RALEIGH, N.C. — It was far from easy, but on Saturday night in Reynolds Coliseum, Green Level became just the 40th undefeated state champion in the 50-year history of the N.C. High School Athletic Association.
The Gators needed a reverse sweep to preserve its perfect season, defeating West Forsyth 3-2 (23-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-9, 15-10) in the 8A championship.
Green Level (28-0) dropped the first two sets to West Forsyth (23-6) and was facing a truly stunning outcome — going from undefeated to swept — with the score tied 21-all in the third set.
But Green Level, as it has done so often this year, "Gator rolled" its opponent.
The Gators won four of the last five points to cut into the match lead, 2-1.
They then went on a 17-2 run to win the fourth set to make it 2-2.
"The girls did an awesome job staying composed," Green Level coach Alston Godbold said.
But no sooner than it looked like Green Level was inevitable, there was a moment of hesitation as West Forsyth ran out to a 6-0 lead in the winner-take-all fifth set. The crowd of 1,737 sensed a Titans title.
What happened after that was the embodiment Green Level's championship poise.
The Gators took next five points. West Forsyth called timeout to settle down — it was still anyone's match.
But Green Level kept going, scoring the next four points uninterrupted and taking a 9-6 lead.
Another timeout. Green Level then took a 10-6 lead, a 10-0 run.
Green Level's Lindley Miller had a block, Scarlett Taylor had an ace, and it was 13-7. A service error gave a point to West Forsyth. An attacking error gave one to Green Level. Another service error gave a point to West Forsyth. It was 14-9.
An attacking error made it 14-10, then Miller finished the game with one last kill.
Miller had 14 kills and seven digs while Madison Simmons had 21 digs.
Green Level's Taylor was named match MVP after having a "triple double" of 35 assists, 14 digs, 11 kills, five aces, and three blocks.
It was a hard loss for the Titans, who were hoping to be Forsyth County's first NCHSAA volleyball champion.
Hadley Licthy had 24 assists, Anna Hege had 13 digs, and Aurora Rosa had 14 kills and 18 digs for the Titans.
"We made our goals big (before the season) ... It was insane to see how close our team was and how much we fought," Hege said. "We got the furthest we could for our senior season and it's just the best feeling and this is my favorite team I've ever played with."
West Forsyth came out charged and led the whole first set as Green Level struggled with seven attacking errors. The second set was more of the same as the Titans took advantage of eight Green Level errors to win.
But ultimately, West Forsyth became the 12th opponent that Green Level beat this season who made it to a regional final and/or state championship across multiple classes.
Before the game, each team had one player recogizned as NCHSAA Sportsmanship Award winners. For West Forsyth it was Rosa and for Green Level it was Aarushi Shah.
Final Stats
Green Level
West Forsyth
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