Cedar Ridge 3, Dixon 0 (5A East)

HILLSBOROUGH — No. 2 Cedar Ridge built its way back to form in a second round sweep over No. 15 Dixon.

The Red Wolves overcame a slow start and ended the night in dominant fashion. Following a tightly-contested second set, Cedar Ridge used a 19-2 run to seal the deal in the final frame.

“I think they did a really good job,” Cedar Ridge coach Helen May said. “I think that we could have started off stronger than we did, and I think the third set, we did a lot better.”

Dixon jumped out to a short lived 3-1 lead to start the game, but the script quickly flipped once Cedar Ridge found its footing. The Red Wolves went on an 13-3 run to seize control of the opening frame and never let go of the advantage. Cedar Ridge won the set 25-13.

However, the Red Wolves dug a deeper hole in the second set that took a greater effort to climb out of. Cedar Ridge found itself down 8-3, the team’s largest deficit of the game, causing May to call a timeout to stop the bleeding. After a reset, Cedar Ridge began to close the gap with kills and blocks from sophomore outside hitter Dani Solomon and sophomore middle blocker Avery Owens.

Solomon landed a powerful kill to tie the frame at 16. Out of the ensuing Dixon timeout, the Red Wolves edged the Bulldogs by three with a 9-6 finish, marked with multiple points by senior outside hitter Addilyn Jackson.

“I think we’ve done really good at handling pressure this whole season,” Solomon said. “I think we push really hard when we get down. I feel like we shouldn’t have got down to begin with, but again, I think we do really good at pushing to the very end.”

Cedar Ridge continued to push through the start of the final frame, jumping out to a 7-0 lead before the Bulldogs’ first score. The Red Wolves built as much as a 17-point advantage in the third set thanks to multiple kills from Solomon and Jackson. Cedar Ridge walked off the court having played its best frame of volleyball in these playoffs, winning the sweep-clinching set 25-8.

“We kind of get into our heads sometimes individually,” Jackson said. “I think towards the third (set), we had a little bit more of a cushion to take risks and be more confident in ourselves. And I think that really showed.”


Other NCHSAA second round scores:

Chapel Hill 3, Cleveland 1 (7A East)

West Johnston 3, Northern Durham 0 (6A East)

East Chapel Hill 3, Northern Nash 0

Seaforth 3, South Granville 0 (5A East)

Orange 3, Croatan 0 (5A East)

Carrboro 3, Central Davidson 1 (4A East)

Perquimans 3, Eno River Academy 0 (2A East)

Research Triangle 3, East Wake Academy 0 (2A East)

Woods Charter 3, Oxford Prep 1 (1A East)

Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy 3, Chatham Charter 0 (1A West)


NCHSAA third round matchups (Thursday)

7A East: No. 5 Chapel Hill at No. 4 Topsail
6A East: No. 5 Middle Creek at No. 4 East Chapel Hill
5A East: No. 8 Orange at No. 1 Seaforth; No. 7 C.B. Aycock at No. 2 Cedar Ridge
4A East: No. 10 Carrboro at No. 2 Southwestern Randolph
2A East: No. 6 Research Triangle at No. 3 Perquimans
1A East: Winner of Cape Hatteras vs. Weldon at No. 1 Woods Charter


NCISAA first round

Durham Academy 3, Charlotte Christian 0 (4A)

Arendell Parrott Academy 3, Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill 0 (3A)

Village Christian Academy 3, Carolina Friends 0 (2A)


NCISAA second round matchups (Thursday)

4A: No. 6 Durham Academy at No. 3 Charlotte Country Day School