The Orange volleyball team defeated Person for the seventh straight match on Thursday. In an entertaining contest, the Lady Panthers won 3-1, taking the second and third sets in overtime in its home opener. Orange fought off two set points to win the second 27-25, then withstood two more set points in the third to win 28-26. Senior Ava Wilkerson, who has committed to the University of Houston, had a season-high 20 kills. Junior Sawyer White came away with nine kills, 27 assists, 21 digs and three blocks. Wilkerson had eight kills in the second set, including the final hit on set point, assisted by White. In the third set, White had four kills and senior Katie Silcott spent time at setter. White assisted on four of Orange’s final five kills of the third set, including one by Silcott that put Orange ahead 27-26. Orange wrapped up the match by winning the fourth set 25-20. White had two aces early as the Lady Panthers jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Orange displayed its depth in the fourth set with six different players registering kills. Orange will host Cedar Ridge to start Big 7 Conference play on Tuesday night. Last year, the Red Wolves and the Panthers played four times. Cedar Ridge swept Orange inside Panther Gymnasium in the opener, but Orange captured the final three matchups.
