The 8A volleyball state championship will include a public school from Wake County.
(1) Green Level will host (3) Green Hope in the NCHSAA 8A Eastern Regional Championship on Tuesday evening, with a trip to the state championship on the line.
The Gators enter the match with a 24-2 record, while Green Hope is 27-2.
Green Hope is the only team to beat Green Level this season—and they did it twice.
The Falcons swept Green Level on Sept. 15, behind 20 kills from Ivy Wirth and 10 kills from Xueli Wang. Green Level took a 3-1 (25-17, 25-15, 21-25, 25-16) win over Green Level on Oct. 8.
The two teams met again in the Quad City Seven 8A Conference championship game. Green Hope took the conference championship with a 3-1 (13-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-15) win over the Falcons. Wirth and Wang combined for 31 kills in the match.
DETAILS:
- (3) Green Hope @ (1) Green Level
- Tuesday, Oct. 27
- 6:00 PM
- Purchase Tickets on GoFan
- Watch Live on NFHS Network
How they got here
Both Green Level and Green Hope started the 8A playoffs with a first-round bye, then swept their second-round opponents.
Green Level beat (9) Corinth Holders in the second round, 25-13, 25-17, 25-18, then swept (4) Laney in the third round to reach the regional championship.
Green Hope had a tougher road to the regional. After beating (6) Broughton 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-15) in the second round, the Falcons went to five sets with (7) Apex in the third round. After losing the second and third sets, Green Hope won the fourth and fifth sets to claim the victory: 25-15, 22-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-10.
Two volleyball programs with history
Both Green Level and Green Hope have been among the state’s most successful volleyball programs over the last decade.
The Gators are reigning 8A state champions. Green Level beat West Forsyth in five sets last season to win its second championship in program history. The Gators’ first volleyball title came in the 4A classification in 2021, a sweep of Ardrey Kell.
Green Hope has won four volleyball state championships in four consecutive seasons from 2016 through 2019. The Falcons beat Reagan 3-1 in 2016, Hough 3-0 in 2017, Panther Creek 3-0 in 2018, and Ardrey Kell 3-1 in 2019.
Both head coaches are also responsible for all of the state championships in their respective programs. Alston Godbold won both titles at Green Level, while Karl Redelfs won all four titles with Green Hope.
What's next
The winner of Tuesday’s match will advance to the 8A state championship and will face the winner of the 8A western regional championship between (5) Ardrey Kell and (2) West Forsyth, which is also scheduled for Tuesday.
You can follow along with updates from the West on the State Playoff Bracket page on WakeCountyAthleticZone.com.
The state championship will be played on either Friday, Oct. 30, or Saturday, Oct. 31, at Gilbert Craig Gore Arena at Campbell University in Buies Creek. This marks the first time Campbell has hosted the NCHSAA volleyball state championships.
The NCHSAA will release more details about the state championship this week.
