RALEIGH, N.C. — Classifications are changing in next year’s N.C. High School Athletic Association, going from four to eight, so in essence this was the last go-round of 4A volleyball as it’s been defined for decades — the class with the state’s largest schools.

The 4A East went out with a bang.

Cardinal Gibbons fended off Marvin Ridge in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A volleyball championship game on Saturday at N.C. State’s Reynolds Coliseum by a 3-1 score (25-11, 21-25, 26-24, 26-24).

That gives the East 12 straight titles over the West to close out this era of NCHSAA classification, but none of those 12 have been as back-and-forth as this one. Gibbons had only dropped two sets all season and Marvin Ridge hadn’t dropped any to in-state competition, but it was 1-1 after the second set and the next two took more than 25 points to settle.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved with a number of state championships with Cardinal Gibbons in the years that I’ve been here and Marvin Ridge tonight was the best team that we’ve played against in a state championship in my 15 years of being here,” Gibbons coach Logan Barber said. “They played amazing defensively.”

Genevieve Harris, the junior setter who is already part of USA Volleyball’s U19 team, could do little wrong in running Gibbons’ high-octane offense, save for having to battle cramps in her calves late in the match. The Texas recruit, who was later named MVP with 55 assists and just one ball handling error, got up slowly after the celebratory dogpile, still in pain.

“This has been happening for a couple of weeks now where I just, at the end of practice or the end of a game… my legs just started to give out,” Harris said. “I knew I had to take as many electrolytes as I could. … It worked a little bit and at the end of the last five points I was struggling.”

Gibbons needed every bit of her passing, because Marvin Ridge’s defense was up to the task.

Gibbons jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the first set, forcing Marvin Ridge to call a timeout and hopefully settle the evident nerves. But Gibbons’ defense, led by UCLA beach volleyball recruit Alina Ryan, and the passing, led by Harris, was too strong and the Crusaders were in system the whole way to win it 25-11. Ryan finished with 43 digs.

It was the first set Marvin Ridge had dropped to an in-state team this year.
The Mavericks opened up the second set with a 14-8 lead thanks to kills by Ashley Murray and Natalie Unkrich. Isabella Perkins, a libero who has committed to Appalachian State, made some important digs against Gibbons’ hitters. Marvin Ridge led 22-16 late before Gibbons reeled off four straight points to force a timeout.

The Mavericks pushed through to hand Gibbons just its third set loss of the season, joining Millbrook and Green Level, with a 25-21 win.

Perkins had 17 digs and freshman defensive specialist Beckett Hammers had 26. Unkrich had 16 kills and Ashley Murray had 13 kills. Jillian Young had 27 assists.

“This is a gritty group, and something that we’ve been working on from Day One is our defense, and they are also fighters,” Marvin Ridge coach Brook Hammers said. “We didn’t play the best the first set, but we fought hard and the third set could’ve gone either way and the fourth set could’ve gone either way.”

Marvin Ridge led the third set 6-1 early but Gibbons took its first lead at 10-9. The surge was led by Virginia recruit Mary Grace Gonyeau, a junior outside hitter, and the play at the net by sister middle hitters Charlotte Bell, a Wofford recruit, and Mia Bell, a sophomore.

Gonyeau had a game-high 20 kills. Charlotte Bell had 10 with three blocks and Mia Bell had 11. Sophomore Hailey Mueller added 12 kills.

Marvin Ridge forced Gibbons to take a timeout with a 17-16 edge and tied it at 19-19, 20-20, 21-21, 22-22, 23-23, and again at 24-24. Harris got the next kill on a surprise tip and an error on the next play gave Gibbons the set, 26-24.

“This is my third year on varsity and I’ve been craving this since my sophomore year,” Charlotte Bell said. “I feel so incredibly lucky to be part of this team and a second year with my sister.”

Gibbons got out to a 7-4 lead in the fourth, which prompted a Marvin Ridge timeout. The Mavericks tied it up for the first time in the set at 12-12, then the two teams traded blows until Gibbons held a 21-18 lead. The Mavericks scored three straight to tie it at 21-all, forcing a Gibbons timeout.

Marvin Ridge took a 22-21 lead, but a service error made it 22-all. An ace by Charlotte Bell and a kill by Gonyeau put Gibbons a point away, but Marvin Ridge had back-to-back kills to make it 24-24.

The last two points, scored by a pair of Mia Bell kills, gave the Crusaders the state championship with a sixth set, 26-24.

Before the game, Gibbons’ Ryan and Marvin Ridge’s Katie Meewes were named NCHSAA sportsmanship award winners.