UCA volleyball team falls short in long state final

Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Sadie Upchurch makes a play on the ball as teammates, including Caroline Way (No. 7), look on last Friday in a state championship match at Joel Coliseum. (PJ Ward-Brown / Randolph Record)

WINSTON-SALEM — Uwharrie Charter Academy’s special volleyball season ended one victory shy of the ultimate prize.

The Eagles made a strong bid for a Class 4A state championship in the program’s first appearance in a final, but Lake Norman Charter spoiled that.

Involved in their second five-set match of the season, the Eagles fell 25-18, 14-25, 21-25, 25-17, 15-9 in the title match Friday at Joel Coliseum.

UCA (28-4) hadn’t lost since Aug. 19, building a 24-match winning streak. Lake Norman Charter (30-3) won its first state title, finishing the season on a 25-match winning streak.

In the fifth set, the Eagles bolted to a 5-0 lead before Lake Norman Charter recovered to secure the next six points and extended that to claim 10 of the 11 points during that match-changing stretch.

Match point came when the Eagles had an unsuccessful return after scrambling to keep the ball in play.

Lake Norman Charter’s London Stewart of was selected as the Most Valuable Player.

UCA had generated momentum after losing the first set. The Eagles hadn’t lost a set during their winning streak – a string of 72 consecutive sets won.

But despite facing a deficit, they put together a stellar stretch with Caroline Way and Carly Rush clicking at the net.

The 28 victories matched the UCA team record.

Of the eight state finals across two days, only three of the matches were extended to five sets.

UCA’s appearance in the finals marked the first time a Randolph County school reached the last match since Southwestern Randolph captured the 2021 state title in Class 2A.

Other state champions in title matches contested at Joel Coliseum or Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh were Falls Lake (Class 1A), Community School of Davidson (Class 2A), Ayden-Grifton (Class 3A), Hickory (Class 5A), Greenville Rose (Class 6A), Marvin Ridge (Class 7A) and Green Level (Class 8A).