Orange’s second regional championship in volleyball has led to a sweep of the Central Conference awards for 2023.
Senior Ella Wimsatt has been named the Central Conference Player of the Year. First-year head coach Hope Heverly is the Central Coach of the Year after leading the Lady Panthers to its first conference championship since 2005.
Orange finished 27-5 this season and won the 3A Eastern Regional championship. The Lady Panthers advanced to the 3A State Championship match for the first time since 2004, where they extended Kings Mountain to five sets at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. Kings Mountain won the state title in five sets, the only time all year that the Mountaineers were taken to a fifth set all season.
Wimsatt, who announced her college commitment to Lenoir-Rhyne earlier this week, led Orange with 456 kills this season. She also was second on the team with 19 digs, second only to senior libero Sadye Porter.
It was a breakthrough season for Wimsatt, who had waited since her freshman year to play on a conference champion after neighboring Cedar Ridge won the previous three league titles. The Lady Panthers romped through the Central Conference this fall, dropping only one set during an undefeated run to the conference crown.
Wimsatt had 20 or more kills three times this season. Against Falls Lake on August 24 in Creedmoor, Wimsatt had a season-high 24 kills in a 3-1 Orange win. In a rematch in Hillsborough on September 20, Wimsatt would finished wit 20 kills, 19 digs and two aces against the Firebirds in another 3-1 Lady Panther victory. Falls Lake would go on to win the 1A Eastern Regional championship.
Orange went into the 3A State Playoffs as a #2 seed, but hosted five state playoff matches, including the Eastern Regional championship match against Carrboro. It was in her final matches at home where Wimsatt played her most inspired sets.
In the state quarterfinals, Orange faced J.H. Rose, the defending 3A Eastern Regional champions. Wimsatt delivered 20 kills against the Rampants, along with 28 digs, a season-high. Orange would defeated Rose 3-2 to advance to the Final Four.
Against Carrboro, Wimsatt delivered 19 kills, 19 digs and two aces as Orange defeated the Jaguars in a thrilling five-set match. Orange avenged an earlier loss to the Jaguars from August 16.
Wimsatt concluded her Orange career with 575 kills. In addition to being the top player for Orange in its deepest run in state playoff history, Wimsatt was also a member of the 2022 women’s soccer team, which reached the third round of the state playoffs. That was the deepest playoff run for the Orange women’s soccer program since its inception in 1989. Orange defeated Cape Fear in the second round before losing to conference rival Walter Williams in the third round in Burlington.
Heverly returned to her alma mater this season after nine years away from high school coaching. While she maintained her place in the game with the D.O.V.E Club program in Durham, she hadn’t coached high school since 2014 when she concluded a three-year stint at Person.
Heverly was a member of Orange’s 2004 team that reached the state championship match. She returned this season and took a squad that included sophomore outside hitter Aubrey Jordan, sophomore middle blocker Ava Wilkerson and freshman outside hitter Sawyer White and molded it into the most successful Orange volleyball team ever.
Heverly also had the return of Porter, who proved to be a valuable defender. Porter, who didn’t play in 2022, led Orange with a team-high 521 digs. Porter also had 47 aces, which was third on the team.
The Lady Panthers lose Wimsatt, Porter, Josie Crawford and Blessiny Deronette, who will all graduate in June. Orange will return four starters next year, including Jordan, Wilkerson, White and sophomore middle blocker Mariah Poole. They will also have sophomore setter Katie Silcott, who may have set a single-season school record with 1,037 assists in 2023.