Cox Mill reaches volleyball finals; Pine Lake Prep, Christ the King golfers win titles
Ralph Viegelmann is back as coach, and Cox Mill is going back to the state volleyball championships.
The Chargers handed host Reagan its first loss of the season Tuesday night, winning 3-1 and capturing the 4A West Regional championship.
The victory sends Cox Mill to Saturday’s state championship, where the Chargers will face East champion Middle Creek.
It’ll be the second state title appearance for Cox Mill. The first was in 2020, when Viegelmann was coach.
The Chargers lost in the finals that year to D.H. Conley, and Viegelmann stepped down to concentrate on running a business.
Former North Carolina volleyball standout Keimaya Hunter was hired as Cox Mill’s coach this season, and she guided the Chargers to a 17-3 record into October. But Hunter had to step down in midseason, when a chance to enter medical school appeared.
Cox Mill officials called on Viegelmann, and he agreed to come back.
The rest is history.
The Chargers (24-3) beat Reagan (37-1) 25-18 in the first set, fell 25-21 in the second, then rallied to win by 25-23 and 25-23.
Reagan appeared to gain momentum after taking the second set. The Raiders led through much of the third set, by margins as big as 13-8 and 14-9. But Cox Mill went on a 5-1 run, scoring twice on blocks by 6-1 sophomore Jordyn Gray and taking a 19-18 lead. They won the final point on a Reagan unforced error.
The Chargers scored their final point of the match on a kill by 6-2 junior Ryan Hunter.
Gray, Hunter and 5-11 senior Arielle Walker played key roles in handling Reagan and its front line, led by 6-0 junior twin sisters Carly and Anna Edwards.
North Iredell Falls in volleyball
North Iredell’s hope of winning a second straight 3A volleyball championship ended Tuesday night with a 3-1 loss to visiting Kings Mountain in the West Regional finals.
Kings Mountain (33-1) will face Orange (27-4) for the state title Saturday.
North Iredell (30-2) won the opening set 25-19, but the Mountaineers battled back and won 25-22, 25-20 and 25-21.
The loss snapped a 26-match winning streak for coach Dave Markland’s team.
Local golfers lead 1A-2A Golf finals
Pine Lake Prep won the state championship, and Christ the King’s Malerie Lague took individual honors in the 1A-2A girls’ state golf tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club south of Monroe.
The Pride scored an easy victory in the team competition, finishing 16 strokes ahead of second-place Thomas Jefferson Academy. Pine Lake Prep freshman Paisley Freda finished second in the individual scoring.
The individual pace-setter was Lague, a junior. She shot rounds of 72 and 75, finishing nine shots ahead of Freda.
It was the first girls’ golf championships for Pine Lake Prep and Christ the King, which are fellow members of the Catawba Shores 1A-2A Conference.
Myers Park’s Rudisill loses in playoff
Myers Park junior Elizabeth Rudisill lost in a playoff for the 4A golf championship, falling just short of capturing her second straight state title.
Rudisill shot a 2-under-par 70 at Pinehurst No. 6 in Monday’s opening round and led several golfers, including Northwest Guilford junior Leah Edwards, by two shots.
On Tuesday, Edwards shot a 70 and Rudisill carded a 72. Edwards rallied from two strokes down in the final holes to force a playoff. In the playoff, which took place on the par-4 18th hole, Edwards got a birdie while Rudisill parred.
Marvin Ridge’s Xinyan Li finished fourth.
The team championship went to Pinecrest (449), with Northwest Guilford (459) and Marvin Ridge (461) rounding out the top three.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
