser and determined to end its nine-match losing streak to the Red Wolves.

Cedar Ridge didn’t have momentum to start the fifth set. Person scored the opening three points, but it’s not how you start. It’s how you finish. Cedar Ridge’s Ellamarie Perel and Claire Hargett not only paved the way for a successful finish on Thursday night, but they greatly helped their long-term future.

Hargett finished with four kills in the final set as Cedar Ridge went on a 7-1 run in the final frame to pull out a 3-2 victory over Person. Cedar Ridge now leads Orange and Western Alamance by two games for first place in the Central Conference with a 7-0 league mark. The Red Wolves are 10-3 overall.

Also on Thursday night, Western Alamance defeated Orange 3-2 at Warriors Gymnasium. The Warriors and the Panthers are now tied for second place with a 5-2 league mark. Cedar Ridge hosts Orange next Thursday.

Person freshman Kylee Hayden had consecutive kills to open the fifth set, followed by another strike from Macey Bowes. Perel, who finished with 14 kills, ended the dry spell with a kill along the far post set up by junior Mia Marty. After a strike by Perel went long to vault Person ahead 4-1, the Red Wolves reeled off four straight points. Kayla Stoll scored a huge block. In the longest rally of the final set, Cedar Ridge libero Sydnee Tapper had a huge dig that led to Person sending an attack into the net. Marty put the Red Wolves ahead with an ace.

Hargett, who came away with 18 kills and 26 digs, put together two straight kills, one of which went off the face of Person’s libero to give Cedar Ridge an 8-5 lead. Person’s Kaylie Parker sent a light tap over the net off an assist from Kaiden Hawkins to cut the Rockets’ deficit to 8-76, but Calla Lundberg and Hargett had kills to start a 6-0 Red Wolf run. Tapper added on an ace. A kill by Perel put the Red Wolves ahead 14-7, but Person wasn’t done yet. Parker scored three straight kills, followed by an ace from Abby Sharlow. Hargett scored on match point off a feed from Marty.

Person’s last win over Cedar Ridge came on September 28, 2016 in Hillsborough.

Cedar Ridge won the opening set 25-20. Hargett had four kills. Marty had an ace on set point. Marty finished the set with ten assists, five digs and two aces. Person dominated the second set 25-11.

Cedar Ridge took control of the third set with six consecutive points to take a 12-5 lead. Hargett had consecutive aces during the run. Perel scored set point to give Cedar Ridge the frame at 25-19.

The Red Wolves led for much of the fourth set and appeared ready to put the match away when Marty scored on a block to give Cedar Ridge a 20-14 lead. But Person went on a 7-1 run to take a 22-21 lead, keyed by an ace from Sharlow. Junior Lilly Atkins scored Person’s final three points of the fourth, including set point.

Ella Wimsatt: The Lenoir-Rhyne volleyball team has matched its best start ever at 10-0. Ella Wimsatt, the Captain of Orange’s 2023 Eastern Regional championship team, has already broken into the Bears’ regular rotation. On Tuesday, the Bears started its South Atlantic Conference schedule with a sweep of Newberry at Shuford Arena in Hickory. Wimsatt had nine digs and played in all three sets. Last weekend, the Bears won all four of its matches in the Mount Olive Invitational at Kornegay Arena, including handing Shaw University its first loss of the season. Lenoir-Rhyne swept Shaw 3-0. Wimsatt finished with a kill and seven digs. In her first weekend as a college player, Wimsatt played regularly as the Bears won all of its matches in the Fairmont State Volleyball Classic at Joe Retton Arena in Fairmont, WV. Wimsatt’s first game came in a sweep of Virginia Union, where she had a kill and three digs. On September 7 against Slippery Rock, Wimsatt had six kills, two aces and 19 digs. On Saturday, Lenoir-Rhyne will host a conference doubleheader against Mars Hill and UNC Pembroke.

Lottie Scully: The Binghamton Bearcats won the Rutgers Invitational at College Ave Gym in New Brunswick, NJ last week. Binghamton swept both of its matches, starting with a victory over Rutgers. Scully, the starting setter, finished with 23 assists and four digs. On September 13, Binghamton defeated VCU. Scully registered 21 assists and two digs. On Wednesday, Cornell defeated Binghamton 3-1. Scully finished with 28 assists, eight digs and one ace. Binghamton is 7-4 and will start play in the Rose Hill Classic in the Bronx, NY today against Fordham. They will face West Virginia on Saturday.

Cameron Lloyd: The Bucknell volleyball team has won eight in a row. Lloyd has overcome an oblique injury to continue with regular appearances for the Bison. She had eleven digs, one kill and two aces in a sweep of Niagara at the Gallagher Center in New York last Saturday. It was the last of three wins for Bucknell in the Western New York Invitational. Last Friday, Bucknell defeated Canisius 3-2 at the Koessler Athletic Center in Buffalo. Lloyd had eleven digs, two kills and three aces. Also last Saturday, the Bison swept Youngstown State. Lloyd finished with seven kills, ten digs and two aces. The Bison will try to continue its winning streak against Holy Cross later tonight in its Patriot League opener.

Cameron Lanier:  The Elon volleyball team won two of three matches in the Mercer Invitational in Macon GA last weekend. On Saturday, the Phoenix defeated Southern Miss 3-2 at Hawkins Arena. Lanier had 15 kills and four digs. She also had a block on match point. Last Friday, the Phoenix defeated Presbyterian 3-2. Lanier finished with 13 kills and four digs. Mercer swept the Phoenix last Friday. So far this season, Lanier has 73 kills over 27 sets. Elon is 6-5 and will face the College of Charleston to start Coastal Athletic Association play on Saturday.

Anaya Carter: Division II UNC Pembroke dropped its Conference Carolinas opener to North Greenville 3-0 at Hayes Gymnasium in Tigerville, SC on Wednesday. Carter played in two sets and finished with two digs. UNCP went all the way to Alaska for the Denali State Ice Block Classic in Fairbanks, AK on September 12-14. In four matches, the Braves only win came against Felician 3-1. Carter started and had eight digs and an ace. UNC Pembroke is 2-6.

Julie Altieri: The Division III Salisbury Gulls dropped two of three matches in the Randolph-Macon Tournament in Ashland, VA last weekend. The Gulls only victory came against Randolph-Macon by a 3-1 score. Altieri had her fifth double-double of the season with 24 assists and eleven digs with three kills. Against Washington & Lee, Altieri had 38 assists, ten digs, four kills and four aces. Salisbury is 8-2 and will open Coast-to-Coast Conference action against Mary Washington on Friday (today) at the Maggs Physical Activities Center in Maryland. So far in her sophomore season, Altieri had 302 assists over ten matches with 84 digs and 40 kills.

Melissa Benkowitz: Franklin & Marshall is 9-1 and have won eight in a row. Last Saturday, the Diplomats swept a doubleheader by beating Clarkson and Montclair State. In a sweep of Clarkson, Benkowitz started the match with three consecutive aces. She finished with four kills, eleven digs and five aces. Franklin & Marshall also swept Montclair State at the Mayser Center in Lancaster, PA. Benkowitz led the Diplomats with eleven kills and a team-best ten digs.

Allie Wilkerson: Division III Averett University defeated won its Old Dominion Athletic Conference opener by sweeping Guilford College at the Stuart James Grant Center in Danville, VA on Wednesday. Wilkerson, a sophomore, tied for the team lead with ten kills. Averett is 4-7 overall. Wilkerson is second on the team with 74 kills.

MEBANE–The public address announcer inside Tal Jobe Gymnasium ripped off Michael Buffer and bellowed “Let’s get ready to rumble” to conclude pregame festivities for Orange vs. Eastern Alamance volleyball on Tuesday night.

Orange did most of the rumbling.

The Lady Panthers concluded the first half of its Central Conference schedule with a 3-0 sweep of the Eagles on scores of 25-11, 25-6 and 25-15. It was Orange’s (7-6, 5-1 in the Central Conference) sixth sweep of the year.

Junior Ava Wilkerson finished with 15 kills while outside hitter Aubrey Jordan came away with seven kills. Setter Katie Silcott finished with 27 assists, eleven digs and four kills.

Playing with blowing fans on both ends of the court, Orange didn’t leave any room for suspense early on. The roared out to a 6-1 lead after an ace from sophomore Addison Guentensberger and a kill from Milleka Purcell, who earned her first varsity start. After the Eagles got to within 7-5, Orange took control with an 8-1 run that started when Wilkerson slammed down a spike onto the light brown hardwood off an assist from Silcott. Mariah Poole delivered consecutive aces to put Orange ahead 15-6. Wilkerson had an unassisted kill on set point.

Wilkerson had eight kills in the second set, which started with Orange leading 13-2. It wouldn’t get any closer as Poole delivered two more aces. The Lady Panthers scored the final four points with Wilkerson scoring consecutive kills to close out the set.

Eastern Alamance’s Kayden Manning gave the Eagles its first lead of the night when she scored a block on the opening point of the third set. Orange would easily overcome that with a 7-1 run, which included an ace from Abby Silinski and a kill from Sawyer White. Orange led 16-13 before they closed out the match with nine consecutive points. Guentensberger served Orange out and White had back-to-back kills leading up to match point.

Orange will travel to Western Alamance for a crucial Central Conference match on Thursday night.

Cedar Ridge 3, Roxboro Community School 0: Cedar Ridge honored seniors Charlotte Lowry, Ellie Miller, Alleah Fredrick and Leah Pritchard before sweeping Roxboro Community School on Monday night. The Red Wolves won on scores of 25-19, 25-18 and 25-13 to improve to 9-3 overall.

Junior Ellamarie Perel finished with nine kills, while outside hitter Claire Hargett had eight kills and five digs. Setter Mia Marty finished with eleven digs, 18 assists and four aces.

With Hargett serving, Cedar Ridge scored eleven consecutive points in the opening set to take an 11-1 lead. Hargett had four aces in that run, while Perel had two kills assisted by Marty. Roxboro’s Delayna Welch had consecutive aces during a 5-0 Bulldog run, but Cedar Ridge reeled off seven straight points behind an ace from Miller and a block from Kayla Stoll. Cedar Ridge built its lead up to 23-14 and withstood a late charge by RCS, who got three aces from Welch. Perel scored set point off a feed from Marty.

Hargett had six kills in the second set, where the Red Wolves jumped out to a 5-2 lead. The Bulldogs came back to even the frame at 11-11 after two aces from Cecelia Fitzgerald. Marty delivered consecutive aces to start a 7-1 Red Wolf splurge. Hargett and Fredrick had kills to push the Red Wolves lead to 18-14. Marty scored back-to-back points, including an ace to make it 24-18. An attack by the Bulldogs went wide on set point.

The two teams split the opening ten points in the third set before Cedar Ridge went on a 6-0 run. Hargett scored a block, followed by consecutive aces by Miller that made it 11-5. Pritchard closed out the match with two aces.

Midway through the Central Conference slate, the Red Wolves are in first place at 6-0. They will host Person on Thursday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

For the first time this year in the midst of one of the toughest schedules in the state, the Orange volleyball team has won consecutive games. On Tuesday night, the Lady Panthers swept Southern Alamance on scores of 27-25, 25-18 and 25-13. Sophomore Sawyer White finished with eleven kills, 12 digs and four assists as Orange improved to 6-5 overall, 4-1 in the Central Conference. Senior libero Abby Silinski had 19 digs, two assists and two aces. Southern Alamance led most of the first set until Orange tied it at 18 after a block by Aubry Hodges. The Lady Panthers fought off a set point when Poole got a kill off an assist from Katie Silcott, which triggered a 4-1 run to finish the set. Ava Wilkerson gave Orange its first lead of the set off a powerful spike set up by Silcott. Orange would win the set 27-25. Coming up tonight, Orange will venture to Pittsboro to face Seaforth. Wilkerson had 12 kills in the second set, which Orange won 25-18, a set where Silinski had nine kills. Orange wrapped up the match by winning the third set 25-13. Poole had an ace on match point. The Panthers had ten aces against the Patriots. Last year, the Hawks won the Mid-Carolina Conference championship with a 12-0 record and are currently 9-1.

Orange volleyball’s Sawyer White & Abby Silinski discuss sweep of Southern Alamance

For the first time this year in the midst of one of the toughest schedules in the state, the Orange volleyball team has won consecutive games. On Tuesday night, the Lady Panthers swept Southern Alamance on scores of 27-25, 25-18 and 25-13.

Orange 3, Western Alamance 0: Two weeks into the season, the Orange volleyball team has had one demanding test after another.

There have been two matches with D.H. Conley and another against Falls Lake, the defending 1A Eastern Regional champion. It left the Lady Panthers with a 2-3 record, but Orange found its dominant form in its Central Conference opener on Tuesday night in Hillsborough.

Junior Ava Wilkerson finished with 16 kills while Kaine Silcott registered six kills, 18 digs and 26 assists as the Lady Panthers swept Western Alamance on scores of 25-19, 25-20 and 25-21. Orange (3-3, 1-0 in the Central Conference) claimed its eleventh straight win over the Warriors since the two teams became conference rivals in 2021.

The Warriors, who came into the match with a 5-0 record, put the pressure on Orange early after junior Taliah Walker got back-to-back blocks in the first set that triggered a 7-1 Western Alamance run. A kill by sophomore Reese Walker put the Warriors ahead 14-11 and forced an Orange timeout. The Panthers reeled off eight straight points off the serve of senior Abby Silinski, who had consecutive aces. A kill by Mariah Poole assisted by Silinski put Orange ahead 19-14. Wilkerson had an ace on set point.

Orange had five aces in the second set, where they jumped out to an 9-3 lead. The Warriors closed its deficit to 11-10 after a kill by Haley Clayton, but Aubrey Jordan scored two straight kills, followed by another from freshman Aubrey Hodges to build Orange’s lead to 17-13. Hodges stuffed down a lobbed return to close out the second set.

Western Alamance led the third set 12-8, but Orange peeled off eleven straight points. Silcott had four aces in the run which vaulted the Panthers ahead 19-12. Jordan scored on a kill to put Orange ahead 24-18. Western Alamance scored four straight points before Silcott slammed down match point off a feed from White.

Orange will continue a challenging nonconference slate with a trip to Raleigh tonight (Wednesday) to face Millbrook.

Cedar Ridge 3, Person 0: Junior Kayla Stoll had a career-high 13 kills as Cedar Ridge won its Central Conference opener in Roxboro over the Rockets on Tuesday night. Sophomore Claire Hargett, who leads the team in kills, spent much of the night on the backline and had a team-high 23 digs. She also had 12 kills. Mia Marty, a setter, had 23 assists and 12 digs.

Cedar Ridge improved to 3-1, 1-0 in the Central Conference. Person falls to 2-3, 0-1 in the Centra.

Person scored the first three points of the opening set, which was also its largest lead of the night. Stoll had seven kills in the first game as the Red Wolves built a 17-10 lead following an ace from Marty. A finish by Hargett, assisted by Marty, put Cedar Ridge ahead 21-12. A return by Person went wide on set point.

Cedar Ridge had six aces in the second set, where Person had a 2-1 advantage. Stoll had an unassisted kill on a dunk at the middle of the floor to put the Red Wolves ahead. Cedar Ridge scored ten straight points to take control of the set, which included another ace from Marty and consecutive kills from Stoll. On set point, Stoll had an ace as Cedar Ridge won 25-12.

Cedar Ridge took a 5-2 lead to start the third set. Person fought back with five consecutive points, its longest run of the match, to briefly hold the lead at 7-6. Cedar Ridge responded with four in a row off kills from Marty, Hargett and a block from Charlotte Lowry to take a 10-7 lead. Hargett slammed down an attack from eleven feet away to give Cedar Ridge an 19-14 lead. Cedar Ridge scored the final three points of the match with Marty scoring match point off an assist from senior Ellie Miller.

Cedar Ridge will host Southern Alamance on Thursday night in Hillsborough.