Photo by Erik Perel
After going 26-2 last season, the Cedar Ridge volleyball team lost five starters from a squad that won the Big 7 Conference championship last year.
On Tuesday night, they returned to the court under second-year head coach Khoury May younger, more raw and ready to get back to work.
To the benefit of the Red Wolves, sophomore Dani Solomon didn’t show any signs of a sophomore jinx.
Solomon registered 16 kills while senior Addilyn Jackson added eleven kills to push the Red Wolves past Roxboro Community School 3-0 on scores of 25-18, 25-12, 25-16 at Bulldog Gymnasium. It was the first of four straight road matches to start the year for Cedar Ridge.
Solomon, who led the team with 294 kills as a freshman, had ten digs to finish with a double-double in the season opener.
In her first varsity start, junior setter Solana Gutirrez-Quintero finished with 14 assists. Sophomore libero Nora Stoll had ten digs.
Solomon triggered a 6-0 run that put Cedar Ridge in control of the opening six. Solomon had three straight kills that increased the Red Wolf advantage to 17-11. Senior Calla Lundberg added another point as Cedar Ridge went ahead 20-11. Jackson scored off a spike supplied by sophomore Kaitlyn Dixon to secure the Red Wolves opening set of the year.
Cedar Ridge ended the second frame with eight straight points to go ahead by two sets. Stoll delivered an ace to start the run. Dixon delivered a block while freshman Florence Mwanza scored off an unassisted spike. Solomon delivered the 23rd and 24th points before sophomore Avery Owens delivered set point.
The Red Wolves didn’t trail in the third set. Roxboro Community crept back in to reduce the Cedar Ridge lead to 10-9. In the longest rally of the match, Stoll had four digs, which led to Gutierrez-Quintero feeding Solomon for another kill. Solomon had six kills in the third set. Jackson scored three of Cedar Ridge’s final four points.
Cedar Ridge will travel to Southern Durham on Thursday night.
