It has been 18 years since the Orange volleyball team has won a conference championship.
Now, it’s only a matter of time before the Lady Panthers finally raise the trophy that has eluded them for so long.
While that long drought isn’t quite over yet, Orange did end one streak on Thursday night. They ended a four-game losing streak to Cedar Ridge inside Panther Gymnasium.
In anticlimactic fashion, Orange swept Cedar Ridge 3-0 on scores of 25-19, 25-19 and 25-11. It was the first time Orange clinched a home win over the Red Wolves since 2018.
More importantly, Orange (17-3, 8-0 in the Central Carolina Conference) has all but locked up the conference title. They now lead Cedar Ridge by two games in the CCC, plus the head-to-head tiebreaker. With wins next week over Person and Southern Alamance, Orange will clinch first place.
“We were confident,” said Orange coach Hope Heverly. “But it was a confidence that came from working hard and putting in a lot of extra work on the outside. We made some adjustments yesterday during practice to be ready for today. We worked on the mental aspect of the game and not just the X’s and O’s and just can see the players are thinking about the mental part and pushing through.”
The trappings of a big rivalry match were impossible to ignore as anticipation built on Thursday night. It was the largest crowd of the year at Panther Gymnasium. The Orange student section was packed from the front row to the rafters. Cedar Ridge’s student section, never afraid to be the minority in an opposing gym, lined up to the left end of the floor, parallel to their squad’s bench.
Orange sophomore setter Katie Silcott finished with 29 assists and five aces. Sophomore outside hitter Aubrey Jordan registered ten kills, while middle blocker Ava Wilkerson had eight kills, one block and one assist.
Cedar Ridge sophomore Claire Hargett had seven kills and 13 digs for the Red Wolves (10-6, 6-2), who suffered only its second conference loss since the 2020 season. Senior Addie Reid had four kills and four blocks.
The opening set included three lead changes and five ties, but it was the only competitive frame of the night. Orange steadily began to pull away following a 4-0 run where Wimsatt racked up consecutive kills, all assisted by Silcott. A kill by Reid drew the Red Wolves to within 10-9, but that was as close as they would get. Orange responded with a 7-1 run, which included back-to-back spikes by Wilkerson and an ace from Silcott, which led to the first Cedar Ridge timeout. An ace by Josie Crawford put the Lady Panthers ahead 23-17. Wimsatt would close out the opening set with a kill suppled by Silcott.
Orange didn’t trail again the rest of the night. Jordan had six kills in the second set, where Orange started with an 11-2 run. It included an ace by Silcott and two kills by Jordan. The Red Wolves chipped away at its deficit with a 6-2 run where Ellamarie Perel scored a kid, along with Hargett. Orange bounced back with four straight points where Wimsatt, Jordan, and Wilkerson all spiked home points. Jordan scored set point to vault Orange ahead two sets.
Orange started the third set with an 8-2 run, included a block by Wilkerson and two kills by Jordan. The Lady Panthers went on a 5-0 run to take a 13-5 lead after a kill by Wimsatt. Silcott added another ace late.
Orange has won all 24 of its sets thus far in conference play, a run that Cedar Ridge can relate to from year’s past. The Red Wolves are the three-time defending conference champions. Going into Thursday, they’re still ranked #6 in the 3A East RPI rankings.
But Orange has been waiting for four years to surpass the Red Wolves for local volleyball supremacy. After plenty of frustration and losses in the postseason to their neighbors to the west, Orange volleyball’s time has finally come.
Where, and when, it ends is anyone’s guess.