If it wasn’t clear that Hillsborough is the Volleyball Capital of the Central Carolina Conference, it is now.
For the second straight year, Orange and Cedar Ridge will face off in the CCC Tournament championship game tonight at Orange High.
Orange and Cedar Ridge competed in opposite ends of town on Tuesday night in their respective semifinal matches, both teams sweeping their opposition.
Orange defeated Western Alamance on scores of 25-14, 25-8, 25-15. For the third time this season, Cedar Ridge defeated Person 25-11, 25-22, 25-18.
Orange, the CCC regular season champion, won its 20th consecutive match to improve to 21-3. Senior Ella Wimsatt finished with 12 kills and 31 digs. Sophomore Aubrey Jordan registered 14 kills while middle blocker Ava Wilkerson had 13 kills. Sophomore setter Katie Silcott, who surpassed 1,000 career assists last week in a match against Walter Williams, finished with a double-double of 31 assists and 14 digs.
Orange used a 6-0 run to pull away in the opening set. After Wilkerson scored off an assist from Silcott to even the set 4-4, junior Abby Silinski served up two aces while Wilkerson scored on a block, leading to a Warrior timeout after Orange increased its lead to 9-4. The Lady Panthers scored nine of the last ten points to close out the frame, ending with Wimsatt’s kill off a set by Silcott on set point.
In the third set, Western Alamance (12-8) jumped out to a 12-5 lead following consecutive kills from Haley Clayton and another from Avery Wilson. After an Orange timeout, the Lady Panthers reeled off eight of the next nine points. Trailing 12-6, Wilmsatt earned a huge point on a kill to conclude a long rally where senior Josie Crawford made three crucial digs. Back-to-back points by Jordan and Wimsatt evened the set at 13-13. Orange finished the match on a 13-2 run, which included three kills each from Wilkerson and Jordan.
It was Orange’s third win over the Warriors this season.
At Red Wolves Gymnasium, Cedar Ridge sophomore Claire Hargett finished with 14 kills and ten digs against the Rockets. Senior Graylinn Serge had 12 kills and 19 digs. Senior Rachel Alverson, who also surpassed 1,000 career assists against Williams on Monday, finished with 35 assists and ten digs.
Leading 10-5 in the opening set, Cedar Ridge pulled away with a 9-0 run. Serge had three straight kills in the spree, while Alverson had a rare kill assisted by Natasha Buchler-Fosado. Hargett scored set point off a feed from Alverson.
The most competitive set was the second, where Person led 11-9 at one point. Cedar Ridge responded with six straight points to take a 15-11 lead, which included an ace from Alverson and two kills each from Serge and sophomore Kayla Stoll. Person (12-9) responded with consecutive kills from senior Summer Moore to trim the Red Wolf lead to 19-16. A return by Cedar Ridge that went wide reduced their lead to 21-20, but Serge scored a big kill followed by an ace from Alverson to increase the lead to 23-20. Hargett scored set point on a strong swing near the far post.
Cedar Ridge started the third set with a 9-3 spurt, starting with a kill from Ellie Woolson. Buchler-Fosado had an ace while Hargett spiked down back-to-back points, leading to a Person timeout. The Rockets got their deficit down to 15-7 after a point by Moore, but never seriously challenged in the final set.
Cedar Ridge and Orange have played in all three CCC Tournaments dating back to 2021. The Red Wolves defeated the Lady Panthers in the semifinals of the 2021 tournament. Last year, Cedar Ridge defeated Orange in the championship match 3-1 on scores of 25-12, 25-10, 17-25 and 25-17. The set that Orange won last year ended Cedar Ridge’s string of 62 consecutive sets won.
Orange has won both matchups against the Red Wolves this season. Orange won its first conference championship in volleyball since 2005.