Orange Volleyball

Standing in a sweatbox gym at Fairchild Community Center in Burlington, Anna Seethaler seemed to know something a month ahead of everyone else.

She was asked by a local reporter how good her 2nd Cedar Ridge volleyball team would be.

“Look out,” was her pithy reply while wearing a beaming grin.

Look out? Many coaches in fall sports are full of optimism in August, but for a team that went 7-15 last year? That just lost senior Sarah McCuiston, who led the team in kills? That just lost promising sophomore Lydia Wood, who opted to transfer to The Trinity School after one year in Hillsborough?

Indeed, Seethaler did know something that almost everyone else didn’t. She watched as the Red Wolves breezed past Riverside, Greensboro Page and the Alamance Aces in scrimmages at the Fairchild Center on August 17 and understood that 2019 would be very different, in part because of three freshmen.

Three weeks later, Cedar Ridge has just completed its most successful stretch since reaching the 3A Eastern Regional Championship match in 2015.

To end an unenviable stretch in a sultry Orange High Gymnasium, the Red Wolves defeated crosstown rival Orange 3-2 on Thursday night in a rivalry game that was as entertaining as it was draining. Freshman Julie Altieri’s ace on match point was the perfect culmination of a week where the Cedar Ridge rookies delivered notice to the rest of the Big 8 Conference, and possibly the entire region.

Look out, indeed.

Cedar Ridge won on scores of 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 15-25 and 15-7.

Orange (6-4, 1-1) had a six-game winning streak snapped.

After beating three-time defending Big 8 Champion Chapel Hill on Tuesday and Orange on Thursday, the Red Wolves sit atop the league with a 3-0 league record. With an 8-1 overall mark, the Red Wolves have already surpassed its win total from last season.

The last time Cedar Ridge defeated Orange, it was September 1, 2016. There was barely a ripple of celebration around Red Wolves Gymnasium that night because beating the Lady Panthers was all too common. Cedar Ridge had trumped Orange nine straight times.

Seethaler, who lived in Utah in 2016, wasn’t a clued in about the rivalry as other longtime local residents.

“I haven’t been here so I don’t know the rivalry so well,” Seethaler said. “I’m happy, though.”

The win on Thursday ended the Red Wolves’ five-game losing streak to the Lady Panthers.

It came amid a raucous gym where opposing student sections standing on opposite sides traded barbs about everything from the officiating to lack of air conditioning.

On a day where the heat index reached 101 degrees in Hillsborough, the sweltering weather led to a slick court and some spectators retreated to the parking lot before the exciting finish.

“I think it got to me,” Seethaler said. “I don’t think they thought about the heat. They had to play through it.”

In the fifth set, it was freshman Cameron Lloyd who fired the biggest shots, serving four consecutive aces as the Red Wolves bounced ahead 7-2. Lloyd, who already has 100 kills after Monday’s loss to Jordan, had three kills in the final set.

Orange sophomore Lottie Scully had four kills in the 4th set, the only lopsided frame in the match.

The opening set had eight ties and four lead changes. The second set had 13 ties and four lead changes.

In the first frame, Cedar Ridge scored the final four points with Lloyd serving. She delivered an ace to tie the set 23-23. Senior Emma Downing gave Cedar Ridge the lead with an unassisted kill. The Red Wolves took the opening set when a service return by Orange went wide.

Orange evened the match in the second. A successful block by Erin Jordan-Cornell gave the Lady Panthers a 22-18 lead. Jordan-Cornell finished the set with five kills. Cedar Ridge lost junior setter Layne Foster in the 2nd set because of a left quadricep injury.

Orange appeared set to take the 3rd set, leading 20-15 after a kill by senior Emma Clements off an assist from Ella Van Time. Cedar Ridge finished the frame with a 10-3 run, which included Altieri serving up three straight aces. She also slammed home set point.

The Red Wolves return home to face Bartlett Yancey on Monday. Orange returns home to take on Bartlett Yancey on Tuesday, then travels to Chapel Hill on Thursday.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is freshman middle hitter Erin Jordan-Cornell of the Lady Panther volleyball team. Going into Thursday night’s match against Cedar Ridge, Jordan-Cornell help the Lady Panthers win six consecutive matches. Orange defeated Roxboro Community School 3-0 in Hillsborough on September 3. Jordan-Cornell led Orange with seven kills. Through the first six matches of her high school career, Jordan-Cornell has 31 kills, which is second on the team. Jordan-Cornell played for Stanford in 2017 and 2018. She was also a member of the Chapel Hill Area Volleyball Club, a summer travel team that journeyed to Atlanta and finished 2nd in the Big South Qualifier. They earned an invitation to the USA Volleyball Girls National Championships in Indianapolis, which took place in June. Jordan-Cornell also plans to play basketball this winter for Orange. 

The best start in Cedar Ridge volleyball history came to an end against a deep, tall, experienced group from Jordan High.

The Falcons defeated the Red Wolves 3-1 at Falcon Gymnasium on Monday night. The Red Wolves (6-1) lost the final set 25-15. Cedar Ridge remained close in the final set, trailing 10-9 before Jordan went on a 9-2 run. Jordan junior Maegan Williams had three kills in that span. Senior Morgan Hyman ended the match with a kill that hugged the outside line to improve the Falcons to 5-3 on the season.

Jordan also defeated Orange in the Peak City Classic at Apex Friendship High School on August 24.

It’s the start of a strenuous week for the Red Wolves. After facing a Jordan team that has six seniors on its 13-player roster on Monday, the Red Wolves will host three-time defending Big 8 Champion Chapel Hill on Tuesday night at Cedar Ridge. Chapel Hill, who defeated Jordan 3-1 on August 20, started its Big 8 season with a 3-0 victory over Vance County on Monday night.

On Thursday night, Cedar Ridge will face crosstown rival Orange at Panther Gymnasium. The Lady Panthers have defeated Cedar Ridge five straight times. The game will pair teammates from the Chapel Hill Area Volleyball Club against each other. Last spring, the CHAVC finished 2nd in the Big South Qualifier in Atlanta, Georgia. They earned an invitation to the USA Volleyball Girls National Championships in Indianapolis, which took place in June.

Cedar Ridge freshmen Cameron Lloyd, Julie Altieri, and Cameron Lanier were members of the CHAVC, along with current Orange freshman Erin Jordan-Cornell. Lloyd and Jordan-Cornell were also teammates at Stanford Middle School, but will be on opposite sides of the net on Thursday.

Orange will start its Big 8 Conference campaign on Tuesday night, making the long trip north to play Vance County. The Vipers joined the Big 8 Conference during the summer after Hillside moved back up to 4A.

Men’s Soccer: The Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team took a hard luck loss against Bartlett Yancey 3-2 on Monday night in Yanceyville. The Red Wolves fought back from a 2-0 deficit at halftime and evened the game, but the Buccaneers scored the game-winning goal late.

Senior midfielder Brandon Garcia scored for the sixth consecutive game by scoring the opener for the Red Wolves in the 2nd half. Cedar Ridge evened the game when Reese Weaver scored off an assist from Nick Frank.

Garcia now has six goals and three assists through six games this season. Weaver has four goals, while Frank has two goals and two assists.

Cedar Ridge is 2-3-1. The Red Wolves will open Big 8 Conference play against Northwood on Wednesday night at Red Wolves Stadium. Remarkably, this will be the home opener for Cedar Ridge three weeks into the season. They were supposed to play Bartlett Yancey last week, but the game was postponed.

The Orange men’s soccer team will play only once this week. They travel to East Chapel Hill on Wednesday night. It will also be their Big 8 Conference opener. The Panthers are 3-2 after falling to Riverside in Durham on Friday night.

Jackson Schmid: The Division III Wheaton Thunder football team started its season with a 38-0 win over Monmouth (Illinois) at Zorn Stadium in Monmoth, IL on Saturday. Schmid, who was the quarterback for an undefeated Orange team in 2016, is now a safety with the Thunder. He recorded a career high two tackles on Saturday. Schmid, a junior, played three games for the Thunder last season.

Payton Wilson: N.C. State defeated Western Carolina 49-0 at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday. In his second college game, Wilson registered three tackles and a quarterback hit. He had six tackles in the season-opener against East Carolina last week.

Trent Gill: The 2017 Cedar Ridge graduate handled punting duties for N.C. State on Saturday. Gill had three punts for an 49.3 yard average. His longest punt was 58 yards, with two kicks inside the 20-yard line. Gill also had eight kickoffs with three touchbacks. The Wolfpack will take this week off, then return against Ball State on September 21.

Stone Edwards: After missing Vanderbilt’s season-opener against #3 Georgia on August 31st, the 2017 Orange graduate made his season-debut for the Commodores against Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, IN on Saturday. Edwards, who was listed as second-string defensive end on the Vanderbilt depth chart, wasn’t credited with a tackle. The Boilermakers defeated the Commodores 42-24.

Keshawn Thompson: The FCS Campbell Camels defeated Division II Shaw University 38-14 at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek on Saturday. Thompson was credited with two tackles. The Camels (1-1) return to action against Davidson on September 21.

Bryse Wilson: The day after making an appearance for the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, Wilson returned to the Gwinnett Stripers of the AAA International League the next day. On Saturday, Wilson got the start as the Columbus Clippers defeated the Stripers 5-4 in Game 4 of the Governor’s Cup Semifinals at Huntington Park. The Clippers clinched the series three games to one and advanced to face the Durham Bulls in the Governor’s Cup Finals. Wilson went six innings in a no-decision. He surrendered ten hits and three runs. Gwinnett led 4-3 in the middle of the eighth, but couldn’t hold on to the lead. Gwinnett ends the season after a club record 81 wins. Wilson, who could return to Atlanta before the regular season ends, was named the Most Outstanding Pitcher for the Stripers last week. He finished 10-7 with a 3.42 in 21 starts for the Stripers this season. In his final ten starts, Wilson went 7-1 with a 3.12 ERA with 59 strikeouts and 13 walks.

Madison Wardlow: After graduating as Cedar Ridge’s career leading scorer in women’s basketball, Wardlow has enrolled at Guilford Technical Community College, where she plans to continue her basketball career. Wardlow was the first Cedar Ridge player to score over 1,000 points, a mark she eclipsed in February against Southern Durham.

Kayla Hodges: For the fifth time in five games, Hodges started for the Elon women’s soccer team in a 3-1 win over Richmond at President’s Field in Richmond, VA on Thursday. Hodges wasn’t credited with a shot on goal. The Phoenix are now 4-1 after going 3-10-4 in 2018.

Taylin Jean: The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate made her college debut for Division II Limestone women’s soccer team on Thursday. North Georgia defeated the Saints 4-1 at the UNG Soccer Complex in Dahlonega, GA. Jean got her first college start in net and made three saves. Jean was the Big 8 Goalkeeper of the year her final two seasons at Cedar Ridge.

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team won its third straight game over Southern Virginia 4-0 in Buena Vista, VA on Saturday. Daley, a 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate, started at centerback. She has started all four of the Pride’s games this year, playing 90 minutes twice. Greensboro is 3-1.

Jordan Rogers: On Saturday, Rogers started for Division III William Peace University. Agnes Scott defeated the Pacers 1-0 in Decatur, GA. The Pacers are 0-2 and will try to pick up its first win of 2019 against Hollins University at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Tuesday.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: The Division III Dickinson men’s soccer team suffered its first loss against Lebanon Valley 2-0 on Saturday in Annville, PA. Reid-Shaw entered the game as a reserve and has played in all three of Dickinson’s games so far this season. The Red Devils are 2-1.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith College volleyball team went 1-2 in the Washington & Lee Invite at the Duchossois Center in Lexington, VA on Friday and Saturday. The Avenging Angels defeated Southern Virginia 3-2 on Friday. Lucas had one kill, 17 assists and two digs against the Knights. On Saturday, Gettysburg defeated Meredith 3-2. Lucas finished with 19 assists and six digs. Washington & Lee also knocked off Meredith 3-2. Lucas had three kills, 18 assists, and four digs. The Avenging Angels are now 4-2.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is senior middle hitter Kaitlyn Werden. The Orange volleyball team has won five straight matches headed into Tuesday’s Big 8 Conference opener against Vance County, and Werden has been a big reason why. On August 28, Werden had ten kills, ten digs, 21 assists, two aces and two blocks in a 3-1 upset of previously undefeated Person. The next day, Orange swept South Granville in Hillsborough. Werden finished with two kills, six assists, four digs and one block. Currently, Werden is tied for second on the team with 24 kills. She leads the team with eight aces and 67 assists. Orange is 5-3 with a big week ahead. After Tuesday’s conference opener against the Vipers, they face crosstown rival Cedar Ridge on Thursday in Hillsborough.   

With its biggest tests still ahead against the southern end of Orange County, the Orange volleyball team has momentum headed into its Big 8 Conference opener.

On Wednesday night, the Lady Panthers quickly finished Roxboro Community School 3-0 at Panther Gymnasium in Hillsborough. Orange won its fifth straight on scores of 25-18, 25-17 and 25-11.

After starting the season 0-3, the Lady Panthers will host East Chapel Hill in its conference opener in Hillsborough on Thursday night in Hillsborough.

Freshman Erin Jordan-Cornell, the younger sister of former Orange offensive lineman Jace Jordan-Cornell, finished with seven kills and two blocks. Last week, Jordan-Cornell had eight kills in a 3-0 win over South Granville in Creedmoor.

Senior Kaitlyn Werden and Emma Clements tied Jordan-Cornell with a team-high seven kills. Werden, who had a team-high ten kills in an upset over Person last week, also finished with 16 assists, five digs and three aces. Clements added seven digs and one ace.

Senior Brooke Fryar and sophomore Lottie Scully each registered 15 digs. Scully also led Orange with 17 assists.

Tuesday’s match was the last before Orange enters Big 8 Conference play. In addition to Thursday’s match against East Chapel Hill, Orange will make its first-ever trip to Vance County on Tuesday. Vance County replaced Hillside as a member of the Big 8 Conference during the summer after the Hornets returned to 4A. Though its located in Henderson, Vance County is a separate entity from Northern Vance and Southern Vance, which consolidated to create the new school. It is located at the location of the previous Southern Vance High.

Orange’s next nine matches will be conference affairs. Their next nonconference tilt will be a return trip to Roxboro Community School on October 4, which is also slated to be its final nonconference game of the year.

Men’s Soccer: Orange 7, Hillside 1

After scoring three goals in a span of 13 minutes last week in a 5-3 victory over Eastern Alamance, the Orange men’s soccer team continued its fireworks with a 7-1 victory at Hillside on Tuesday night.

Jose Beltran, who notched the first hat trick of his career against the Eagles, added another goal against the Hornets. Elliott Sikes had the biggest night of all for Orange, racking up two goals and two assists. Leif Mahoney, Jason Franklin and Tyler Werden each had one goal and one assist. Nick Catalano also scored a goal for Orange. Rohan Kasthuri assisted on two goals for the Panthers, who have opened the year 3-1.

Orange will play one more nonconference game on Friday night at Riverside inside Line Wrenn Stadium in Durham. That is slated to be the final nonconference game of the year, but those plans may change. The Panthers had contest against Carrboro and Eastern Alamance rained out during the first week of the season. There has been no word on whether those games will be made up.

Orange will open Big 8 Conference play at East Chapel Hill next Wednesday inside Dave Thaden Stadium.

On Wednesday night, the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team will travel to the Durham School of the Arts. The Red Wolves, who had a game against Bartlett Yancey postponed last week, is slated to face the Buccaneers on Monday night in Yanceyville.

As a new feature on Hillsboroughsports.com, we’ll honor the seven best performances from the previous week in fall sports. Last week was a solid one for Cedar Ridge and Orange volleyball. Cedar Ridge women’s tennis defeated Orange for the 11th straight time.

1. Olivia Ward: Won three matches for the Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team last week. She started with a thrilling three-set victory over Chapel Hill’s top singles player, Lauren Bolzan, 4-6, 6-4, and won 10-8 in a ten-point tiebreaker. The following day, Ward defeated Orange’s Jera Hargraves 6-1, 6-4, then teamed with Nora Sauers to win at #1 doubles and capture the dual match for the Red Wolves. The following day, Cedar Ridge edged Bartlett Yancey 5-4 at Red Wolves Tennis Courts. Ward captured her third win in four days, winning a match shortened to one set 8-5.
2. Cameron Lloyd The Cedar Ridge volleyball team won three road matches last week. On Wednesday, they defeated Durham School of the Arts 3-1 at Sykes Gymnasium in Durham. Lloyd, a freshman, finished with 18 kills and 18 digs. The previous week against the Durham School of the Arts in a 3-1 Cedar Ridge win, Lloyd had 15 kills, 18 digs and two aces.
3. Jose Beltran: On Wednesday, the Orange men’s soccer team scored three goals in a 13-minute span during the second half to rally and defeat Eastern Alamance 5-3. Beltran scored the first hat trick of his career, including the game-tying goal in the 62nd minute. Beltran also scored the opener for the Panthers in the 6th minute, and added another tally later in the 1st half as Orange won its home opener. The Panthers are 2-1 going into Tuesday night’s match at Hillside.
4. Kaitlyn Werden: In Orange’s stunning 3-1 volleyball victory over previously unbeaten Person, Werden had ten kills, ten digs two aces, two blocks and 21 assists. On Monday, night, Werden had five kills, two aces, three blocks, and ten digs in a 3-0 win over South Granville in Creedmoor. Orange defeated the Vikings again on Thursday night in Hillsborough.
5. Machai Holt: Though the Orange football team lost to R.J. Reynolds 47-24 in its season opener at Auman Stadium on Friday night, Holt was tremendous in the season-opener. He made an interception on the first play from scrimmage of the season. Holt finished the drive with a five-yard touchdown run. Holt also blocked an extra point, blocked a field goal, and led Orange players with 83 yards from scrimmage.
6. and #7 Anne Morrell and Zoe Wade: The Cedar Ridge women’s cross country team started its season at the Grizzly Grade-Level Growler at the Ivey Redmon Sports Complex on Kernersville on August 24. It was the first of what could be a series of strong performances from the Cedar Ridge women. The event was divided into grade classes for each runner. Morrell won the race featuring exclusively juniors with a time of 13:02.00. She beat her nearest competitor by 27 seconds. Wade won the sophomore race, crossing the finish line at 13:20. Her teammate, Ruby Lapham, finished second in the sophomore race at 13:29. An honorable mention goes to Cedar Ridge freshman Sarah Fenwick, who won the two-mile freshman race at 13:20.

Photo by Kelly Snow

In the southern part of Orange County, Carrboro volleyball has won 134 matches since 2014, taking a pair of 2A state championships and reaching the Eastern Regional Finals four times. They lost to South Granville twice with a berth to the state title match on the line.

Across the way is Chapel Hill, which has captured three consecutive Big 8 Championships since Ross Fields arrived as head coach in 2016 from Indianapolis. In his first two years, the Tigers won the Eastern Regional Championship. They lost to Cox Mill 3-0 in the 2016 3A State Championship match. The following year, they fell to North Iredell in five sets.

Across Weaver Diary Road, East Chapel Hill ended Chapel Hill’s 30-match conference winning streak last season, finishing 24-5 under first-year head coach Rachel Kline.

If you shift up north, residents in Person County like to think of Roxboro as Volleyball Town, perhaps justifiably. The Person Rockets went 24-1 in 2017, falling to Chapel Hill in the 3A Eastern Regional Championship match. Matchups with Person and crosstown rival Roxboro Community School are carried on the town’s local radio station and play to a crowd filled to the brim in bandbox gymnasiums.

Needless to say, it’s a competitive area for volleyball. And in between is Orange and Cedar Ridge.

There have moments of glory in Hillsborough volleyball. In 2015, Cedar Ridge won the Big 8 Championship behind the finishing of middle blocker Asha Barnes, the reliable sets of Lili Henry and the passing of Leah Thompson. They went 12-0 in the Big 8 and even hosted the 3A Eastern Regional Championship match, losing to Asheboro in four sets.

Since then, Cedar Ridge hasn’t won more than eight matches in a season. Orange has reached the state playoffs three straight years, each first round eliminations to Cleveland, Chapel Hill and Franklinton.

Which is exactly why the first two weeks of 2019 are so noteworthy.

Orange stumbled to a three-match losing streak to begin the season, including getting swept by Person in Roxboro on August 20. Last Thursday, the Rockets arrived to Hillsborough 3-0 without losing a set.

They came away with a 3-1 loss to the Lady Panthers in an upset that was surprisingly anti-climatic. Orange won 25-15, 12-25, 25-18 and 25-16. In between the Person win was two victories over traditional 2A power South Granville, including a 3-0 sweep in Creedmoor on August 26.

Seniors Emma Clements and Kaitlyn Werden, along with libero Brooke Fryar excelled in the three wins.

“Our girls have been working very hard,” said Orange coach Kelly Young. “When we played Person, they nit-pick us like crazy. They showed me exactly where we were weak in our defense and our offense. So after playing them, I had a list of things that I wanted to work on. And I’ve been pushing the girls in practice and they proved it on the court tonight.”

At Cedar Ridge, the Red Wolves are off to its best start this decade. After beating Eastern Alamance 3-0 in Mebane on Thursday, they’re 5-0.

Freshmen Cameron Lloyd, the younger sister of former Orange High player Jordan Lloyd, leads the team with 44 kills and 51 digs. Another freshman, Cameron Lanier, is second with 34 kills while rookie Julie Altieri has 23 kills. She also leads the team with 17 aces and 68 assists.

The Red Wolves won three matches on the road last week. In addition to the Eastern win, they defeated the North Carolina School of Science and Math and Durham School of the Arts.

Lloyd finished with 18 kills and 18 digs against the Bulldogs, while Lanier had 17 kills. Junior Marlee Rakouskas finished with 17 digs. Altieri registered 28 assists.

After playing five matches in the span of ten days, Cedar Ridge will play its Big 8 Conference opener against Northwood on Thursday in Pittsboro. The Chargers have beaten the Red Wolves six consecutive times.

Payton Wilson: The former Big 8 Player of the Year made his long-awaited debut for N.C. State in its season-opener against East Carolina at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on Saturday. Wilson made six tackles, including two tackles for loss, in his first college game as the Wolfpack hammered the Pirates 34-6. Wilson was part of a stout Wolfpack defense that kept the Pirates out of the end zone. ECU was held to 41 rushing yards and 269 yards total offense. East Carolina didn’t cross the 50-yard line for eight consecutive drives. The Pirates didn’t snap the ball in Wolfpack territory at all in the second half until a meaningless final drive that ended with a field goal. Wilson, a redshirt freshman, will return to action against Western Carolina at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Trent Gill: The 2017 Cedar Ridge graduate also made his college football debut for N.C. State in the victory over East Carolina. Gill delivered the opening kickoff to the Wolfpack’s season, He also had five punts for an average of 41.6 yards. His longest kick was 53 yards. As placekicker, he had two touchbacks. As a punter, he downed two punts inside the 20-yard line.

Keshawn Thompson: A 2017 Orange High graduate, Thompson played extensively in for FCS Campbell in its 43-14 loss to Troy at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, AL on Saturday night. Thompson made five tackles against the Trojans. Thompson, who was placed on scholarship during the summer, was named to the Big South Presidential Honor Roll last year. In 2018, he played in all eleven of Campbell’s games. The Camels will host Division II Shaw in Buies Creek next Saturday.

Kayla Hodges: On Friday night, Hodges notched her first college assist. Not only that, but she assisted on the game-winning goal as Elon defeated Radford 2-1 at Cupp Stadium in Virginia. Off a corner kick, Hodges headed the ball to Taylor Paradoski, who fired it into the net from four yards out in the 67th minute. Elon is 3-0, already equaling its win total from 2018. Hodges has started all three games. Elon travels to Furman on Sunday afternoon.

Brittany Daley: After going undefeated during the regular season in 2018, the Division III Greensboro women’s soccer team dropped its opener to Washington & Lee 2-0 in the Washington & Lee Tournament in Lexington, VA on Friday. Daley, a 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate, started for the Pride. On Saturday, Greensboro rebounded with a 2-1 win over Bridgestone College in the consolation game. Daley also started that game at centerback.

Jordan Rogers: A 2018 Orange graduate, Rogers started her sophomore season with Division III William Peace University’s women’s soccer team on Friday night. St. Andrews defeated the Pacers 2-1 in Laurinburg. Rogers started at midfield.

Lionel Reid-Shaw: The Division III Dickinson’s men’s soccer team started its season with two wins. Reid-Shaw, a senior who graduated from Orange, started in a 3-0 victory over Rensselaer at Miller Memorial Field in Carlisle, PA on Saturday night. Reid-Shaw started at wingback. He also played in Dickinson’s 6-3 victory over Plattsburgh on Friday.

Lili Henry: The Division III Methodist volleyball team started its season in the Oregon Trail Volleyball Tournament in Newberg, OR. The Monarchs dropped all four of its matches against Linfield College and George Fox University on Friday. On Saturday, Pacific University and Lewis & Clark College defeated Methodist. In the 3-0 loss to Linfield, Henry led Methodist with 18 assists and three aces. She also had three kills. Against George Fox, Henry had 22 assists, four digs and a block. In Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Pacific University, Henry registered 24 assists, three kills, and five digs. The finale against Lewis & Clark, a 3-0 loss, featured Henry with 26 assists and seven digs.

Bailey Lucas: Lucas started her sophomore year as a member of the Division III Meredith Volleyball team with three wins and a loss at the Route 42 Classic this weekend. On Friday, the Avenging Angels defeated Catholic 3-0 and fought back to defeat Eastern Mennonite 3-2 in Yoder Arena in Harrisonburg, VA on Friday. Meredith defeated Lynchburg 3-1 before falling to Bridgewater 3-0 on Saturday.

Lucas didn’t play on Friday, but did see action against Lynchburg. Lucas had two kills, 16 assists and three digs. She also played all three sets against Bridgewater, where she registered one kill, seven digs, one dig and one block.

After spending the opening week of the season on the road, the Orange volleyball team had quite the home opener on Wednesday night. After getting swept by Person in Roxboro last week, the Lady Panthers turned around a stunned the previously undefeated Rockets 3-1 in Hillsborough. Orange won the opening set, 25-15. After Person evened the math 25-12, Orange cruised to a surprising win by taking the third set 25-18 and earned its third win of the season by taking the third set 25-16. Person had not only won its first three matches, but didn’t drop a set until Wednesday. Orange has now won three straight. After starting the week with a victory over South Granville in Creedmoor, the Lady Panthers will face the Vikings again on Thursday night to cap a wild week.