The stakes were high in the rematch between Cedar Ridge and Northwood on the volleyball court inside Red Wolves Gymnasium on Thursday night. For obvious reasons, so was the intensity.

For all intents and purposes, Northwood had its hopes of winning the Central Carolina Conference on the line. A victory would tie Cedar Ridge for first place. A loss would put them two games behind the Red Wolves with four CCC league games remaining. Essentially, it would be a three game deficit since the Red Wolves would control the head-to-head tiebreaker with a win.

Even after 41 victories since August 2019, winning hasn’t grown tired for Cedar Ridge. Even when they lose the opening set, they remain emotionally balanced.

All of which led the Red Wolves to another convincing win.

After dropping the first set 27-25, the Red Wolves bounced back to defeat the Chargers 3-1 on scores of 25-27, 25-17, 25-13 and 25-20. Cedar Ridge (15-1, 8-0 in the Central Carolina Conference) has won 17 consecutive conference games dating back to October 2019.

The Chargers (13-4, 6-2) will host Person in Pittsboro on Thursday. The loser will be mathematically eliminated from the CCC regular season championship race.

Northwood came out strong behind the attack of senior Hannah Forbes, who has committed to play at UNC Wilmington, and sophomore Asia Thigpen, the daughter of UNC co-Defensive Coordinator Tommy Thigpen. Northwood built a 9-4 lead after erratic serving from the Red Wolves early. The Red Wolves drew closer with a 4-0 run after kills by Cameron Lloyd and Cameron Lanier. Cedar Ridge had a set point after a block by Addie Reid, but Northwood finished the set with three straight points, including a kill by Forbes on set point that was ultimately ruled to have hit the floor, despite an initial ruling from the chair umpire that Cedar Ridge had won the point. It was just the seventh set the Red Wolves have dropped this year.

“I think it was good serves by Northwood,” said Cedar Ridge volleyball coach Fiona Cunningham. “They put a lot of pressure on us. We just didn’t match it. I don’t think it was anything really horrible on our end. I think they played really great.”

Cedar Ridge’s serving was much better for the rest of the night. The Red Wolves never trailed in the second set and leapt out to an 8-3 lead. With Lloyd serving, the Red Wolves had an early 6-0 run that featured a block by Reid and a kill by Lanier. Lanier racked up four kills in the second set, and Julie Altieri finished set point with a kill assisted by libero Grace Young.

The second set started 7-7 before Young went to serve after a Cedar Ridge side out. The Red Wolves proceeded to reel off seven straight points, which included three aces by Young. After Thigpen notched another finish to reduce the Charger deficit to 17-9, the Red Wolves went on another 6-0 spurt, complete with three more kills from Lanier.

With its backs against the wall, Northwood pushed out to a 7-2 lead in the fourth set behind an ace from Thigpen. Cedar Ridge responded with a 5-1 run to reduce the gap to 7-6. The Chargers led 19-17 before a Northwood return went into the net. Cedar Ridge finished the set with five of the last six points, including a kill by Anaya Carter and another from Lloyd. On match point, Lloyd set up for another kill. The block attempt by Forbes landed wide of the boundary and the Red Wolves secured a season sweep of the Chargers.

“Our girls are very determined to win,” Cunningham said. “As soon as you take a knock at that, they bounce right back. They don’t want any pressure put on them. And as soon as you do, they will rise to it.”

Cedar Ridge will travel to Orange on Thursday.

There’s an old saying that if you do more than you’re supposed to do for someone else, you get back twice as much.

That’s Julie Altieri in a nutshell. For two-and-a-half years, she’s been Cedar Ridge’s version of Chris Paul, setting up outside hitters Cameron Lloyd and Cameron Lanier for kill after kill on the volleyball court. Since Altieri, Lloyd and Lanier started together as freshmen under former head coach Anna Seethaler, the Red Wolves have gone 41-8. They’ve won 17 consecutive conference games and are two wins away from a second straight conference championship.

No one in the history of Cedar Ridge volleyball has served up more assists that Altieri.

That may be the main thing she’s remembered for once she graduates in June 2023, but it won’t be the only thing.

She probably leads Cedar Ridge in making her teammates laugh, photo bombing video interviews while unsuspecting players digest questions and finding ways to keep the ball off the court after it takes wild bounces off overhanging basketball rims, a teammates’ foot or even the roof (which actually happened last night).

On Tuesday night before Cedar Ridge’s game against Northwood, Altieri was honored for her 1,000th career assist, a milestone she reached against Eastern Alamance on September 9. Two days after the win over the Eagles, Altieri had a season-high 36 assists in a sweep of Western Alamance. Her career-high is 44 against Vance County on September 24, 2019.

Joining Altieri in the surprise ceremony were her parents and grandparents, along with Cedar Ridge volleyball coach Fiona Cunningham, Athletic Director Andy Simmons and Principal Dr. Carlos Ramirez.

Altieri’s rapport with Lanier and Lloyd started long before the fall of 2019. At the age of 7, Altieri began playing at the Orange County Recreation Department before transferring over to White Cross. At the time, she went to New Hope Elementary School with Lanier. The two were also teammates at Stanback Middle School. On the recreation court in White Cross, Altieri first stepped onto a court against Lloyd, but they weren’t teammates.

“We were still developing as players, so we really couldn’t spike the ball that hard yet,” Altieri said. “But I knew she could play.”

“I’ve played with Julie for many years and it’s good to see all her hard work pay off,” Lloyd said. “Every hitter needs a setter. My favorite memory is when we received our medals from Minnie Mouse at AAU Nationals, but every big high-school win has been fun with Julie. The excitement of competing & the thrill of the win.”

It was in White Cross that the coaches encouraged Altieri to remain a setter. When she was 12, she started playing for the Chapel Hill Area Volleyball Club alongside Lanier. In her second year with CHAVC, Altieri, Lanier and Lloyd finally became teammates. establishing a bond that would lead to championships.

Even after winning a conference title in 2020 and still riding an impressive conference winning streak that has spanned three years, Altieri says her most memorable win came when she was a freshman as the Red Wolves stunned defending 3A State Champion Chapel Hill at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

“That was our first really big win,” Altieri said. “We were all just speechless. We couldn’t believe that it happened. We didn’t think we could win. We just hoped for the best.”

Afterwards, the teamed enjoyed dinner together at Pueblo Viejo Mexican Restaurant, which has become the official postgame victory headquarters. Naturally, after Altieri was presented with a golden volleyball after Tuesday’s win over Northwood, pictures from Pueblo Viejo emerged in social media hours later, complete with the obligatory chips and salsa.

In 2020, Altieri started every game in a pandemic-shortened season, where the Red Wolves claimed its first Big 8 Championship in five years. Cedar Ridge finished the regular season 8-0, defeated Union Pines in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs before falling to eventual 3A State Champion D.H. Conley in the second round in Greenville.

As a freshman, Altieri led the Big 8 Conference in aces. Now a team captain, Altieri was an All-Big 8 Conference selection in 2020. For three consecutive years, she was on the American Volleyball Coaches Association Phenom Watch Lists. In 2019, she was named the best server in the 2019 Capitol Hill Classic 14 Open in Washington, D.C.

Her brothers, Eddie and Andrew, played basketball at Cedar Ridge.

With school out of session during the pandemic last October, Altieri still kept busy by playing beach volleyball. She teamed with Jordan Dailey to finish in second place in the Sinjin AVP American Open event in Raleigh. She had multiple top three finishes in junior beach volleyball tournaments before she became a teenager.

With a litany of awards and honors, Altieri could easily find herself playing volleyball in college. While she appears to be the life of the party on the court, she’s also preparing a life away from it. Altieri has a 4.2 GPA. She says no college is recruiting her. If a school does show interest, she says she would be more interested in launching a career in a medical field.

As common as winning has become, Altieri says it hasn’t grown to be ordinary. Last Thursday night, when Cedar Ridge traveled to Roxboro for its first Central Carolina Conference game against Person, there was a jam-packed student section that was anything but socially distanced. Lesser teams have wilted under the pressure in years past.

Cedar Ridge hardly blinked. They dominated the Rockets in straight sets to complete a season sweep. It was another triumph for a junior class that has stockpiled success time and again over the past three years.

Altieri doesn’t know when her volleyball career will end. But she’s savoring every moment she has with a junior class that will be remembered, years down the line, as the golden age of Cedar Ridge volleyball.

And she’s doing it one assist at a time.

The Cedar Ridge volleyball team took a big step towards its second consecutive conference championship. On Tuesday night, the Red Wolves defeated Northwood 3-1 at Red Wolves Gymnasium. Junior setter Julie Altieri was honored before the game in honor of reaching 1,000 career assists. Altieri reached that mark after serving up 29 assists in a victory over Eastern Alamance on September 9. Northwood and Cedar Ridge split the opening two sets and the third frame was tied 7-7. Junior Grace Young served up three aces in the midst of a 7-0 Red Wolves run that turned the third set into a 25-13 rout for the Red Wolves. Young had several huge digs against Northwood’s imposing duo of Asia Thigpen and Hannah Forbes. Cedar Ridge remains undefeated in the Central Carolina Conference at 8-0. They have a two-game lead over Northwood and Person, and control the head-to-head tiebreaker against both of those teams after sweeping the season series. Cedar Ridge will travel to Orange on Thursday. The Red Wolves haven’t swept a two-game season series against Orange since 2015.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is junior midfielder Chris Mendez. Last week, Mendez scored the game-winning goal in a 2-0 win over Eastern Alamance in Mebane. Then on Thursday, Mendez scored two more goals in an 8-1 victory over Person at Red Wolves Stadium as Cedar Ridge won its third straight game. It was the Red Wolves’ longest winning streak in three years. Mendez has had three two-goal games this season. In the Hillsborough Derby on September 15, Mendez notched a pair of goals as Cedar Ridge defeated Orange 4-1 to extend the Red Wolves’ undefeated streak against the Panthers to four games. On August 25, Mendez also had two goals in a 9-0 victory over Clover Garden School. Mendez has also scored goals against Chapel Hill and East Chapel Hill. He leads the Red Wolves with nine goals this season and is trying to get Cedar Ridge in the state playoffs for the first time since 2016. Cedar Ridge will return to action next Monday with a road trip to Person.

It’s already that time.

The dog days of October are here. Games that will decide Central Carolina Conference champions will start as soon as tonight when Cedar Ridge volleyball faces Northwood at Red Wolves Gymnasium. The Red Wolves swept the Chargers on September 2 in Pittsboro, Northwood’s only league loss. If Cedar Ridge wins tonight, they essentially have a three game lead (they’ll control the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Chargers, along with a two-game lead In the standings) with four conference games remaining.

Last week, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association released its first round of RPI rankings for volleyball, which revealed positive news for both Hillsborough volleyball teams. Cedar Ridge was ranked #1 in the 3A East region, even after its loss to D.H. Conley (which is a 4A team) on Monday. The Red Wolves were the highest among five Central Carolina teams ranked in the top 15 for the region. Person was #3, Northwood #4, Orange was #7 and Eastern Alamance #15.

J.H. Rose was #2.

One wrinkle that stood out from an Orange perspective was the Lady Panthers have played possible the toughest schedule of any team in the region. The winning percentage for Orange’s opponents was .715, the only scored in the region with a figure in the 70% range. Cedar Ridge, which has already played the defending 3A State Champions twice, was second in the region at .691.

Volleyball isn’t the only sport where conference championships are being contested, of course. In women’s tennis, Cedar Ridge pulled off its biggest win of the season on Monday night, beating Northwood 5-4 at Red Wolves Tennis Courts. The Chargers entered the match 5-0 in the CCC. Orange is jostling with the Chargers and Williams for a spot in the 3A Dual Team Playoffs, which will start next month.

Oh, and the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team ended last week on a three-game winning streak, its longest in three years.

With that in mind, here are this week’s Magnificent Seven, which honor the best individual performances over the past week.

Darius Corbett: The Orange striker for the men’s soccer team had a hat trick against Southern Durham on Friday night. It was Corbett’s second hat trick of the season. On August 28, he had three goals against Henderson Collegiate at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Corbett leads Orange with seven goals this season.

Caitlin Carden: In wins over Eastern Alamance and Western Alamance, Carden collectively had 60 assists. In Orange’s 3-0 win over the Warriors, Carden had a double-double with 27 assists and ten digs as the Lady Panthers improved to 6-4, 3-3 in the CCC.

Erin Sollars: There’s no such thing as a short Orange-Western Alamance tennis match. Earlier this month, the Lady Panthers and the Warriors played a dual match that lasted well into the night. Last Thursday’s match in Hillsborough was no different, with Orange pulling out a 6-3 win. Two of the five singles matches went to 10-point, 3rd set tiebreakers. Sophomore Erin Sollars won her match at #3 singles 6-0, 6-1. Then in doubles, Sollars teamed with senior Jera Hargrove to win at #2 doubles 8-1 and wrap up the Orange win.

Chris Munoz: A strong week for Cedar Ridge men’s soccer continued with a 2-0 win over Eastern Alamance and a 8-1 victory over Person. Munox scored the game-winning goal against the Eagles. Against the Rockets, he scored two goals as the Red Wolves improved to 4-7, 3-1 in the CCC.

Adeline Cummings: Another strong Cedar Ridge women’s tennis freshmen. Cummings won her #6 singles match against Durham School of the Arts on Friday. Last Wednesday, Cedar Ridge defeated Person 6-3. Cummings started at #2 singles and captured her match 6-0, 6-2. Cummings is 4-3 in singles matches this year.

Cameron Lloyd: The Cedar Ridge junior outside hitter continues to make her case for Big 8 Volleyball Player of the Year. After the Red Wolves suffered its first loss of the season against Conley, the Red Wolves rebounded by making quick work of East Chapel Hill 3-0 on Tuesday in Hillsborough. Lloyd tied her season-high with 19 kills. She also had 18 digs. The Red Wolves impressively put away Person in Roxboro on Thursday to complete a season-sweep of the Rockets.

Olivia Aitkin: Olivia is a three-sport athlete at Cedar Ridge. She is best known for playing centerfield for the softball team, but she has also qualified for the Big 8 Conference swimming championships. She is also a golfer. Last week, Aitken finished in the top 10 during a Central Carolina Conference meet at the Valley Golf Course in Burlington. It was her second top-10 finish of the year. On top of that, Aitkin also committed to play softball at Amherst College in Amherts, MA.

On Thursday night, the Cedar Ridge men’s soccer team won its third straight game, routing Person 8-1 at Red Wolves Stadium. Freshman Edwin Hernandez-Huerta and junior Issac Anderson each scored two goals as the Red Wolves improved to 4-7. They moved up to 2nd place in the Central Carolina Conference with a 3-1 record. This is the Red Wolves’ longest winning streak since 2018, when they defeated Hunt, Bartlett Yancey and Southern Alamance. Cedar Ridge is fighting to return to the 3A State Playoffs for the first time since 2016, when they finished 2nd in the Big 8 Conference. Hernandez-Huerta has five goals thus far in his freshman season. Anderson, who had a gorgeous header off a corner in the final ten minutes for the final goal against the Rockets, had scored three goals this season for the Red Wolves. Cedar Ridge will look to continue the fight for the postseason when they travel to Williams on Monday night. The Bulldogs were the 3A State Champions in 2019. Cedar Ridge will travel to Person on Monday, October 4.

Trent Gill: The N.C. State football team grabbed the headlines across the college football world with a thrilling 27-21 win over #9 Clemson in double overtime in front of 56,919 at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on Saturday night. It was State’s first win over a top-10 team since 2012. Gill, a former Cedar Ridge linebacker, placekicker and punter, delivered the opening kickoff of the game. All three of Gill’s kickoffs went for touchbacks. The Wolfpack punted six times. Each time, Gill did the honors and had an impressive average of 51 yards per punt. His longest was 57 yards. Four of his six punts traveled over 50 yards. Gill was also the holder on field goals and extra points. On Sunday, N.C. State entered the Associated Press top 25 rankings for the first time this year at #24. The Wolfpack will play its final non conference game against Louisiana Tech on Saturday in Raleigh.

Adam Chnupa: The Elon Phoenix football team had yet another heartbreaking loss on Saturday. This time, William & Mary defeated Elon 34-31 at Rhodes Stadium in Elon. Chnupa, who was Gill’s teammate at Cedar Ridge, played on special teams for the Phoenix. It was Elon’s Colonial Athletic Association opener. So far this young season, the Phoenix’s two loses to FCS opponents have come by a combined margin of five points. Elon is 1-3 and will travel to Richmond on Saturday.

Bryse Wilson: After winning his first game for the Pittsburgh Pirates last season, Wilson was played on the 10-day Injured List, ending his season. He was removed from the game against the Miami Marlins after 68 pitches because of a strained left hamstring. Wilson was traded by the Atlanta Braves to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline. In eight games, Wilson threw 40.1 innings for Pittsburgh. He has a 4.91 ERA. Wilson is expected to start rehabilitation immediately with only one week remaining in the regular season.

Kayla Hodges: Hodges scored another goal for the Elon women’s soccer team in its Colonial Athletic Association opener. On Sunday afternoon, Hodges collected a loose ball in the middle of the penalty area and tucked it into the lower left corner of the net to tie the game against UNC Wilmington in the 84th minute. The Seahawks would get the game winner in the 89th minute from Audrey Harding to prevail 2-1 at UNCW Soccer Stadium. Hodges now has three goals this season. She played all 90 minutes. Elon is 5-4, 0-1 in the CAA and will host Delaware next Sunday at Rudd Field.

Brittany Daley: The Division III Greensboro College women’s soccer team defeated Pfeiffer 1-0 at N.E. Lefko Field in Misenhemier on Saturday. It was the Pride’s USA South Athletic Conference opener. Daley started at centerback and played her routine 90 minutes. Last Sunday, Greensboro played a scoreless tie against Piedmont College at Pride Field. This time, Daley played 110 minutes, including extra time. Greensboro improved to 3-4-1 overall, 1-0 in the USA South.

Jordan Rogers: The Division III William Peace women’s soccer team played to a scoreless tie against Mary Baldwin at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Saturday. Rogers started as a wingback and played all 90 minutes. Also last week, despite being undefeated in three consecutive games, the Pacers named Ozzy Peralta as its interim head coach, replacing Reid Clewis, who had been on the job since December 2017.

Bailey Lucas: The Division III Meredith volleyball team split a quad match at Southern Virginia University in Buena Vista, VA on Saturday. The Avenging Angels swept Mary Baldwin 3-0 on scores of 26-24, 25-16 and 25-13 at Knight Arena. Later in the day, Southern Virginia defeated Meredith 3-1 on scores of 18-25, 25-21, 25-21, and 25-12.

Lucas, after missing three matches, made her return to the starting lineup against the Fighting Squirrels. Lucas had 16 assists, three aces and four digs.

Against the Knights, Lucas started. She finished with one kill, 12 assists, one ace and eight digs. Meredith is 8-5, 2-1 in the USA South Athletic Conference.

This week’s Orange Panther of the Week is sophomore libero Sadye Porter. Joining Sadye in this interview is junior Erin Jordan-Cornell, who was awarded a retro Orange Panther of the Week from last February during basketball season. On September 1, Porter had 48 digs in a 3-1 win over Southern Alamance in Graham. The following night in Orange’s Central Carolina Conference opener, Porter had 12 digs in a sweep of Williams in Hillsborough. Since then, Porter has made big plays for Orange in wins over Western Alamance and Eastern Alamance. On Thursday, Porter finished with 16 digs, two assists and 14 serves received in a 3-0 sweep of Western Alamance. She leads the team with 148 digs. On Tuesday, Orange defeated Eastern Alamance. It was the first game back for Erin Jordan-Cornell after suffering an injury last spring. Jordan-Cornell’s presence in the middle will help the Lady Panthers during the second half of the season. There will be stiff competition next week. Orange faces 2019 3A State Champion Chapel Hill on Monday. They will travel to Burlington to face Williams on Tuesday, then host Central Carolina Conference leader and crosstown rival Cedar Ridge on Thursday in what could be an emotional atmosphere on Thursday night.