Cedar Ridge

Cedar Ridge won the 2021 3A Volleyball state championship vs North Iredell, 3 at Reynolds Coliseum, NC State.

Notes

Cedar Ridge power hitters proved to be too tough in the 3A State Championship Match, lifting the Red Wolves to a 3-1 victory over North Iredell and the school’s first volleyball State Championship. The Red Wolves were led by Cameron Lloyd who slammed down 14 kills and added a block and 12 digs on her way to being name the 3A Championship MVP. North Iredell started the match in dominating fashion as the Raiders reeled off the first five points of the match before the Red Wolves scratched out a trio of points including a pair of service aces by Julie Altieri. Graylinn Serge struck for the third ace of the set to bring Cedar Ridge within one at 9-8 before the Red Wolves set up a big swing in the middle from Addie Reid to tie things at nine. Serge’s ace ignited a momentum change that saw Cedar Ridge rip off ten-straight points and take a 16-9 lead in the set. North Iredell managed to regroup and draw within two in the set after the run, but Cedar Ridge had built too large an advantage to overcome, taking the opening set 25-20. The second set was a back-and-forth affair for the first 20 points, with the two teams knotted at 10-a-piece. Cedar Ridge reeled off three straight points, punctuated by a drive off the fist of junior Anaya Carter to take a 13-10 lead and force a Radiers timeout. The timeout successfully stemmed the tide, and North Iredell capitalized with the next three straight to tie the set at 13. The set was also tied at 15 and 17 before North Iredell was able to scrap their way to five straight points and a 23-18 lead. The Raiders knotted the match up at a set-a-piece with a 25-19 second set victory. Cedar Ridge used a 4-0 run in the middle of the third set to surge into the lead 11-9. Reid pounded a ball down from a right-side set and lifted the Red Wolves to a two-point lead. After a timeout by the Raiders, Cedar Ridge served a ball into the net and the Raiders briefly stemmed the tide, battling back to tie things up at 13 before the two teams traded the lead back-and-forth with neither team leading by more than two for the remainder of the set. The set was tied late at 13, 15, 18, 20 and 22 with the Cedar Ridge power hitters ultimately helping the Red Wolves prevail. Cameron Lanier slammed a ball in the middle of the Raider back line to put the Red Wolves up 23-22 before an attack error by North Iredell gave the Red Wolves a set point at 24-22. Cedar Ridge got the ball down on set point to take a 25-22 third set victory and two sets to one lead in the match. In the fourth, Cedar Ridge rallied early, establishing a 6-2 lead as Lanier swung the Red Wolves to the lead ahead of the first timeout of the set by North Iredell. Cedar Ridge extended the lead to 13-8 on a diving dig by Grace Young that cleared the net and found the floor on the other side, sending the Cedar Ridge crowd and team into a frenzy. The Red Wolves added the next two point, stretching the lead to 15-8 and getting the Raiders to call at timeout to regroup. Out of the timeout, Cameron Lloyd knocked down the next two points on right-handed swings for Cedar Ridge to take a 17-8 lead. Lloyd tipped another shot down at 19-10 before serving to help Cedar Ridge out to a 21-10 advantage on an ace off the tape. The Red Wolves held on for a 25-16 fourth set win and state title. North Iredell finished the season 26-2. The Raiders were 13-1 in the Western Foothills 3A where they won the league title. The Raiders won the program’s fifth regional title, advancing to the state championship for the fifth time in program history. Cedar Ridge finished the season 31-2, winning the Central 3A with a record of 12-0. The Red Wolves advanced to the State Championship for the first time in program history after the first Regional Title in volleyball.

View full championship details on Varsity NC