Photo by Aidan Jensen

The chase for the Central Carolina Conference volleyball championship figures to be a horse race this year.

When you’re in a horse race, you want to be riding a thoroughbred. And that’s the rub for the challengers to Cedar Ridge right now.

Cedar Ridge doesn’t have only one thoroughbred.

If there was one lesson in January’s loss to D.H. Conley in the 3A State Playoffs, it was that the Red Wolves needed more finishers. The Vikings had an endless supply of outside blockers, most over 6-feet tall, who could slam the ball off the hardwood effortlessly.

The Red Wolves have spent the opening weeks of the 2020-2021 season showing they learned their lesson from last winter very well. The Person Rockets, a traditional power with a reputation that proceeds them, found themselves on the receiving end for a change Tuesday night.

The Red Wolves defeated the Rockets 3-0 on scores of 26-24, 25-23 and 25-15 at Cedar Ridge Gymnasium. Cedar Ridge junior Cameron Lloyd, the daughter of Joel and Sherri Lloyd of White Cross, finished with 19 kills, four aces and 12 digs, while Cameron Lanier had ten kills, including the final spike on match point. Julie Altieri, who is nearing 1,000 assists for her career, finished with 31 assists.

Cedar Ridge (6-0, 1-0 in the Central Carolina Conference) handed Person its first 3-0 loss since October 10, 2019, when they fell to McMichael. It was only the third time Person has been swept since 2018.

In its last 98 matches, the Rockets are now 84-14.

“She (Lloyd) did phenomenal tonight,” said Cedar Ridge coach Fiona Cunningham, who improved her mark to 15-1. “She’s someone you can depend on in all six rotations on the court. It really makes and breaks the team when it gets tight as who can step up and take the swings.”

Both teams were clearly anxious to open the match as there were several service errors early. Cedar Ridge built a 19-12 lead in the opening set behind six kills from Lloyd. The Rockets went on a 10-2 run to even the frame at 21-21 after a kill by senior Jacie Kennedy. After Person’s Lillie Davis had a flash kill to tie the match at 24-24, Cedar Ridge took the lead after a Rocket serve went into the net. Altieri, who usually sets up kills, delivered one of her own on set point off an assist from libero Grace Young to take the opening frame.

The second set was another tight one. The Red Wolves opened up a 12-7 lead behind four kills from junior Melissa Benkowitz. Person went on a 7-2 run late in the set to even things at 23-23. That’s when Lloyd came up with consecutive huge plays. She received a Person service and scored a kill off an assist from Altieri. On set point, Lloyd lofted a serve that touched the back line for an ace, and Cedar Ridge led 2-0.

The Red Wolves were fresher in the third set. Five differed Cedar Ridge players recorded kills. The point of the match came with Cedar Ridge leading 15-9. It appeared that Kennedy had spiked home a winner for the Rockets, but Young placed her hand on the floor. The ball rebounded off Young’s hand straight to Altieri. Meanwhile, the Person players started celebrating thinking they had won the point. Cedar Ridge didn’t stop playing and Lloyd ultimately notched yet another kill.

Lanier, who had six kills and one block in the third set, scored match point for Cedar Ridge, who won 25-15.

“We’ve been working all year in getting our offense to be more diverse,” Cunningham said. “When we play relaxed, like we did in the third set, they’re really comfortable with running that diverse offense. It’s when you see who we trust to take the swings when we’re a little bit tight.”

Cedar Ridge will travel to Northwood on Thursday.

Ever get thrown off your routine? Have an interruption after setting your daily schedule by the weekday? By the hour?

Of course, you have. That’s been the theme of the past 21 months.

The pandemic has taken away time and tossed all of our collective schedules into the dumpster. Including this website.

In 2019-2020, there was a feature called the Magnificent 7 that honored seven athletes from Cedar Ridge and Orange High Schools for outstanding performances. Once the high school season finally got going last year, it was hard to compile a Magnificent 7 because the schedules were so thrown out of whack. There were games scheduled with less than 24 hours notice, games canceled with virtually no notice, and shutdowns where teams wouldn’t practice for days.

Things are slowly changing, but as you know, we’re far from out of the woods. On Tuesday, the Western Alamance football team had to reschedule a football game against Eastern Guilford because its previous opponent had a COVID outbreak. The Orange volleyball team will return to action after a COVID shutdown on Wednesday night against Southern Alamance in Graham.

Still, five varsity sports have started at Orange, with men’s and women’s cross country set to begin this weekend. At Cedar Ridge, there’s been a spectacular start for volleyball and women’s tennis, which are both undefeated. So it’s time to get back to the routine of the Magnificent 7. The best athletic performances through the opening two weeks of the season. We’ll do our best to diversify this list because some performers (Cameron Lloyd) are excelling game in and game out, we run the risk of being repetitive.

Here are the opening Magnificent 7 from the opening two weeks of the year:

Cameron Lloyd: Seriously, the entire list could be comprised of Cedar Ridge volleyball players. After beating Person 3-0 on Tuesday night, the Red Wolves have opened the season by winning its first 18 sets. Lloyd leads the team in kills with 49 kills through the opening five matches. So far, her season-high is 16 in the victory over defending 3A State Champion D.H. Conley on August 20. Against Carrboro on August 25, Lloyd had 14 kills, two aces and four digs. Cameron was honored as the first Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week last week.

Julie Altieri: What’s Ricky Morton without Robert Gibson (look up 1980s pro wrestling tag teams, young readers)? Altieri, a junior, is closing in on 1,000 career assists after the Red Wolves hot start. Altieri has started her junior season with her typical steady setting for Cedar Ridge volleyball. She had four aces in wins over Northern Durham and Riverside. She already has 115 assists in the Red Wolves first five matches. Altieri had 31 assists against D.H. Conley and 29 against Carrboro.

(Again, the list of Cedar Ridge volleyball players to honor could stretch beyond 2,000 words. More will be featured in this space in the weeks ahead.)

Ella Caltabiano: A freshman who didn’t start getting serious about tennis until two years ago, Caltabiano wound up winning the deciding tilt in her very first varsity match. Facing Voyager Academy, Caltabiano won her singles match at #4 singles. With the match even 4-4, Caltabiano teamed with Reagan Simmons to win at #3 doubles 8-3 and earn the victory for the Red Wolves. Caltabiano was this week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week.

Ella Van Tiem: Due to COVID-19, the Orange volleyball team has only had one match thus far. The Lady Panthers defeated Jordan 3-2 on August 20 in Durham. Van Tiem had a team-high 15 kills with 15 digs. It was a strong debut for a team that was sidelined shortly afterwards. Orange will return to action tonight at Southern Alamance.

Tea Jones: The Orange women’s tennis team has had to deal with the heat and long matches through the first two weeks. Jones, a senior, is 5-0 in singles action thus far. That includes two wins over Carrboro. On Monday night, Jones built a mystery over Sarah McLaughlin 4-6, 6-2, 10-6 as the Lady Panthers defeated the Warriors in its first-ever match in the Central Carolina Conference.

Carter Thompson: The Orange midfielder had a hat trick and an assist as the Panthers men’s soccer team defeated Henderson Collegiate 9-0 for its first win of the season at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Saturday. Honorable mention to Tyler Mann, who also notched a hat trick for the Panthers.

Nathan Sorrells: The Orange football team came up short against Chapel Hill last Friday, but sophomore running back Nathan Sorrells had a breakthrough performance. He compiled 57 rushing yards, and had a 35-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass from quarterback Wynston Brown in the fourth quarter. Sorrells finished with 113 yards from scrimmage against the Tigers.

The Cedar Ridge volleyball team played its first Central Carolina Conference game on Tuesday night, but the result was the same as the rest of their matches this season. The Red Wolves swept traditional power Person on scores of 26-24, 25-23 and 25-15. in the final set, Cedar Ridge junior middle hitter Cameron Lanier had six kills and one block. She also earned match point off an assist from classmate Julie Altieri. Junior libero Grace Young finished with 15 digs. Including a remarkable save off a Person spike that fooled so many people, the Rockets started celebrating the point. Young’s dig was sent to Altieri, who passed it to Cameron Lloyd for a point to go ahead 16-9. Lanier and Young are part of a junior class that has turned Cedar Ridge into a dominant team locally. The Red Wolves are 6-0 and have opened the 2021-2022 season by winning its first 18 sets. The Red Wolves will look to continue its dominance when they travel to Pittsboro to face Northwood on Thursday.

This week’s Cedar Ridge Red Wolf of the Week is freshman tennis player Ella Caltabiano. Last week in her first varsity match, Caltabiano defeated Voyager Academy’s Karli McKenna 8-5 at #4 singles. Later in the day, Caltabiano found herself playing at #3 doubles in a match that would determine who would win the season-opener. Caltabiano teamed with Reagan Simmons to defeat Shea Dixon & Fiorella Cendeno 8-3 as Cedar Ridge won the dual match 5-4. On Monday, Caltabiano won her singles match over Kalei Stephens of Person 8-0 as the Red Wolves won 7-2. It was the first sports event where Cedar Ridge competed in the new Central Carolina Conference. Caltabiano didn’t start seriously playing tennis until just a few years ago, but is one of the young stars of a Cedar Ridge team that hopes to makn impact under head coach Steve Mayhew. Caltabiano and the rest of the Red Wolves will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Northwood. The Red Wolves are 2-0, 1-0 in the CCC.

Men’s Soccer: Orange 4, Graham 1: It appeared the Orange men’s soccer team would come up short in its search for its first road win of the season.

Trailing 1-0 with 15:00 against Graham, the Panthers unleashed four goals in the final 14 minutes to beat the Red Devils 4-1 on Monday night. In the final minute, Orange wingback Jasper Fast attempted a free kick from 24 yards. The ball was stopped on the goal line, but junior Darius Corbett chipped it in for the final goal.

Nicholas Hengsterman earned the win in net for Orange, who will face Riverside at Durham’s Linny Wrenn Stadium on Wednesday.

Orange 9, Henderson Collegiate 0: Orange claimed its first win of the season with a 9-0 win over Henderson Collegiate at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary on Saturday. The game kicked off a 3PM in the midst of 95-degree heat, but the Panthers didn’t let that deter them.

Tyler Mann and Carter Thompson each scored three goals for Orange. Darius Corbett added two goals, while Traver Bruhns added another marker. Thompson, Corbett and Bryan Membreno all had assists. Nicholas Hengsterman earned the clean sheet for the win.

Women’s Tennis:

Cedar Ridge 7, Person 2

The Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team had the distinction of being the first team to play a match in the new Central Carolina Conference on Monday afternoon. The Red Wolves defeated Person 7-2 at Red Wolves Tennis Courts.

Sophomore Cameron Mayhew won at #1 singles 8-0. At #2 singles, Chloe Patz defeated Alora Horton 8-1. Hannah Shinnick won at #3 singles 8-0. Freshman Ella Caltabiano, Senior Captain Olivia Kelly and freshman Adeline Cummings all won their respective singles matches 8-0.

In doubles, Cedar Ridge’s Reagan Simmons and Catherine Ballenger won 8-4. The Red Wolves are 2-0 overall and will travel to Northwood on Wednesday.

Orange 5, Western Alamance 3

The Orange women’s tennis team had a long night in its Central Carolina Conference opener. A match that started in the heat of the day wasn’t decided until nightfall had descended in Elon, but the Lady Panthers won 5-3.

Both the #3 and the #4 singles matches wound up in a third set tiebreaker. Tea Jones won her match at #3 singles, while senior Jinkie Andrews won at #4 singles to put Orange ahead 4-2 in the doubles round. Jones and senior Jera Hargrove won at #2 doubles to clinch the match for Orange. The #3 doubles match was canceled because of lightning.

Orange is 5-1, 1-0 and will host Walter Williams in Hillsborough on Wednesday.

Cedar Ridge 5, Voyager Academy 4

The Cedar Ridge women’s tennis team opened its season last Tuesday with a 5-4 win over Voyager Academy. It was a dual match that came down to #3 doubles.

With the dual match even 4-4, the #3 doubles team of freshman Ella Caltabiano and Reagan Simmons won 8-3 to preserve a win in the season opener. Earlier in the day, Caltabiano won her first match at the varsity level at #4 singles, beating Voyager’s Karli McKenna 8-5.

Senior Chloe Patz captured her #2 singles match 8-3. At #3 singles, Hannah Shinnick won 8-4. Senior Olivia Kelly won 8-6 over Shea Dixon at #5 singles.

Carrboro 7, Orange 2: Orange 5, Carrboro 2

Last Thursday, Orange completed its season-opening match against Carrboro, which was postponed from August 16 because of rain. The Lady Panthers won 5-2. Sophomore Grace Pell captured her match at #2 singles after her opponent retired. In the marathon match of the day, senior Jinkie Andrews defeated Carrboro’s Julianna Curry 11-10, winning a tiebreaker 7-5. Senior Tea Jones, sophomore Erin Sollars and freshman Shannon Sollars all won their singles matches.

The Jaguars won the regularly scheduled match. Jones defeated Carrboro’s Julianna Curry 8-3 at #4 singles. Shannon Sollars captured the match at #6 singles 8-1.

With 15 minutes remaining, the Graham men’s soccer team led Orange 1-0 on Monday night. The Panthers went off in the final 14 minutes, scoring four goals to win 4-1 and improve to 2-3 on the season. Wingback Jasper Tyll started a big sequence with the game tied 1-1 as he stopped the Red Devils’ leading scorer on one of the few breakouts that Graham could muster in the second half. Tyll played with a cast on his left hand after getting injured in the season opener against Chapel Hill. On Saturday, Orange labored through 95-degree heat to defeat Henderson Collegiate 9-0 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. The Panthers, coached by Palmer Bowman, have won consecutive games. They look to continue the winning streak when they face Riverside on Wednesday night at Linny Wrenn Stadium in Durham. Orange will travel to Western Alamance on Wednesday night for its Central Carolina Conference opener.

Chapel Hill’s first win at Auman Stadium since 2004 didn’t end in with comfort, where the coaches played out the string to run out the clock before a celebratory and comfortable ride back to the southern end of the Orange County.

Rather, it was filled with every incredulous turn, strange play calling, false finishes and gutsy gambles that make the Chapel Hill-Orange rivalry so zany, unpredictable and downright fun.

Anyone who knows this rivalry would expect nothing less.

In front of a spirited group of Chapel Hill fans that included a large student section waving team flags, the Tigers (1-0) held on to defeat Orange (0-2) 27-21 on Friday night. Not to be outdone, the Orange fans turned out on Hawaii night where the expected gear. Even Orange trainer Emily Gaddy showed up in a Hawaiian lay.

In April, Chapel Hill kicker Nolan Westroom kicked a 40-yard field goal as time expired to lift Chapel Hill past Orange 24-22 in the regular season finale at Culton-Peerman Stadium. It preserved a share of the Big 8 Conference championship for the Tigers. On Friday night, it appeared that Orange was brewing for yet another dramatic comeback of its own. On a night where the humidity was 85%, the game was constantly halted because of players cramping up. It left the Tigers struggling to find enough capable bodies to hold onto a 27-14 lead it had built with 4:33 remaining. Orange had two chances to score the game-tying touchdown in the final three minutes of regulation. Both drives ended in turnovers.

Chapel Hill senior quarterback Caleb Kelly threw for two touchdowns, including one on the final play of the first half that vaulted the Tigers into the lead permanently. Kelly finished 9-of-18 for 140 yards and two touchdowns.

“This hurts as much as April,” said Orange Coach Van Smith. “Just too many mistakes. Golly, that’s the best quarterback we’ve seen in a long time. If we see another one better than that this year, it’s going to be freakin’ scary, because he’s dang good”

Orange has lost five straight home openers. Chapel Hill, which lost eleven straight times to the Panthers from 2009-2019, defeated Orange for the second time in four months.

If nothing else, the game was a dramatic improvement for the Orange offense, which labored through a poor season-opener at South Granville last week. Against the Vikings, the Panthers registered just 16 yards total offense and two first downs.

Orange’s Jared Weaver blocked a 37-yard field goal attempt by Chapel Hill kicker Taran Coyne Smith. That led to a 13-play, 71-yard drive where Orange converted four third-downs. It ended when senior running back Omarion Lewis broke two tackles to score on an 11-yard scamper into the end zone. Kicker Darius Satterfield took a snap from long snapper Jake Wimsatt on the extra point and ran it in to put Orange ahead 8-0.

Chapel Hill would score on its next three possessions. It started when senior Elijah Ayankoya returned the ensuing kickoff back 86 yards for a touchdown. Weaver blocked the extra point to keep Orange ahead 8-6.

The Tigers got the ball back with 1:06 remaining in the first half. Kelly threw to senior Josh Campos for a 41-yard pass to penetrate the Orange end zone. After three straight incompletions, Chapel Hill faced a 4th-and-10. Marsh eschewed another 40-yard field goal attempt, a decision that paid off handsomely. Kelly found Campos in the back corner of the end zone for a gorgeous 20-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the first half.

On the opening kickoff of the second half, Chapel Hill’s Tai Kirk recovered a fumble by Orange’s returner at the Panther 29-yard line. Kelly got into the red zone with an eleven-yard run, and later flipped the ball on a tap pass to wide receiver Anthony Muldrow, who curved up the middle of the line for a 5-yard touchdown. Drew Allen added the 2-point run as Chapel Hill increased its lead to 20-8.

“We couldn’t have had a more disastrous end to the first half and beginning to the second half,” Smith said. “I thought we were doing pretty well offensively in the first half before the kickoff returner.” It

Orange’s sophomore running back Nate Sorrells took over on the next drive. He started by returning the kickoff 31 yards. After Lewis converted a 3rd-and-2, Sorrells bolted around left end for a 35-yard run. Hecht would score his first touchdown of the season on a fullback dive to reduce Chapel Hill’s lead to 20-14.

Jabari Albright recovered a fumble late in the third quarter to start a drive at the Chapel Hill 49-yard line. The drive stalled out after consecutive penalties pushed Orange back to the 50-yard line.

The game turned on Orange’s opening possession of the fourth quarter. The Panthers were set to punt on a 4th-and-10 from its own 35-yard line. At this point, Orange called for a fake punt, where Hecht was stopped by Becket Yates and Palmer Blanchard after a 2-yard gain, which turned the ball over on downs to Chapel Hill deep in Orange territory.

“We had poor execution,” Smith said about the called play. “It was there. It was there. Wide open.”

Chapel Hill needed only six plays to score what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown. After Kelly started the drive with a 12-yard gain, Allen scored on a 1-yard plunge with 4:33 remaining.

Trailing 27-14, Orange needed something fast and they got it. Quarterback Wynston Brown found Sorrells for a nine-yard gain, and picked up 15 more yards after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Brown floated a screen pass to Sorrells for a 35-yard touchdown pass, scoring just 40 seconds after Kelly touchdown.

Orange forced Chapel Hill into its only 3-and-out of the game after Kelly was pressured into a incompletion on 3rd-and-11 by linebackers Connor Ray and Jackson Wood. Orange took over at its own 26-yard line, but on 3rd-and-9, Brown had the ball knocked free and recovered by Tiger defensive lineman Edward Bassett.

It appeared that the Tigers would simply run out the clock, but this wild night wasn’t going to end that meekly. Running back Cayden Forbes, who finished with 102 yards, fumbled at the Orange 16-yard line with 1:02 remaining. Orange’s Kameron Harshaw got the ball back and the Panthers incredibly got yet another chance to take the lead.

But there was no miracle on Friday night.

Brown marched the Panthers into Chapel Hill territory after a 11-yard pass to Sorrells, followed by another personal foul penalty. Chapel Hill’s Jeremy Breeze ended the struggle with an interception at the 30-yard line.

Orange will travel to Burlington to face Cummings next Friday.

CHAPEL HILL 27, ORANGE 21

CH 0 12 8 7-27

OR 0 8 6 7-21

ORANGE-Omarion Lewis 11 run (Darius Satterfield run)

CHAPEL HILL-Elijah Ayankoya 86 kickoff return (kick blocked)

CHAPEL HILL-Josh Campos 22 pass from Caleb Kelly (run failed)

CHAPEL HILL-Anthony Muldrow 5 pass from Kelly (Drew Allen run)

ORANGE-Nate Hecht 1 run (pass failed)

CHAPEL HILL-Allen 1 run (Taran Coyne Smith kick)

ORANGE-Nate Sorrells 35 pass from Wynston Brown (Satterfield kick)

RUSHING-CHAPEL HILL 32-132 TD (Cayden Forbes 20-102, Kelly 7-20, Allen 3-17 TD, team 2-(-7)

ORANGE-46-225 (Lewis 17-89 TD, Sorrells 6-57, Hecht 8-26 TD, Brown 6-20, Jackson Wood 4-19, Ronald Cooper 2-13, A’Mare Morgan 2-4, team 1-(-3))

PASSING–CHAPEL HILL (Kelly 9-18 140 yards 2 TD) ORANGE (BROWN 4-8 65 TD, INT)

RECEIVING–CHAPEL HILL (Campos 3-67 2 TD, Muldrown 3-27 TD, Kaire Ryland 1-28, Ayankoya 1-12, Jamazia Williams 1-6)

ORANGE–(Sorrells 3-56 TD, Lewis 1-9)