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.

Orange football spent much of 2018 running off the fumes of three consecutive Big 8 Championships and was left trying to find replacements for quarterback/linebacker/punter/everything else Payton Wilson, running back Marvante Beasley and wide receiver Milton Purcell.

They opened 2019 trying to find replacements for linebackers Colin Guntensberger, Jett Satterfield and Jeremiah Bailey, and the results weren’t pretty.

In the first-ever matchup between the two teams, R.J. Reynolds’ quarterback Caden Davis factored in on six touchdowns to push the Demons past the Panthers 47-24 at Auman Stadium on Friday night. Davis ran for 104 yards and three touchdowns and threw for three touchdowns.

It was the most points Orange has surrendered in a game since Cedar Ridge hung 49 on the Panthers on August 26, 2011.

Orange (0-1) dropped its fourth straight home game dating back to 2018, and has lost seven of its last eight at Auman Stadium.

The Panthers had one returning starter on defense back from last season. That’s senior defensive end James McAdoo, who missed Friday’s game because of an eye injury suffered in a scrimmage against Person on August 17.

Orange coach Van Smith didn’t want to talk about players who graduated three months ago after losing for the 11th time in the last 14 games.

“We’ve got to get tougher on both sides of the ball,” Smith aid. “I was not very good tonight. We were not prepared. We were not organized. Our intensity was not very good from me and from the assistant coaches. Therefore, it carried down to the players.

There were positives for the new double wing offense designed by offensive coordinator Marty Scotten. Orange totaled 329 yards, which would have been the fourth best total among 12 games from last year. Orange also had 14 first downs compared the Reynolds’ 12. They were also 7-for-12 on 3rd down conversions.

The result obscured a spectacular performance from senior wide receiver Machai Holt, who nearly single handily carried Orange to the lead in the first half. In one of his rare gaffes on the night, Davis floated a pass that Holt picked off on the first play from scrimmage and streaked 36 yards on the return.

Holt went on to score Orange’s opening five-yard touchdown. He also blocked an extra point, caught a 27-yard pass from senior quarterback Wyatt Jones to set up Orange’s 2nd touchdown, and blocked a field goal late in the first half when the Demons were one yard away from going ahead 33-16.

After Holt’s interception and score put Orange ahead 7-0, the Demons scored touchdowns on four consecutive possessions. Williams running back Tyreik Leach, who finished with 66 yards on 13 carries, converted a 3rd-and-1 with an eleven yard game. The Demons offense never looked back the rest of the half. After Davis completed consecutive passes to Tobias Johnson for 20 and eleven yards, Davis scored on a three-year keep around right end.

On the subsequent kickoff by Reynolds’ Jack Doherty, the Demons Nassir Gibbs recovered at the Orange 21-yard line. On a swing pass, Leach weaved his way around several Panthers into the end zone from 13 yards. Despite a missed extra point, Reynolds led 12-7.

Orange took the lead right back at the end of the first quarter. After Holt’s one-hand catch for 27 yards, Jones found J.J. Torres out of the backfield for a 16-yard touchdown pass across the left corner of the end zone.

Reynolds didn’t blink. Davis started the ensuing drive with a 20-yard pass to H-back Greg Hunter on the opening play of the second quarter. On a 3rd-and-12, David again hit a cutting Johnson for a 41-yard touchdown. Doherty’s extra point gave Reynolds the lead for good at 19-13.

Reynolds was flagged for consecutive pass interference penalties on 3rd downs to keep the next Orange drive alive. Junior Nigel Slanker, replacing Tucker Krogstad, easily kicked a 30-yard field goal for the Panthers’ final points of the half.

The Demons started the next drive in Orange territory after a personal foul penalty. It only took three runs by Davis to break into the end zone, ending with a 17-yard gallop for his 2nd touchdown to end the Demons ahead 26-13 going into the locker room.

Orange controlled the ball for much of the third quarter and its defense didn’t allow a point. On the tenth play of a grueling drive that started after an interception by Orange’s Jared Weaver, Orange appeared to be on the verge of cutting into the lead after covering 84 yard on ten plays. Then Gibbs intercepted a pass intended for Zion Pettiford and flashed 90 yards to put the game out of reach.

Jones found Zyon Pettiford for a 60-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. It was Pettiford’s only catch of the night.

Davis found Johnson for another touchdown of 18 yards in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers travel to South Granville next Friday. The Vikings fell to 0-2 on Friday night with a 23-14 loss to Sanderson in Raleigh.

But Smith will focus on Orange in the week ahead.

“Our coaching staff is going to get better because I’m going to get better,” Smith said. “And our players are going to have to get better.

R.J. REYNOLDS 47, ORANGE 24

RJ 12 14 7 14-47

OR 13 3 0 8-24

OR–Machai Holt 5 run (Nigel Slanker kick)

RJ-Cadin Davis 3 run (kick blocked)

OR-J.J. Torres 16 pass from Wyatt Jones (run failed)

RJ-Tobias Johnson 41 pass from Davis (kick failed)

OR-Slanker 30 FG

RJ-Davis 17 run (Jack Doherty kick)

RJ-Nassir Gibbs 90 INT return (Doherty kick)

RJ-Johnson 18 pass from Davis (Doherty kick)

OR-Zyon Pettiford 60 pass from Jones (Jones run)

RJ-Davis 39 run (Doherty kick)

RUSHING: R.J. REYNOLDS 33-206 3TD (Davis 13-104 3 TD, Tyreik Leach 13-66, Tavarius Goodwin 6-35, Duke Ferree 1-1)

ORANGE 35-130 TD (J.J. Torres 12-59, Machai Holt 8-35 TD, Elliott Woods 9-20, Jacob Chapman 6-16)

PASSING: R.J. REYNOLDS (Davis 11-17 183 3 TD 2 INT) ORANGE 10-22 201 yards 2 TD 2 INT (Jones 9-19 188 2 TD 2 INT, Slanker 1-3 13 yards)

RECEIVING: R.J. REYNOLDS (Wiliams 6-110 2 TD, Antonio Yates 1-21, Greg Hunter 1-20, Leach 1-13 TD, Antonio Yates 1-11, Blase Matheson 1-8.

ORANGE (Holt 3-50, Joe Kiger 2-53, Woods 2-14, Zyon Pettiford 1-60 TD, Torres 1-23 TD, Chapman 1-8.

Lou Mannheim, the wise elder statesman portrayed by Hal Holbrook in Oliver Stone’s 1987 classic “Wall Street,” delivered this final piece of advice to Charlie Sheen’s character: “A man looks into the abyss. There’s nothing staring back at him. At that point, a man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.”

Olivia Ward beat the #1 singles player from perennial power Chapel Hill on Monday in a match that ended with a 10-8 tiebreaker. Considering that, only 18 months ago, Ward wasn’t sure if she would ever pick up a racket again, it’s safe to say she found her character long before many grown adults do.

On Wednesday, Ward completed the week by leading Cedar Ridge past Orange 5-4 in the Big 8 Conference opener for both teams at Orange High Tennis Courts in Hillsborough. Cedar Ridge has defeated their crosstown rivals every dual match since they became conference mates in 2014.

Ward won at #1 singles 6-1, 6-4, then joined with classmate Nora Sauers to win at #1 doubles 8-2 to clinch Cedar Ridge’s first dual match of the year. Sauers also won at #2 singles 6-0, 6-0. Brianna Cellini captured another Cedar Ridge singles win 6-3, 6-2. Hannah Shinnick, a sophomore for the Red Wolves, won at #5 singles 6-2, 6-0.

Orange junior Emma Williamson won at #4 singles 6-4, 6-2. Junior Lindsay Jouannet captured the #6 singles match for the Lady Panthers 6-2, 6-4.

Orange’s #2 doubles team of Williamson and Morgan Gwinn won their match 9-7. Jouannet and Sydney Allison won at #3 doubles 8-2.

In May 2018, Ward underwent major thoracic surgery on her right arm at Duke University after suffering shoulder pain.

It all started in February 2018 as she concluded her sophomore year. During a USTA doubles tournament in Greensboro, Ward dropped her racket because her hand wasn’t strong enough to hold it.

Her father Lynn, who was once the women’s tennis coach at Person High School in Roxboro, arranged an appointment at Duke Sports Medicine Clinic for a second look. She underwent an electromyogram test and shock nerve testing. Neither determined any reason why Ward was experiencing pain.

At the end of her visit, a doctor told Ward there was a problem with her top rib.

Ward didn’t have any grip strength in her right hand. She couldn’t even squeeze Doctor Jeffrey Bytomski’s hand. Ward’s nerves had stopped communicating with her muscles, which caused her right arm to atrophy. Another doctor, Tracy Ray, told Ward if she didn’t get surgery immediately, the arm was going to be disabled.

Ward missed the final six weeks of class at Cedar Ridge last academic year. Fortunately, Duke has the top thoracic surgeon in the world. On May 18, Dr. Thomas D’Amico performed Ward’s procedure. D’Amico conducted a similar surgery with former New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey, who attended UNC.

In her junior season, Ward and her doubles partner Alana Lutz qualified for the 3A State Doubles championships at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center in Greensboro.

In her freshman year, Ward helped the Red Wolves win the Big 8 Championship and reached the 3A State Quarterfinals. It remains the most successful tennis season in school history.

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. 

In its home opener, the Orange men’s soccer team trailed Eastern Alamance 3-2 with 20. Minutes remaining. The Panthers scored three goals in a span of 13 minutes to capture a 5-3 victory. Jose Beltran, who had been held scoreless in Orange’s opening two games, notched the first hat trick of his career. He scored the game-tying goal in the 64th minute. Junior Leif Mahaney got the game-winner for Orange, which is now 2-1 on the year.  Beltran also scored the opening two goals in the first half. Orange also defeated Union Pines 1-0 in its season opener on Saturday. The Panthers will travel to Hillside on Monday night. 

Payton Wilson: After being on the sidelines for nearly two years, Wilson is expected to make his college debut on Saturday when N.C. State faces East Carolina at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. On Monday, Wilson was listed as a backup as a weak side linebacker junior Louis Acceus. Wilson will likely share time with redshirt junior Brock Miller. Wilson was the 2017 Big 8 Defensive Player of the Year and helped lead Orange to three consecutive Big 8 Championships, including an undefeated regular season in 2016. Wilson also played quarterback, wide receiver, and punter for Orange under head coaches Pat Moser and Van Smith. Wilson is a redshirt freshman who missed last season after tearing his ACL during spring practice in March 2018. He originally injured the knee against Cedar Ridge on the opening kickoff between the two teams on October 27, 2017.

Stone Edwards: Edwards, who graduated from Orange in 2016, is listed as a second-string defensive end for Vanderbilt going into its season-opener against #3 Georgia at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville on Saturday. Edwards, a redshirt sophomore who majors in Psychology, is behind junior Dayo Odeyingbo on the two-deep. In 2018, Edwards made his college debut as a redshirt freshman. He played 12 games and compiled seven tackles, one tackle for loss and one sack. Edwards was also part of Orange’s 2017 season that went undefeated in the regular season and only allowed three offensive touchdowns the entire season.

Adam Chnupa: The 2018 Cedar Ridge graduate will be in uniform for the first time this weekend when FCS Elon takes on North Carolina A&T at BB&T Stadium in Greensboro on Saturday. Chnupa is a redshirt freshman for the Phoenix. North Carolina A&T is #20 in the preseason FCS poll and has won three of the last four HBCU National Championships. Elon is #21 in the preseason FCS poll.

Bryse Wilson: It was another strong performance for Wilson for the AAA International League’s Gwinnett Stripers on Tuesday night. Wilson earned his sixth straight win as the Stripers defeated the Norfolk Tides 8-2 at Coolray Field in Gwinnett County, GA. Wilson tossed seven innings, striking out nine. He surrendered nine hits and two runs in his sixth consecutive quality start. Wilson is now 10-7 with a 3.42 ERA. He hasn’t lost since July 21. With the win, along with the Durham Bulls’ victory over the Charlotte Kngihts, Gwinnett clinched a berth in the Governor’s Cup Playoffs. Major League Baseball rosters expand on Sunday. If Wilson is recalled by Atlanta, it will be his fifth stint with the Braves this season.

Kayla Hodges: For the second straight game, Wilson started as a midfielder for the Elon women’s soccer team against High Point at Rudd Field in Elon on Sunday. The Phoenix claimed its second straight win to open the season, 1-0 over the Panthers. Wilson fired one shot. Charlotte-native Carson Jones scored the game’s only goal. Elon will return to action with a road trip to Radford on Thursday. If Elon wins this weekend, they will have already matched its win total from all of 2018.

Chandler Compton: As mentioned last week, Compton plays as a wingback for the Wofford men’s soccer team. The Terriers starts its 2019 season at Houston Baptist on Friday night.

Not even the 2015 Cedar Ridge volleyball team that was one win away from the 3A State Championship match started 3-0.

But this year’s Red Wolves team has.

On Monday night, Cedar Ridge continued its impressive start to the 2019 season with a 3-1 win at the North Carolina School of Science and Math in Durham. The Red Wolves prevailed 25-22, 19-25, 25-17 and 25-15.

Since going 24-4 in 2015 and losing to Asheboro in the Eastern Regional Championship match, the Red Wolves (3-0) haven’t won more than eight games in a season the past three years. If they defeat Durham School of the Arts on Tuesday night, they’ll already be halfway to that total this year.

As is the case with so many successful teams from Hillsborough over the past few years, the Red Wolves have had an instant impact from freshman. Going into Monday night’s match in Durham, freshman Cameron Lloyd led the team with 26 kills, with classmate Julie Altieri right behind her with 19. Fellow rookie Cameron Lanier is fourth on the list with 17.

Altieri also leads the team with 14 aces and 40 assists, while Lloyd had 33 digs in the opening two matches.

“Julie is just a really dynamic player,” said Cedar Ridge coach Anna Seethaler. “She is all-around a good player. She’s supportive. She’s a team player. She’s fine with coming on and off the court at any given player and tries to bring the best to the team.”

Lloyd, Altieri, Lanier and East Chapel Hill transfer Layne Foster are the new faces from a team that went 7-15 last season. Seethaler, in her second year, has had to blend the new faces with veterans like juniors ShiLi Quade and co-Captain Marlee Rokouskas.

“Sometimes I just hope that they can pull the weight,” Seethaler said. “They’re able to step up and step into those roles and trust either. They can focus on the unity on the team.”

In the 3-0 win over Eastern Alamance to open the season, Lanier set Cedar Ridge with 12 kills while Lloyd added eleven. Senior Tori Dalehite had five aces.

The following night, Cedar Ridge defeated Durham School of the Arts 3-1. Lloyd had 15 kills while Foster had 13. Altieri had ten kills, 14 aces, 12 digs and a block.

The Orange volleyball team played its third true road match of the season on Monday night and came away from Creedmoor with a 3-0 win over South Granville. Dating back to last year, the Lady Panthers have defeated the Vikings three straight times.

Orange won on scores of 25-16, 26-24 and 25-16 to improve to 2-3.

Over the weekend, Orange played three matches in the Peak City Classic at Apex Friendship High School. The Lady Panthers lost to Apex Friendship and to Jordan, but ended the afternoon with a 3-1 victory over Jack Britt.

Against the Buccaneers, Orange won the final three sets on scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-17. The Lady Panthers lost the season-opener to Person in Roxboro last week. Orange will face Person again on Wednesday, this time in Hillsborough.

Orange’s co-captains are Emma Clements, Kaitlyn Werden and Brooke Fryar. Morgan Ray, Devyn Norman and Chloe Riley, who were all standouts on the junior varsity squad last year, have played regularly to start this season.