North Iredell
North Iredell won the 2022 3A Volleyball state championship vs J.H. Rose, 3 at Reynolds Coliseum, NC State.
| Year | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Sport | Volleyball |
| Classification | 3A |
| Champion | North Iredell |
| Runner-Up | J.H. Rose |
| Score | 3 - 2 |
| Venue | Reynolds Coliseum, NC State, Raleigh |
Notes
The Raiders from North Iredell survived a back-and-forth affair with J.H. Rose to win the 2022 3A State Championship in five sets. The victory was North Iredell’s third state title and first since defeating Chapel Hill in the 2017 edition. North Iredell established dominance early in the fifth and final set, as 3A State Championship Most Valuable Player Emma Norris routinely pounded balls into the ground, earning four kills in the opening run that saw the Raiders jump out to an 8-1 lead. Norris finished the match with a dominant 24 kill performance and was truly a force on the left side of the Raider frontline. North Iredell settled into a nice rhythm early, as Emma Norris powered a pair of early heavy kills to the floor in the first set to help the Raiders extend their lead to 11-4 in the early going. Rose hitters, led by Amelia Taft and Helen Wilford, got the Rampants back in the set, narrowing the gap to 16-14 when Emily Smith served up an ace, but North Iredell regrouped, winning the next three points and cruising to a 25-20 first set victory. J.H. Rose responded with an emphatic 25-16 win in set two. North Iredell briefly mounted a rally in the middle of the set, tying the set at 8 and 9 thanks to attacks by Eliza Jenkins. The rally was short-lived though, as the Rampants closed the set with emphatic kills by Wilford and then Anna Bayes, both pounding balls into the floor in the middle of the Raider defense to close out the set on consecutive points. The third set was a wild one, featuring nine ties and three lead changes, ultimately won by North Iredell 25-20. The final tie came at 18-all when Emily Campbell crushed a powerful drive straight down from a middle attack. The Raiders took the lead for good at 19-18 before stretching their lead out to 20-18 on an ace off the tape by Ailena Mykins. The intensity of the third set was only outdone by the frenetic and fevered pitch of the fourth that saw J.H. Rose force a decisive fifth set with a 25-23 set victory. There were 12 ties in the set and six lead changes, including ties at 21, 22, and 23. Rose took the lead for good with Emily Smith’s kill to go up 24-23 and Wilford finished it off with a spike into the heart of the Raider defense for the 25th point. J.H. Rose finished the season 28-2. The Rampants were a perfect 12-0 as the champion of the Big Carolina 3A/4A. Rose won the program’s fifth Eastern Regional Championship and appeared in the State Championship match for the first time since 2014. North Iredell finished the year a spotless 33-0. The Raiders dominated the Western Foothills 3A with an undefeated 15-0 mark. The Raiders won the program’s third State Championship and sixth regional title.