Tess Johnson and Olivia Ward Discuss Cedar Ridge’s 1st Playoff Tennis Win
The Cedar Ridge Red Wolves girls tennis team won its first-ever team tennis match on Tuesday, defeating Swansboro 9-0 at Red Wolves Tennis Courts. Senior #1 singles player Tess Johnson defeated the Pirates’ Grace Ann Piner 7-5, 6-3. Freshman Olivia Ward improved to 14-3 after defeating Michaela Potter 6-2, 6-0.
Johnson and Ward discussed their performance afterwards, along with next Tuesday’s 2nd round match against Burlington Williams.
Cleveland Ends Orange’s Volleyball Season 3-0
After advancing to the 3rd round of the 3A state playoffs last season, the Orange Panthers hoped their return to the postseason in 2016 would be just as successful.
The Cleveland Rams had other ideas.
In Clayton on Wednesday night, the Rams swept the Panthers 3-0 on scores of 25-12, 25-19 and 25-17. The Rams, from the Greater Neuse River Conference, advance to face Chapel Hill on Thursday night at CHHS.
The Panthers end the season 11-10.
In her final game for the Panthers, Jordan Lloyd had three aces, four kills and eight digs. In all likelihood, it won’t be the final volleyball match for Lloyd, whose being recruited by several Division III colleges.
Fellow senior Macy Hughes registered an ace, five kills, two blocks and a dig.
Bailey Lucas added two kills, two blocks, eleven assists and five digs. Julia Fish finished with five kills and five blocks.
Lloyd led the team in kills with 146 with Hughes 2nd with 135. Lloyd also led the team in digs with 302. Senior Mileah Shriner paced the team in aces with 40, while Hughes had 36.
Fish, a junior, finished with 87 total blocks.
Lucas led the team in assists with 274, while Caroline Compton registered 266.
It was the final game for seniors Lloyd, Hughes, Shriner, Eva Porter and Julia Lovingood.
Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week: Ian Elliott
The more things change, the more they stay the same. For the 2nd consecutive year, Cedar Ridge’s Ian Elliott is the Big 8 Conference Cross Country Individual Champion. This year, it was under far different circumstances.
Last year, Elliott ran in mid-70s temperatures at Northwood High in Pittsboro. This year, Elliott completed the course at Chapel Hill High on an unseasonably hot day in 16:43, eight seconds better than Chapel Hill’s Ryan Combs.
This weekend, Elliott will compete in the 3A Mideast Regionals at Northwood High School. His classmate, Elizabeth Zarzar, will run in the Regionlals in the girls meet.
Cedar Ridge’s Elizabeth Zarzar Talks 3rd Place Finish at Big 8 Championships
Cedar Ridge’s Elizabeth Zarzar finished 3rd at the Big 8 Cross Country Championships last week at Chapel Hill High School. On a sultry 88-degree day, Zarzar navigated the course in 19:50, 31 seconds behind conference champion Katherine Dokholyan of Chapel Hill. The Red Wolves had a strong meet, with Julie Averette finishing 9th with a time of 20:48 and Abby Averette coming in 14th with a time of 22:14.
Orange’s Andrew Sollars Talks 14th Place Finish at Big 8 Championships
The highest finisher for the Orange Boys Cross Country team at the Big 8 Cross Country Championships was Andrew Sollars, who finished 14th. Sollars finished with a time of 19:02, just ahead of teammate Sam Rasinske. The Panthers finished 3rd in the conference with 79 points, behind conference champion Chapel Hill and runner-up Cedar Ridge.
Orange Panther of the Week: Adalyn Fleming
Our Orange Panther of the Week is cross country runner Adalyn Fleming, who finsihed highest among the Panthers cross country runners last Wednesday at the Big 8 Conference Championships. Fleming came in eleventh overall with a time of 21:05. Orange finished 2nd in the girls meet with 64 points, behind only conference champion Chapel Hill. Also finishing in the top 15for Orange was Ava Heffernan (13th) at 22:13 and Juliana Lester (15th) at 22:15.
Orange Volleyball Opens State Playoffs at Cleveland on Wednesday
Narrowly missing out on a home playoff match, the Orange volleyball team will open the 3A state playoffs on Wednesday at Cleveland in Clayton.
The Panthers are seeded 10th after finishing 11-9, 8-4 in the Big 8 Conference. Orange finished tied for 2nd in the league with Webb, but earned the tiebreaker after sweeping the Warriors during the regular season.
Tomorrow’s match starts at 6.
Cleveland finished 14-6 overall, 8-2 in the Two Rivers Conference. The Rams ended up in 2nd place, one game behind conference champion Triton.
Orange and Cleveland had no common opponents.
If Orange wins, they may have a rematch against Chapel Hill. The winner of Orange/Cleveland takes on 2nd seeded Chapel Hill or 15th seeded Northern Nash.
Chapel Hill swept the regular season from the Panthers this season.
As for other Big 8 teams, Oxford Webb earned a 10-seed. The Warriors faced Morehead in Eden. Northern Vance is a 13-seed and will face Southwestern Randolph.
10.21 Prep Sports Tonight: with Orange Volleyball & Ian Elliott
On this edition of Prep Sports Tonight, we talk with five seniors from the Orange Volleyball team: Jordan Lloyd, Mileah Shriner, Macy Hughes, Julia Lovingood and Eva Porter. The Panthers clinched the 2nd spot in the Big 8 conference after a win on senior night against Webb on Tuesday. Also joining us is Ian Elliott, who clinched his 2nd straight Big 8 Conference Cross Country individual championship on Wednesday at Chapel Hill High.