Photo by Jacques Morin
It could have easily been a sweep for Orange volleyball on Wednesday night.
Instead, Orange had to take the hard way to victory against the Jordan Falcons, but they ended a long drought in the process.
Junior Aubry Hodges finished with a double-double of 12 kills, ten blocks and four aces as the Lady Panthers defeated Jordan 3-2 on scores of 24-26, 21-25, 25-20, 25-23, 15-10 at Panther Gymnasium in Hillsborough.
It ended a streak of six consecutive five-set losses for Orange. The Lady Panthers last five set win came against Cedar Ridge on October 25, 2024 inside Red Wolf Gymnasium. It’s last reverse sweep win came on October 16, 2021 at Western Alamance.
Orange (7-7) ended a two-match losing streak after being swept on Tuesday night at Cedar Ridge.
In the fourth set, Jordan was six points from the match, leading 19-10 already ahead two-sets-to-one.
“We were thinking we had to get to 15 points,” said Orange coach Mary Alice Pike. “Then we were going to get to 20 and then get to 25.”
Orange senior setter Sawyer White nearly earned a triple-double. She recorded 18 digs, 43 assists, six kills and two aces.
It appeared a reverse sweep wouldn’t be necessary when Orange’s Abigail Pfeiffenberger earned a kill to put Orange ahead 24-20 in the opening set. Jordan almost effortlessly turned away Orange’s four set points and racked up six in a row. Jordan sophomore Susana Lowe tied the set off a feed from setter Natalia Rosa to close the Orange lead to 24-23. Falcon senior Madi Hill delivered an ace on set point in overtime.
“We had to have a memory of a goldfish,” Pike said. “We had to move on to the next thing.”
In the second set, Orange went on a 6-0 run to take a 20-15 lead behind consecutive aces from Hodges. Once again, Jordan closed strong, finishing with the final seven points. Junior Jordyn Ellis started the rally with a kill assisted by setter Ellie Volpe. Hill scored off a block to tie the set 21-21. Senior Zoe Hastings delivered back-to-back aces to give Jordan the set 25-21.
There were seven lead changes in the third set, but Hodges changed the match with five kills and three blocks in the frame. Her extended 5-foot-10-inch frame forced Jordan to find new paths to attacks. Orange freshman Avery O’Quinn scored on a kill to put the Lady Panthers ahead 19-18. Hodges scored on consecutive blocks for the meat of a 5-0 Orange run. Hodges ended the set with a kill assisted by White.
“Aubry, Sawyer, Emilee on the right side, those were total momentum changers,” Pike said. “It was great. It forced them to change their attacks, which forced us to adjust what they were sending over. It put the pressure on them to find a way to score. We were able to pick it up on offense.”
Jordan led almost the entire fourth set, building a 15-7 lead after a block from sophomore Veronica Patterson. Rosa’s ace put Jordan ahead 19-10, but it was Hodges who keyed the comeback. Sophomore Emilee Cothran started the rally with a kill, following by an ace from Violet Tyll. Hodges started a 8-1 Orange spurt with a block, followed by a kill. Hodges got another block and another kill to trim the Jordan lead to 20-19.
After a block by White, Hodges served an ace to tie the set 21-21. A kill by Jordan’s Madi Hill tied the set at 23-23, but Cothran scored on an attack that landed in the heart of the floor. O’Quinn tied the match off an assist from White to force a fifth set.
The fifth set was tied 7-7 before Orange went on a 5-1 run. Cothran scored off a spike, followed by a kill from Avery O’Quinn. Cothran scored again. Albert scored match point off the final assist from the night from White.
“This team did a great job,” Pike said. “I was so proud of them. It’s hard to play on back-to-back nights and they did an outstanding job.”
