MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
North Iredell (Olin, N.C.) Raiders have officially been named to the 13th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its eighth year honoring volleyball.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for 100 of the top teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the MaxPreps National Rankings. For volleyball, only 10 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 20,000 competing varsity teams, this puts the Raiders ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!
Photo by Carin Goodall-Gosnell
In order to be eligible, the team not only had to be nationally ranked, but also had to win a state championship. Beating Chapel Hill 11-25, 25-16, 25-18, 27-29, 15-12 on Saturday, November 4 marked the completion of an incredible 28-2 season – and earned North Iredell an invitation to the Tour of Champions.
The Raiders fell behind 11-7 in the fifth and final set, but rallied by outscoring Chapel Hill 8-1 down the stretch to claim the five set thriller. The match's Most Valuable Player Ashley Hawkins of North Iredell pounded the ball to the floor to pull the Raiders within 12-11 in the fifth set. Then, Anna Jordan served out the match.
Hawkins led the Raiders with 22 kills in the title match and was credited with 14 digs. Kahia Wood chipped in 44 set assists and 13 digs, while Claire Foy picked up 10 digs for the champions. Meredith Patterson and Mackie Allen each had three ace blocks for North Iredell coach Natalie Tribble.
Photo by Carin Goodall-Gosnell
North Iredell upended Western Guilford 25-11, 25-15, 25-11 to begin state tournament play before outplaying West Rowan in four sets to earn its fourth win of the year over the Falcons.
Following 25-21, 25-9, 25-14 and 25-21, 25-23, 25-17 wins over West Henderson and Cox Mill respectively, the Raiders found themselves competing in the
NCHSAA Class 3A Final Four. North Iredell then bumped Marvin Ridge from the bracket with a 25-23, 25-11, 25-20 win to set up the match with Chapel Hill.
North Iredell upended Maiden 25-11, 25-13, 25-14 to open the season before falling to Marvin Ridge in four sets. Following a five-match winning streak, Tribble's club lost for the final time of the season when Davie earned a five set win over the eventual state champions. North Iredell won its final 22 matches of the season to earn the school's second state championship in four total state final appearances.
By winning 22 straight matches to end the season, the Raiders reached some rather high rankings at season's end. North Iredell found itself perched atop every other team in the MaxPreps
North Carolina Class 3A Computer Rankings and in the entire state of
North Carolina. The Raiders are also sitting comfortably in the MaxPreps Top 100 at
No. 20 nationally.
These incredible season achievements have earned the North Iredell Raiders an invitation to the 13th Annual Tour of Champions.
Please join us as we celebrate with the girls volleyball team, coaching staff, students and fans on Thursday, December 14 at 11:15 a.m. at a school assembly in the new gymnasium.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.
Photo by Carin Goodall-Gosnell
