Marvin Ridge is headed to the 4A state volleyball championship match Saturday.
The Mavericks won their 22nd match in a row Thursday night, dispatching visiting Reagan 3-0 in the West regional finals.
Marvin Ridge (34-3) will make its first-ever state finals appearance against a longtime state volleyball powerhouse — Cardinal Gibbons. The Crusaders ran their record to 21-0 Thursday by sweeping D.H. Conley 3-0 in the East regional finals.
Cardinal Gibbons has won nine state volleyball championships.
Marvin Ridge will be the only Charlotte-area team in Saturday’s finals at N.C. State’s Reynolds Coliseum. North Iredell’s bid to repeat its 2022 3A championship ended Thursday with a 3-2 loss at top-seeded West Henderson in the 3A West Regional final.
Marvin Ridge, the West’s top seed, won sets by scores of 25-20, 25-13 and 25-19.
The Mavericks also swept Reagan when the teams met in August at a tournament in Rock Hill.
The first set was closely played, but the Mavericks broke free for a 24-20 lead. The Raiders battled back and closed to within 24-23 on two kills by Penn State commit Gabby Nichols. But the Mavs’ Jillian Young ended it with a soft lob for the winning point.
The teams split the first six points of the second set, but Marvin Ridge broke loose on a 14-4 run for a 17-7 lead. The big push was led by Katie Meewes, who had two service aces and a kill, and Kiley Petras, with two aces.
Marvin Ridge won it when Reagan defenders were unable to return Victoria Simons’ shot from the left side of the net.
Reagan came to life in the third set and bolted to an 8-3 lead. But Marvin Ridge roared back, tying the score 8-all on Petras’ shot to the back line and taking the lead on a kill by Ashley Murray.
The Mavericks continued to pull away and opened an 18-13 lead before Reagan closed to within 20-17. But Marvin Ridge, behind Petras and Meewes, maintained the lead and won it when a Reagan defender returned Murray’s shot out of bounds.
Thursday’s regional final results:
CLASS 4A
West: Marvin Ridge 3, Reagan 0
East: Cardinal Gibbons 3, D.H. Conley 0
Saturday’s state final: Marvin Ridge (34-3) vs. Cardinal Gibbons (21-0)
CLASS 3A
West: West Henderson 3, North Iredell 2
East: J.H. Rose 3, West Carteret 1
Saturday’s state final: West Henderson (25-2) vs. J.H. Rose (24-4)
CLASS 2A
West: McMichael 3, West Stanly 1
East: Seaforth 3, Manteo 1
Saturday’s state final: McMichael (33-2) vs. Seaforth (25-4)
CLASS 1A
West: Polk County 3, Cherokee 0
East: Perquimans 3, Falls Lake Academy 0
Saturday’s state final: Polk County (21-3) vs. Perquimans (26-1)
