1A East: Falls Lake Academy 3, Woods Charter 0

In a rematch of last season’s regional final, No. 1 Woods Charter couldn’t finish the close sets in a 3-0 loss to defending champion No. 3 Falls Lake Academy.

The opening frame went back and forth through the teams’ first 10 points. Falls Lake Academy then went on a 6-1 run, forcing a timeout by the Wolves. Coming out of the break, Woods Charter went on its own run to climb within three points, and later in the set, the Wolves made it a 24-22 affair. Falls Lake won the set 25-22.

The second set was an even closer battle as neither team built a lead of more than four points until the very end. Both squads traded the lead until the 11th point at which the Firebirds went on a 5-1 run. Woods Charter made pushes to close the gap, but it couldn’t rally in the sets’ final moments and fell 25-20.

Falls Lake Academy closed the win with a dominant 25-11 performance in the third frame. Throughout the game, an especially in the final set, the Wolves had little answer for the crushing kills of Falls Lake Academy sophomore Devanee Wampler.

Woods Charter finished its season with a 22-3 record.


4A East: Uwharrie Charter 3, Carrboro 2

No. 10 Carrboro’s season-ending loss at No. 1 Uwharrie Charter, last year’s state runner-up, went down to the wire.

The Jaguars forced a fifth set and fell 15-11.

Carrboro, the lowest remaining seed across all classifications, finished the season with a 19-10 record.


5A East: Seaforth 3, Cedar Ridge 0

In one of the most anticipated matchups of the regional final round, No. 1 Seaforth made a statement.

The Hawks swept No. 2 Cedar Ridge to advance to the state championship game for the third straight year.

After senior Ally Forbes notched a kill and a block to win the first set 25-22, Seaforth built a lead as large as eight points and withstood a late Cedar Ridge run to take the second frame 25-20.

The Hawks turned things up a notch in the game-winning set by starting on a 7-0 run and eventually building a 10-point lead. Seaforth won the third frame 25-10. It’ll face Hickory for a rematch of last year’s state title game (Hickory won 3-1 last season).


7A East: Cardinal Gibbons 3, Chapel Hill 0

A rematch of an August meeting between No. 2 Cardinal Gibbons and No. 5 Chapel Hill ended in the same result.

Cardinal Gibbons swept the Tigers in the regional final round.

Chapel Hill battled in the opening set and held a three-point lead midway through. The Tigers were ahead 18-15 when the Crusaders made a run to take the lead and eventually win 25-23.

Cardinal Gibbons held more control over the next two sets, winning 25-18 and 25-16.

Chapel Hill ended its season with a 16-8 record.