If Cedar Ridge’s victory over Union Pines was any more decisive, it would have been labeled a College Football Playoff national championship game.

In its first home playoff game since 2015, the Red Wolves volleyball team cruised past the Vikings on scores of 25-13, 25-17, and 25-13 in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium.

Cedar Ridge will travel to face D.H. Conley, the champions of the 4A/3A Eastern Carolina Conference, on Thursday night for the second round. Conley defeated Terry Sanford 3-0 on Tuesday.

Union Pines (9-3, 9-1), champions of the Tri-County Conference who opened with eight consecutive wins, was swept for only the second time this year.

Like a modern day Jordan and Pippen, Cedar Ridge’s deadly combination of sophomores Cameron Lloyd and Julie Altieri proved to be too much. Lloyd finished with 16 kills, all of them set up by Altieri, who ended the night with 29 assists, seven digs and four aces. Lloyd also had eleven digs.

Cedar Ridge improved to 9-0 in its first game against a non conference opponent this year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a start-and-stop pattern to the season that has made establishing a rhythm almost impossible.

Last week, Cedar Ridge defeated Orange to win the Big 8 Conference Championship. It was the Red Wolves first match in 25 days. Cedar Ridge was forced into quarantine after a player from Northwood tested positive for coronavirus shortly after the Red Wolves traveled to Pittsboro on December 10.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a start-and-stop pattern to the season that has made establishing a rhythm impossible for first-year coach Fiona Cunningham. While Cedar Ridge has nine wins, they’ve really played only eight because Southern Durham forfeited a match last month.

“We’re looking at ten weeks into a season and have only played nine games,” said first-year Cedar Ridge coach Fiona Cunningham. “Momentum isn’t really a factor this year because nobody really has it. We have natural forces limiting every team’s momentum. So we’ve talked to the girls about practices needing to be like games.”

Despite playing in front of empty bleachers, the Red Wolves were exuberant from the beginning as they bounced out to a 6-1 lead, including Lloyd laying down two aces and a kill. Union Pines narrowed the deficit to 7-6 before the Red Wolves went on a 8-3 run, featuring two more kills from Lloyd set up by Altieri and an ace from senior Grace Young. The Red Wolves closed the set with three straight points, two of which were kills by Lloyd from Altieri.

Union Pines opened the second set with a point from a Cedar Ridge error. It was the only Vikings lead in the entire match. The Red Wolves reeled off six consecutive points to push its advantage to 12-5, which included kills by sophomore Cameron Lanier and senior Layne Foster. Lanier ended the night with seven kills, while Foster had three kills and two blocks. The Red Wolves closed the frame with four straight points, ending with a Lanier block to send the Cedar Ridge bench into a frenzy.

The Red Wolves jumped out to a 12-5 lead in the third set and were never seriously challenged. At one point, Altieri set up Lloyd for kills on three consecutive points, leading to a Union Pines time out. Justice Wilbourne stuffed a Union Pines kill attempt on match point to end the match after barely an hour.

The last time Cedar Ridge hosted a playoff game, it was the 2015 3A Eastern Regional Final when Asheboro ended the Red Wolves dream of a state championship. As young as the core of Cedar Ridge is, they have lofty plans going into Thursday’s trip to Greenville.

“There was a different kind of pressure tonight, which was a good thing,” Cunningham said. “It was kind of similar to the pressure I remember as a player that no matter who is on the other side of the net, no matter what round it is, you know it’s important. The playoffs this year are particularly competitive since its only 16 teams in the east. We’ll be ready on Thursday.”

For the first time since 2015, the Cedar Ridge volleyball team has won a state playoff game. The Red Wolves defeated Union Pines 25-13, 25-17 and 25-13 to advance to the round of 16 in the 3A State Playoffs on Tuesday night at Red Wolves Gymnasium. Sophomore Cameron Lloyd led Cedar Ridge with 16 kills. She also compiled four aces and eleven digs. Through nine games, Lloyd leads the team with 88 kills. She is second on the squad with 76 digs. Over the past four years, Lloyd has built a bond with her classmate Julie Altieri, which started on their summer travel team. Altieri had 29 assists against Union Pines. Cedar Ridge will face D.H. Conley in Greenville on Thursday night with a trip to the state quarterfinals on the line.

The Cedar Ridge volleyball team easily defeated Union Pines in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs at Red Wolves Gymnasium on Tuesday night. Sophomore Cameron Lanier finished with seven kills, two aces, five blocks and two digs. Cedar Ridge improved to 9-0 after winning its first nonconference game of the season. In an abbreviated season, Lanier has compiled an impressive stat line of 60 kills, a team-high 19 blocks and ten aces. Lanier is one of three sophomore starters, along with Cameron Lloyd and Julie Altieri, who have helped Cedar Ridge win the Big 8 Championship for the first time since 2015. On Thursday night, Cedar Ridge will travel to Greenville to face D.H. Conley in the round of 16 in the 3A State Playoffs.

What would happen if two crosstown rivals had a classic basketball game and no one showed up?

Chances are, it would look a lot like Orange-Cedar Ridge on Monday night.

The Red Wolves, who trailed 49-31 with 2:34 remaining in the third quarter, went on a 24-7 run to finish regulation and force overtime. From there, Cedar Ridge held off its crosstown rivals 67-66 in overtime to claim its third straight win over Orange.

Among the many things that have been missed during the interminable pandemic, the absence of exhilaration of a packed gym of Cedar Ridge fans watching the Red Wolves erase an 18-point deficit in the span of 5 minute and 53 seconds will certainly be among the most regrettable locally. Instead, the crowd was limited to junior varsity players and a few family members, who will have their own stark memories regardless.

Online records indicate it’s the first time ever that Cedar Ridge has beaten Orange three straight times. In 2014-15, the Red Wolves swept the season series from Orange, but the Panthers won six straight over the next three years.

Cedar Ridge senior Luke Pagnanelli, who suffered through 1-23 season as a sophomore, finished with 17 points and five rebounds. Pagnanelli scored the opening two field goals of overtime, including a stickback basket after he rebounded his own miss, thrown towards the glass so hard it nearly shattered through the backboard.

“I was looking for somebody to pass to,” Pagnanelli said. “it was too late so I just threw it up there, went and got it and threw it back in the goal.”

Cedar Ridge sophomore Neco Clark led the Red Wolves with 19 points.

Orange senior Jason Franklin finished with 20. Once again, the Panthers lived and died with the 3-pointer. They finished 11-of-26 from downtown. Jerec Thompson had 13.

“We have to learn how to win” said Orange Coach Darryl Britt. “I think we had some mental lapses. We were in good enough position to win this basketball game and we didn’t. We should have won this basketball game. We had this game won in regulation and we didn’t seal the deal. We just have to learn how to win basketball games.”

It was Franklin and Clark matched up in the last critical sequence of regulation. With the game tied 56-56, Orange held the ball for a full one minute, 34 seconds. Franklin was isolated with Clark at the top of the key and threatened to drive on him repeatedly, but relented at the instruction of Britt. Once Franklin made his move, he extended his arm and was called for an offensive foul, leading to overtime.

The decision to put Clark in that defensive role was a daring one by Cedar Ridge head coach Jaison Brooks, who is Clark’s father. Franklin is a four-year varsity starter. Clark was in his second varsity game.

“We told him he was on an island by himself,” Brooks said. “It was just him. We just reminded him of the good habits that we try to teach. To move his feet and keep Jason in front of him.”

Leading 33-29 at the half, Orange went on a 16-2 run to open the third quarter and appears to be on the verge of blowing the game open. Jared Wood came off the bench to score all eight of his points in the 3rd quarter, including a 3-pointer off an assist from J.J. Thompson to put the Panthers ahead 49-31 with 2:34 remaining in the third quarter. 

Cedar Ridge scored nine straight points, including three-pointers from Clark and Ian Johnson, but Jerec Thompson drilled a three-pointer at the 3rd quarter buzzer to give the Panthers a 52-40 cushion going into the final stanza. 

Orange was held to four points in the final eight minutes of regulation. Pagnanelli opened the fourth quarter with consecutive three-pointers, including one in transition off a skip pass from Ian Johnson to narrow the Orange lead to 52-46. 

After a field goal from Panther center Kyle Stanley, James Raglnad went on a personal 8-0 run to briefly vault the Red Wolves ahead 56-54. Ragland canned back-to-back 3-pointers, then stuck back a miss by Pagnanelli to give Cedar Ridge a 56-54 lead. Stanley scored off his own offensive rebound to even the game. 

Ragland finished with ten points. 

Orange will travel to defending Big 8 Champion Northwood on Friday. Cedar Ridge travels to Northwood. 

Time will tell whether the first time against Orange for Neco Clark will be the best time, but it was certainly memorable. Trailing by 18 points, Cedar Ridge rallied to defeat Orange 67-66 in overtime. It was Clark’s first game against Orange on the varsity level and he was a huge part in the biggest plays of the game. With the game tied 56-56, Orange held the ball for over one minute trying to get the final shot on regulation. But Clark, a sophomore, drew a charge against Orange senior Jason Franklin with 8.6 seconds remaining. In overtime, Clark scored four points to lead Cedar Ridge with 19 points. it was the Red Wolves’ third straight win over the Panthers and its fourth in the last six games. Cedar Ridge is 1-1 and will travel to Northern Durham on Friday. 

Luke Pagnanelli’s final home game against Orange was one he will never forget. The Red Wolves rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat the Panthers 67-66 in overtime on Tuesday night at Cedar Ridge Gymnasium. Pagnanelli helped spark the comeback with a key 3-pointer late in the third quarter. Then Pagnanelli opened overtime by scoring consecutive field goals to put the Red Wolves ahead for good. For Pagnanelli, the win was extra sweet as a senior. He lost his first two games to Orange as a sophomore. Cedar Ridge improved to 1-1 after the comeback victory over its archrivals. The Red Wolves travel to Northern Durham on Friday night. 

For the first time since 2015, the Cedar Ridge volleyball team will host a playoff game. On Tuesday night, the Red Wolves will face Union Pines in the opening round of the 3A State Playoffs. Senior Shili Quade has been a part of three Big 8 Conference championship teams at Cedar Ridge. In addition to the volleyball team, she was a member of two softball championships in 2018 and 2019. In addition, Shili is the Cedar Ridge Yearbook editor, and a member of the Cedar Ridge Map Club and Photography Club. This season, Quade was a regular player for a Cedar Ridge team that won the Big 8 Championship with an 8-0 record. Cedar Ridge will host Union Pines at 6 o’clock on Tuesday night.