From the time she started playing volleyball in White Cross at eight years old, Aubrey Jordan has known only one position.
Outside hitter.
Currently standing at 6-foot-1 inch, Jordan has often been the tallest player on the floor throughout her life. That is, unless her six-foot-two Orange High teammate Ava Wilkerson was holding down the middle.
On Monday night, Jordan surpassed 1,000 career kills in Orange’s sweep of South Granville in the Big 7 Conference Tournament quarterfinals in Hillsborough. She earned the milestone after an assist from classmate Katie Silcott to put Orange ahead 23-8 in the second set.
“It’s something that I’ve always fought for,” Jordan said. “Especially getting it my senior year, I definitely wanted to get that milestone. I’ve worked hard my four years here. To be able to achieve that makes me feel like my job here is done.”
Orange advanced to face Cedar Ridge in the semifinals at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Tuesday. It will be the fourth year in a row that the Lady Panthers and the Red Wolves have played in a conference tournament.
Orange (11-10) won on scores of 25-12, 25-16, 25-8.
The path to 1,000 kills is a rare and difficult one, particularly at Orange. Ella Wimsatt, the senior on Orange’s 2023 Eastern Regional championship team, ended her career with 805 kills. Wilkerson finished with 776 kills before having to conclude her senior season prematurely on September 2 to undergo a medical procedure.
Jordan was stricken by the same malady that many outside hitters face after years of playing travel and high school volleyball. The constant jumping, diving on floors and swinging arms and fists can take its toll after months and months of matches.
After her sophomore season, where Orange won the Eastern Regional Championship by beating Carrboro, Jordan was out six months after suffering a stress fracture in her fourth lumber vertebrae. It took away most of her travel season, a crucial period that serves as one-stop shopping for college coaches set to make offers to recruits.
Jordan had been coveted by various Division I schools but had yet to make any commitments. The pain was one thing, but as she passed the time resting in bed streaming Grey’s Anatomy and whatever volleyball match was on ESPN+, she was concerned her dreams of playing Division I volleyball were slowly dissipating.
“It felt like the pain would never go away,” Jordan said. “It was definitely a struggle. I was afraid I would get behind. I felt like I was getting weaker. But I had amazing teammates and family that was there to support me with physical therapy.”
Jordan eventually committed to play at Gardner-Webb. She’s the second Division I prospect currently on the Orange roster.
“The people at Gardner-Webb are so kind,” Jordan said. “I fell in love with it the second I stepped on campus. The coaches are amazing. I’m so excited.”
Following two years in the White Cross Recreation League, Jordan started playing for AIM Volleyball Club out of Hillsborough for three years. She’s finished her travel career with Triangle Volleyball Club.
In 2022, in her final days with AIM, Jordan realized she was capable of playing against top-caliber talent in college.
“All my friends that were playing on higher level clubs wanted me to come over to Triangle,” Jordan said. “They wanted me to get better coaching and get more exposure. I felt like I stuck out a little more before I moved to Triangle.”
While she isn’t 100%, Jordan learned to work around the pain as she currently leads the team with 205 kills. She’s also a valuable defensive player when she lines up along the back row, currently second on the team with 154 digs.
On Monday, Jordan finished with 18 kills and five digs. Fittingly, she got the final kill of the night for the 23rd point of the third set. Silcott wrapped up the sweep with an ace.
Junior Sawyer White finished with eight kills, seven digs and 14 assists.
