They silenced volleyball’s loudest house in Roxboro and didn’t flinch.
They defeated a 7A team that eventually finished undefeated in its conference on the road–in just their second week together.
They surpassed Orange and Seaforth for supremacy in the Big 7 Conference and only dropped seven sets against league opponents.
From the very beginning, this season was a joyride for Cedar Ridge volleyball.
The only thing that made them flinch was the thought of losing the thing they loved most–playing alongside each other.
Once they were faced with that prospect by a playoff-tested Seaforth squad, Cedar Ridge crumbled. And it cost them their dream of a fairy tale finish in the state championships.
Freshman Naomi Stevenson and junior Ally Forbes led the Hawks to a stunning 3-1 victory over Cedar Ridge at Red Wolves Gymnasium in the 5A State Quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon. Seaforth (18-8) will travel to Roxboro to face Person for the Eastern Regional championship on Tuesday.
Cedar Ridge had won three straight matches against Seaforth this year, including one in the Big 7 Tournament championship match last Wednesday. In addition to past results, it appeared that the Red Wolves chances of advancing were even better after Seaforth starting libero Isabelle Valgus was sidelined with an injured foot suffered the day after its last meeting with Cedar Ridge.
Junior Taylor Perry adorned the libero jersey and delivered a poised defensive performance while Stevenson and Ally Forbes handled the attacking.
Shortly after junior Hawk middle blocker Clarke Hollier delivered match point, the tears that had been building up in the eyes of the Cedar Ridge players began flowing. The fun-filled trip that started on August 12 with a 3-2 win over Person had come to an abrupt, shocking and devastating end.
Head coach Khoury May, her voice quivering 20 minutes after the match concluded, ended her first season at Cedar Ridge with a conference championship and tournament championship. But not in Raleigh or Winston-Salem like she and her team desired.
“I think the mental game got us,” May said. “I think were broke down in the mental aspect. Physically, we did a great job. But the mental aspect was really hard and that’s what got us.”
May, who was the Seaforth junior varsity coach last year, was left with the difficult task of addressing her seniors after they lost their final home game.
“I cried,” May said. “I told them I was proud of them. I told them this is really tough and I knew they didn’t want to hear what I had to say right now and they didn’t want to acknowledge all of the positives because it’s sad. They’re allowed to be upset. But I told them I couldn’t be more proud of a group of people.”
At the beginning, it felt like just another Cedar Ridge domination. The Red Wolves never trailed in the opening set and jumped out to a 14-5 lead. Senior Claire Hargett delivered an ace during a 7-1 run that included kills from Ellamarie Perel and Addilyn Jackson. Kayla Stoll delivered set point as the Red Wolves won 25-12.
If you had told anyone inside the gym that it would be Cedar Ridge’s final set win of the season, they would have recommended long-term therapy.
Cedar Ridge led the second set 12-8 after a kill by Kayla Stoll and a return by Abigail Valgus went into the net. Seaforth started to take control when they scored four straight points, capped by a kill from Perry. The Red Wolves responded and were two points away from taking a two-sets-to-nothing lead after a block by Stoll evened the frame at 23-23. Forbes delivered a strong kill along the near post. A return by Cedar Ridge freshman Dani Solomon went long on set point.
Cedar Ridge got an ace from libero Sydnee Tapper to take a 5-3 lead. Seaforth reeled off four straight points and not only took the lead for the rest of the set, they didn’t trail again the entire match. Stevenson turned into the best player on the floor, delivering four aces and a kill to push the Hawks lead to 10-5. That advantage would grow to 18-9 behind two kills each from Forbes and Hollier. The Red Wolves got four straight points late to make it look respectful, but Forbes delivered on set point to deliver Seaforth the third set 25-18.
Cedar Ridge players wore smiles as they started the fourth set trying to weather the storm, but Seaforth was the more confident team. The Hawks started the frame on a 7-2 run and were never really challenged as Lyla Walters starting the set with a block followed by an ace from Forbes. The Hawks used six straight points to push the advantage up to 15-5 behind an ace from Abigail Valgus and another kill from Forbes.
Hargett, the all-time kills leader in Cedar Ridge history, scored the final point of her career on a spike to trim the Seaforth lead to 22-11. Solomon got the Red Wolves last point on a block. But Hollier spiked down match point to spark a celebration in burgundy and grey, handing Cedar Ridge its first home loss in over a year.
For the Cedar Ridge senior class of Hargett, Stoll, Perel, Tapper, Mia Marty, Claire Hargett and Emory Williams, it was the end of a special journey together. They started the season as almost an afterthought after Orange defeated the Red Wolves in their final three meetings last year, including in the state playoffs.
With the additions of May, Solomon and Jackson, Cedar Ridge stayed atop the 5A Classification the entire season and earned the regular season and conference tournament championships.
They celebrated every ace with a dance lifted from the reality show “Love Island.” The unbridled joy that Cedar Ridge had playing alongside each other was palpable. For a program with high standards, it was their best team since the 2021 squad.
It was one bad afternoon that kept them from putting its permanent mark in school history.
May started to get more emotional as she finished her thoughts.
“I thanked them for welcoming me to Cedar Ridge,” May said with her voice cracking. “It’s a blessing to have coached all of these girls. I’m just proud of the whole team.”
