RALEIGH–It was a good day for Orange volleyball.
They played for a 3A State Championship on Saturday for only the second time in school history. Hundreds of fans drove in from Hillsborough to Reynolds Coliseum at Valvano Arena to watch them play. When Orange’s players were introduced, the lights dimmed down and the spotlight came on, each player stepping onto the floor with adoring applause in the same arena that David Thompson, Rodney Monroe and Tom Burleson played in. And Kay Yow coached in.
When Kings Mountain’s Melie Saongaila slammed down match point onto the polyethylene floor to end an epic five-set match, there were some tears along a disappointed Orange bench.
It was the last game for seniors Ella Wimsatt, Sadye Porter, Josie Crawford and Blessiny Deronette.
But there wasn’t bitterness and there wasn’t a feeling of a season that had fallen short of expectations.
Orange was the first team to extend Kings Mountain to five sets in 2023. The Mountaineers lost only four sets all year, then dropped two of the first three to the Lady Panthers on Saturday.
In the postmatch press conference, there were even a few smiles that flashed across the faces of Wimsatt, Porter, Aubrey Jordan and head coach Hope Heverly. They knew this was a team that had played to the maximum of its ability.
In the end, they were only three points shy of winning the first volleyball state championship in school history.
Kings Mountain (33-1) defeated Orange 3-2 on scores of 25-12, 25-27, 20-25, 25-21, 15-12. The Mountaineers claimed its third state championship, its first since 2001. They ended the season with 19 consecutive wins.
Orange, playing in its first state championship match since 2004, ends the season 27-5.
Songaila, a senior who finished with over 500 kills on the season, was named Most Valuable Player.
“I am very proud of this team,” Heverly said. “I wish the outcome could have been a little different but I’m super proud of their grit and their determination.”
The ballots for MVP were passed out on press row after the third set. If the vote had been decided at that point, the winner may have been Jordan.
Tied 10-10 in the third set, Jordan’s attacks at the net grew more efficient against a technically strong Mountaineers squad. In Orange’s final 15 points of the third set, Jordan had five kills, including a spike from the near post on set point to give the Lady Panthers a 25-20 victory that sent the Hillsborough faithful into delirium.
“We knew the match wasn’t over,” Wimsatt said. “We were confident, but we weren’t getting cocky about that because we knew they were a good team, too. We knew they would come back. We had to keep our energy up.”
Wimsatt was awarded the Sportsmanship Award by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association in a pregame ceremony, along with Mary Grace Hogue of Kings Mountain.
Down two-sets-to-one, it would have been easy for Kings Mountain to play scared in the fourth. Instead, they looked more determined. Orange’s only lead in the fourth came when Jordan scored off a feed from freshman Sawyer White to go ahead 2-1. Kings Mountain’s Mary Grace Hogue scored after a long rally when she found an open spot in Orange’s backcourt to even the set, which was followed by a block from senior Myracle Davis. Kings Mountain went on a 7-2 run to take an 11-6 lead after consecutive kills by Songaila. Orange played from behind the entire set. trailing by as much as 14-7. Wimsatt scored off a kill to make it 21-17, but that was as close as Orange would get. Davis took a feed from sophomore Camden Peysour for a thunderous kill to force a fifth set.
Orange’s only lead of the fifth set came after Ava Wilkerson blocked an attack from Davis. Kings Mountain notched the next four points, including a kill by Davis. After two returns by Orange went into the net, Heverly called timeout.
Wilkerson, who had octopus arms blocking all sorts of Mountaineers attacks throughout the day, scored Orange’s next two points. She took an assist from Katie Silcott for a spike, then blocked another Davis spike to reduce the Kings Mountain advantage to 6-4. Kings Mountain responded with four in a row, fueled by kills from Hogue and Davis, followed by an ace from Hogue that made it 10-4.
Orange refused to fold, scoring four in a row. Wimsatt came through with a kill, followed by an ace from junior Abby Silinski to cut the Mountaineers’ lead to 10-8.
Orange sent the next serve long. Songaila took a spike and slammed down a kill to make it 12-8. Wimsatt got another kill. Crawford got an ace to reduce Orange’s deficit to 12-10. Songaila came through again with a kill, but Wimsatt scored consecutive points to make it a one-point match at 13-12. With Orange serving for a tie, Paysour set up Davis for a big kill at the middle of the floor, leading to Songaila scoring on match point.
Orange’s ascendance to the Eastern Regional Championship was so fast, it was easy to forget they often had three sophomores and a freshman in the lineup. Kings Mountain provided a rude awakening in the opening set. After Orange opened with a 7-4 lead, the Mountaineers ended the frame with a 21-5 run, keyed by four kills from Songaila.
“I think we had a little bit of nerves,” Heverly said. “You would never know by how well this team plays together, but we’re a sophomore-heavy team. We have some great seniors leading the team, but overall the team is very young. I think the nerves got the best of us that first set. One of the really strong suits of our team is they make in-game adjustments. They listen really well to myself and (assistant) Coach (Mary Alice) Pike. When we ask them to make a change, they go out there right away and make the change.”
In a tremendous second set, there were six lead changes. Kings Mountain appeared poised to go ahead two sets after Orange was whistled for a rotation violation, which they had not been called for all season. That put the Mountaineers ahead 23-20. But Hogue was then called for a foot fault on the subsequent serve. Orange fought off two sets points, the first when Silcott scored on a kill. Jordan ended an epic point with a spike to even the set at 24-24. Another Jordan ruined a third set Kings Mountain set point. Then Jordan scored consecutive kills, including an interminable set point, to secure an incredible 27-25 second set victory.
When Orange defeated Walter Williams on October 11 for its Senior Night, the seniors didn’t have to answer what they would remember most during their careers. That’s because the moment had not arrived yet.
Yet Wimsatt, Porter, Crawford and Deronnette also never imagined their careers would end at Reynolds Coliseum as members of the best Orange volleyball team ever.
They were disappointed in the postgame on Saturday. But they weren’t distraught for one simple reason. They had come closer to reaching a state championship than any other Orange volleyball team ever.
State championship or not, this was a team that accomplished something that all future Orange teams will aim for.
Starting with next year.