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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.

The Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team wrapped up its season in the state dual team playoffs on Monday. During its senior night game against Walter Williams, each of the six seniors were honored by their underclassmen. Each underclassmen presented a poster to a senior, explaining to the honoree what they admired about them. All of the posters contained messages of congratulations signed by each player. It was the final match for Ella Caltabiano, who had played varsity for four years. In her final match at South Johnston, Caltabiano won over Alyssa Newton 2-6, 7-5, 11-9 in the ten-point tiebreaker. It was also the final time that Caltabiano and Adeline Cummings teamed together in doubles. Caltabiano and Cummings won over Newton and Olivia Meyers 8-3. Caltabiano and Cummings were named the top doubles team in the Central Conference this year. Caltabiano won 18 matches this season. It was the second straight year that Cedar Ridge advanced to the 3A State Playoffs. Lila Rhoades played #5 singles. Rhoades is also a member of the Cedar Ridge swimming team. It was also the final match for seniors Sydney Lund, Anna Grove and Lily Golden. Cedar Ridge ended the year 9-7 overall with a third-place finish in the Central Conference. They were led by first-year head coach Al Caltabiano.

Cedar ridge women’s tennis seniors Caltabiano, Cummings, Golden, Rhoades, Grove & Lund talk season

The Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team wrapped up its season in the state dual team playoffs on Monday. During its senior night game against Walter Williams, each of the six seniors were honored by their underclassmen. Each underclassmen presented a poster to a senior, explaining to the honoree what they admired about them.

Photo from UNCPBraves.com 

Anaya Carter: Carter has transitioned to libero for the Division II UNC Pembroke Braves. Against Mount Olive on October 23, Carter finished with seven digs, two assists and two aces. Mt Olive won 3-1 on scores of 25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20. Last Tuesday, Lander swept the Braves (27-25, 25-18, 25-14).  UNC Pembroke is 9-13 overall, 6-4 in Conference Carolinas.

Graylinn Serge: The former Cedar Ridge outside hitter made her college debut for UNC Greensboro on September 13 in a win over Norfolk State. Serge is playing as a libero for the Spartans. On October 19, Serge had nine digs in a win over Samford. She played four sets. She has also seen action against Chattanooga, Mercer and at Furman, where she nine digs in a loss to the Paladins. UNCG is 7-14 overall, 2-7 in the Southern Conference.

Cameron Lloyd: The Bucknell volleyball team’s 15-game winning streak came to an end on October 13 when Colgate defeated the Bison 3-1 at Cotterell Court in Hamilton, NY. Lloyd finished with seven kills, 12 digs, three blocks and one ace, but the Red Raiders prevailed on scores 15-25, 25-20, 25-14, 25-14. On October 12, Bucknell swept Loyola (Md.) on scores of 25-17, 25-16, 25-12 at Davis Gym in Lewisburg, PA. Lloyd tied for the team-high in kills with ten. She added seven digs and an ace. The win over the Greyhounds gave the Bison the nation’s longest winning streak, which ended the next day. Nonetheless, Bucknell is tied with Colgate for first place in the loss column of the Patriot League.  This weekend, the Bison will face Lehigh and Lafayette.

Cameron Lanier: Stony Brook swept a two-match set from Elon at Pritchard Gymnasium in Stony Brook, NY last week. On October 19, the Seawolves won 3-1 (25-12, 22-25, 25-16, 26-24). Lanier was second on the team with eight kills. She also had six digs. On October 20, Stony Brooks won 3-2 ( 24-26, 25-15, 25-21, 22-25, 15-4) Lanier had 12 kills. Elon falls to 11-10 overall, 5-5 in the Coastal Athletic Association. They will host Towson on Saturday to start a two-match series.

Lottie Scully: Binghamton University defeated NJIT at West Gym in Binghamton, NY on Sunday (25-15, 25-19, 25-16). Scully started as setter and had 37 assists. It was her eleventh performance with 30 assists or more this year. She also had six digs and one kill. On October 16, Colgate defeated Binghamton 3-1 in Hamilton, NY (25-23, 25-18, 23-25, 25-21). Scully finished with her fourth double-double of the season with 45 assists and 14 digs. She also had three kills. Binghamton is 13-9 overall, 2-2 in the America East Conference.

Ella Wimsatt: Division II Lenoir-Rhyne has won six in a row. Wimsatt played three sets in a sweep of Coker on October 15 at the DeLoach Center in Hartsville, SC. She finished with five kills and two digs. Currently, the Bears sit atop the South Atlantic Conference with a 10-1 record. They are 19-1 overall and will travel to Lander College on Saturday.

Julie Altieri: The Division III Salisbury Sea Gulls has won 12 in a row. Last Saturday, Salisbury defeated Stevens 3-0 at Canavan Arena in Hoboken, NJ. Altieri had 38 assists, six digs, one kill and one ace. Later in the day, Salisbury defeated William Patterson 3-1 on scores of 25-19, 25-27, 25-18, 25-20. Altieri had her fourth double-double of the season with 44 assists and 13 digs. She also totaled four kills.

Grace Young: Greensboro College defeated Southern Virginia at Hanes Gymnasium in Greensboro on Wednesday. Young finished with 16 digs and one ace. Last Saturday, Greensboro swept a tri-match at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, VA. The Pride defeated William Peace University 3-1. Young played in all four sets and finished with five digs and one ace. Later, Greensboro defeated Mary Baldwin 3-0. Young came away with six digs and one ace. Greensboro is 17-6 overall, 10-3 in the USA South.

Melissa Benkowitz: Franklin & Marshall defeated Ursinus 3-1 at the Mayser Center in Lanaster, PA on Wednesday. Benkowitz had 13 digs and one kill. Last Saturday, the Diplomats knocked off DeSales 3-0. Benkowitz had seven digs and one ace. Franklin & Marshall is 18-3, 6-0 in the Centennial Conference. On October 16, the Diplomats swept Gettysburg for a road win. Benkowitz finished with nine digs and one kill.

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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This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is junior volleyball outside hitter Ellamarie Perel. This year, Perel helped the Red Wolves win a share of the Central Conference regular season championship with a 10-2 league mark. Perel emerged as a strong outside hitter opposite Claire Hargett to help the Red Wolves sweep Orange on September 3 at Panther Gymnasium. Perel, the younger sister of former Cedar Ridge men’s basketball center Harrison Perel, had 141 kills this season. She had a season-high 14 kills in a 3-2 victory over Person on September 19 in Hillsborough. Last week in the Central Conference Tournament semifinals, Perel finished with eight kills as the Red Wolves defeated Person in another five-set match. In addition to playing volleyball, Perel is a member of the International Baccalaureate program at Cedar Ridge. She is also the starting goalkeeper for the Cedar Ridge women’s soccer team, which had its best season since 2005 last year. Perel was goalkeeper as the Red Wolves defeated Richlands 3-1 for its first home playoff win in 19 years. On Tuesday night, Perel delivered four aces and eleven straight winners overall as the Red Wolves swept Franklinton in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. Cedar Ridge will face Southern Nash in the second round tonight.

Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Ellamarie Perel

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is junior volleyball outside hitter Ellamarie Perel. This year, Perel helped the Red Wolves win a share of the Central Conference regular season championship with a 10-2 league mark. Perel emerged as a strong outside hitter opposite Claire Hargett to help the Red Wolves sweep Orange on September 3 at Panther Gymnasium.

The Orange men’s soccer team is another step closer to tying the school record for most wins in a season. Earlier this week, the Panthers survived a tight match at Southern Alamance to win 2-1 at Hanford Stadium in Graham. The following night, Orange rolled past the Patriots 6-0 in Hillsborough, putting the Panthers at 14 goals for the season. Orange senior Joseph Lopez scored a goal for Orange. Lopez scored Orange’s game-winning goal against Walter Williams on October 9, which clinched a season sweep of the Bulldogs. Daniel Toledo scored two goals for Orange, putting him at 7 goals for the season. Panthers goalkeeper Hector Garrido earned his sixth clean sheet of the season. Garrido is in his first season as Orange goalkeeper. He never played organized soccer before this season, but he hit the ground running when he earned a shutout against Carrboro in the season opener. The Panthers have clinched an automatic spot to the 3A State Playoffs. Now, they’re trying to become the first team in the 37-year history of the program to host a state playoff game. The Panthers will face Eastern Alamance in Hillsborough on Monday night. With the extension of the fall sports season, Orange will travel to Haw River to face Southeast Alamance on November 6 for the regular season finale.

Orange men’s soccer’s Joseph Lopez and Hector Garrido discuss Williams win

The Orange men’s soccer team is another step closer to tying the school record for most wins in a season. Earlier this week, the Panthers survived a tight match at Southern Alamance to win 2-1 at Hanford Stadium in Graham. The following night, Orange rolled past the Patriots 6-0 in Hillsborough, putting the Panthers at 14 goals for the season.

Photo by Shannon Murphy

Women’s golf: Orange senior Shannon Murphy is going to the 3A State Golf Championships next week. Lady Panthers sophomore Gianni Burnette will join her.

On Monday at the Central Regional championships, Murphy finished 15h overall with a 92, including shooting a 44 on the front nine at the Valley Golf Course in Burlington. It will be the first time that Murphy has reached the state championships.

Brunette finished in 21st place with a 98.

Cedar Ridge’s Laci Sykes also qualified for regionals. She finished in 42nd place. Orange senior Kayla Pope was the third Lady Panther to earn a spot in regionals, coming in 49th.

Southern Alamance’s Riley Bush tied with Carrboro’s Cristina Murphy and Lee County’s Sydney Pomeranz for first place, each carding a 77.

Terry Sanford 8, Orange 1: Another solid season for the Orange women’s tennis team came to an end in the 2nd round of the 3A State Dual Team Playoffs in Fayetteville on Wednesday.

Terry Sanford, which has won four state championships, defeated Orange to advance to the round of 16. The Bulldogs won all six singles matches to sew up the team victory before doubles play even started.

Orange’s double team of Adelyn Alvis and Kyla Mehl was the lone Lady Panther victory of the day. Alvis and Mehl teamed to defeat Autry Canady and Grace Farmer 8-4. Alvis ends the season with an overall record of 27-2, including an 11-0 record in doubles play.

It was the final match in the Orange career of senior Shannon Sollars, who reached the 3A State Tournament twice in doubles play. Sollars was Orange’s top singles player and won 22 overall matches in 2024. Sollars older sister, Erin, was an assistant coach for head coach Justin Webb. In 2022, the Sollars sisters teamed to reach the 3A State Tournament. Erin and Shanon Sollars defeated Ellie Holtzman and Berkeley Geyer of Hickory 6-0, 6-2 to reach the state quarterfinals.

Overall, Sollars won 103 matches in her career.

It was also the final match for Orange senior Aubrey Petrosanu, who won all four of the matches she started this year.

Orange ends the year 14-5.

South Johnston 6, Cedar Ridge 3: The Cedar Ridge women’s team had its season end against South Johnston in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs in Four Oaks on Monday night.

Cedar Ridge senior Ella Caltabiano won the final singles match of her career. Playing at #1, Caltabiano defeated Alyssa Newton in one of four singles matches that required a third set, 10-point tiebreaker. Caltabiano won 2-6, 7-5, 11-9.

Caltabiano and senior Adeline Cummings won their final doubles match together. Cummings and Caltabiano defeated Newton and Olivia Meyers 8-3.

Cedar Ridge dropped two of the matches that wound up going to tiebreakers. Myers defeated Cumming 5-7, 6-4, 11-9.

Cedar Ridge junior Caroline Hall defeated Kira Kelly 2-6, 6-2, 11-9.

Caltabiano ends her senior year with 18 wins, including a 9-4 victory in doubles play. Cummings and Caltabiano were the top-seeded doubles team from the Central Conference going into regionals.

Caltabiano, who played at Cedar Ridge four varsity seasons, won 58 overall matches in her career.

Cummings ends her career with 59 overall victories. She also played four varsity seasons.

Lila Rhoades ended her Cedar Ridge career with a start at #5 singles. It was also the final match for seniors Sydney Lund, Anna Grove and Lily Golden.

Cedar Ridge finishes the year 9-7.

Men’s soccer: Orange 6, Southern Alamance 0: The Orange men’s soccer team is one win away from tying the school record for most wins in a season. On Tuesday night, the Panthers played its second game in as many night, beating Southern Alamance in Hillsborough.

Orange improves to 14-4. The all-time school record is 15 wins, set by the 2010 team.

Daniel Romero Toledo, who scored the game-winning goal in a 1-nil win at Cedar Ridge last week, earned two goals against the Patriots. Senior Joseph Lopez and Issac Gallegos each scored one goal.

Junior Yurem Tapia Mendez, who leads the squad with 14 goals this season, added another to his total. Demetrius Holmes and Carson Condon each had an assist.

Sophomore goalkeeper Hector Garrido made two saves to earn his sixth clean sheet of the season.