This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore middle blocker Ava Wilkerson. Last fall, Wilkerson was the middle blocker for the most successful Orange volleyball team in history. The Panthers became just the second team in school history to win a regional championship in volleyball after beating Carrboro for the title inside Panther Gymnasium. Wilkerson, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, led the team with 79 total blocks. Wilkerson opened the year with a bang by racking up seven blocks in the season-opening win over Jordan in Hillsborough. The following night, Wilkerson had seven blocks in a four-set loss to Carrboro, a team that Orange would get very familiar with. Wilkerson was also a quality attacker. She had 19 kills in a sweep of Person on October 3. In a span of three matches in late September, Wilkerson had double digit kills against Falls Lake, Western Alamance and Walter Williams. Wilkerson is the younger sister of former Orange outside hitter Allie Wilkerson, who is now playing at Division III Averett University. This year, Orange won the regular season conference championship for the first time since 2005. Wilkerson had a season-high eight blocks in the 3A State Championship match against Kings Mountain at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. With the Lady Panthers losing two starters, Wilkerson has even bigger goals in mind for next season.