The Orange Panthers nearly broke the stranglehold that teams from southern Orange County have had at the top of the Big 8 standings on Tuesday night, but not quite.
East Chapel Hill held off Orange 3-2 at Wildcat Gymnasium on scores of 25-8, 17-25, 25-14, 19-25 and 16-14.
Senior Bailey Lucas had a strong all-around performance for the Panthers, finishing with twelve kills, 16 assists and eleven digs. Sophomore Emma Clements had four aces, 14 kills and 21 digs. Emma Clements had two aces, two kills, one block, 26 assists and eleven digs. Libero Faith Foushee also had 21 digs.
With the win, Chapel Hill and East Chapel Hill maintain the top two spots in the Big 8. The Tigers are 7-0 in conference play while the Wildcats are now 7-1, 11-6 overall.
Orange falls to 8-6, and is now in fifth place in the Big 8 with a 3-5 record.