NCHSAA STATE VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS FEATURE STRONG FIELD
RALEIGH– The 35th edition of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state volleyball championships are slated for Saturday at historic Reynolds Coliseum on the North Carolina State University campus.
With two unbeaten teams and two more who have suffered only a single loss, the overall strength of this field is excellent.
The opener of the quadruple header at noon is for the 4-A championship, with unbeaten Apex (26-0) taking on Charlotte Providence (27-4). Providence is making its sixth appearance in the NCHSAA finals and has a 4-1 mark in previous state championships to go with a stellar all-time playoff mark of 58-17.
Kris Harris of Apex is the Tri-Nine Conference Player of the Year and helped lead the Lady Cougars past a nationally-ranked Greenville Rose team in the Eastern finals. Before entering playoff action, Apex had lost only three sets all season en route to their perfect record.
The 1-A championship at 2:30 is a rematch of last year’s state final between Pender (29-2) and Rosman (27-1), which Pender won 3-1. Jenna Baranowski, the 2009 championship MVP, is back to lead Pender, which is in the finals for the sixth time. Rosman has a veteran team with six seniors returning from last year’s state runner-up and has won 26 straight.
At 5 p.m., undefeated Elizabeth City Northeastern’s Eagles (26-0), in the championship for the first time, will battle the Rams of Starmount (24-7), a young team with only one senior. Francie Jenkins is a leading hitter for the Eagles, having their best season ever, while junior Amber Wooten has over 450 kills on the season for Starmount. The Rams are in the finals for the fourth time in the last eight seasons.
Defending 3-A champion Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons (20-2) returns to the finals for the sixth consecutive year and the Crusaders will face North Iredell (26-1) in the final match of the day, starting at 7:30 p.m. Madison Bugg of Gibbons was the MVP in last year’s final and has earned all-American recognition, while Haley Rhyne of North Iredell is the North Piedmont Conference Player of the Year. North won the 2008 3-A title, beating D.H. Conley in the championship.
Time Warner Cable will be providing television coverage of all four state championships on Carolina On Demand, channels 199 and 1047, on Time Warner systems. The games will be available starting on the afternoon of Wednesday, November 10, on Time Warner Cable systems statewide.
Wendy’s is the presenting sponsor of the NCHSAA sports program. The Raleigh Sports Consortium, the City of Raleigh and the Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau serve as host city sponsors for this event.
THE SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2010
35th ANNUAL NCHSAA VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
REYNOLDS COLISEUM, N.C. STATE UNIVERSITY
CLASS AAAA, noon
Apex High School Lady Cougars (26-0) vs. Charlotte Providence High School Panthers (27-4)
CLASS A, 2:30 pm
Pender High School Patriots (29-2) vs. Rosman High School Tigers (27-1)
CLASS AA, 5 pm
Elizabeth City Northeastern High School Eagles (26-0) vs. Boonville Starmount High School Rams (24-7)
CLASS AAA, 7:30 pm
Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons High School Crusaders (20-2) vs. North Iredell High School Raiders (26-1)
