Over the last four years, the senior class of the Cedar Ridge volleyball team has scored 3,714 points at home.
It would have been more if they had played more than three home games during the pandemic year of 2020-2021.
While Saturday’s 3-0 win over Wilson Hunt (23-5) in the 3A NCHSAA State Quarterfinals will go down as Cedar Ridge’s 24th sweep in 25 wins, it was also the seniors’ final win inside Red Wolves Gymnasium. In a year where suspense has yielded to dominance, the final five points ever scored by the Cedar Ridge seniors at home are emblematic of the excellence and mental toughness that has become their hallmark.
Ahead by two sets against Wilson Hunt, the Warriors largely controlled play in the third frame behind the play of junior Gracelynn Wolzen and senior Alex Williams, who surpassed 1,000 career kills in her final game.
The Warriors, who led 17-12 at one point in the third set, were only two points from the set after a kill from senior Kayla Haley, who injured her knee earlier in the match and couldn’t even stand during team huddles.
With Cedar Ridge (25-1) trailing 23-20, the Red Wolves seniors took their final bow in Hillsborough and left a mark that will live forever.
It started when Cameron Lloyd, who finished with 13 kills, spiked home a cross-court pass from junior Rachel Alverson.
Cedar Ridge coach Fiona Cunningham immediately put in senior Julie Altieri, who has made aces and assists her trademark since she was a freshman on the varsity. Isolating on Hunt libero Lanier Johnson, Altieri fired a line drive that skipped off Johnson’s fists and into the front row of bleachers, propelling the Red Wolves student section into hysteria.
After a timeout, Altieri aimed at Johnson again, who ducked her head on what was, to the truest sense of the term, a headhunter. The ball sailed over Johnson’s back and landed firmly in the upper left corner for another ace to tie the set.
Of course, the storybook way for the senior class to close out its last home game would be for the school’s all-time assist leader to set up the school’s all-time kills leader. Which is exactly what happened on the final two points.
After Johnson made a dig on Lloyd’s first attack, senior Melissa Benkowitz bumped it to Altieri. Lloyd took the pass and opted for a soft tap that was briefly kept alive by middle blocker Audrey Earp, but quickly fell to the floor.
Altieri set the Fike defense off balance on match point when her serve had to be chased down by setter Ashton Frazier. After Addie Reid got the dig, it was Altieri to Lloyd one final time inside Red Wolves Gymnasium.
The smooth swing sent the ball crashing to the floor between three outstretched fists of Hunt players who all dove in vain. Really, it looked no different than hundreds of points before it which Altieri had set up for Lloyd. The only thing special about it was it’s the last time it will happen in Hillsborough.
“Cameron really stepped up when we needed her in that third set,” Cunningham said. “She was really a consistent force for us.”
Hunt, who went undefeated in the Quad County Conference, quickly fell behind in the first set due to Cedar Ridge’s serving. Altieri and Benkowitz each recorded aces during Cedar Ridge’s 9-4 run to open the match. After the Warriors closed the gap to 10-7, a block by Reid triggered a 9-3 spurt that put the Red Wolves in control of the set. Lloyd had three kills during the run. Cameron Lanier, who finished with eight kills, earned set point off an assist from Alverson.
The second set was even at 8-8 before the Red Wolves went on another of its patented sprees. This time it was a 10-2 run that was triggered by a thunderous kill by Lanier. Senior libero Grace Young recorded three straight aces to build the Red Wolves’ advantage to 22-12. Alverson had a quick kill, her only one of the day, to put the Red Wolves ahead two sets.
Cedar Ridge recorded 13 aces, including four by Benkowitz. Altieri and Young each had three. Alverson finished with eight assists.
Now Cedar Ridge will venture back to where its 2022 journey started. They will face J.H. Rose in Greenville for the Eastern Regional Championship on Tuesday night. Last November, the Red Wolves swept the Rampants to win the regional championship in Hillsborough.
On August 18, in the Red Wolves’ season-opener, the Rampants got revenge in a 3-1 victory in Greenville. It’s Cedar Ridge’s only loss of the season. They’ve lost just one set since then.
J.H. Rose, the champions of the 4A/3A Big East Conference and the #1 East seed, has won 30 in a row at home.
Cunningham, who was sick the night of the August matchup against the Rampants, isn’t expecting another sweep by anybody on Tuesday night.
“It’s going to be about who is more calm, cool and collected,” Cunningham said. “Both teams are phenomenal. Both teams are gonna play their absolute best that day and I can promise it’s going to be more than three sets one way or the other. Neither team has much experience this year going to sets four and five. So it’s going to be a lot about who can stay composed and who can keep pushing through to the end.”