Rose volleyball team aims for second straight title

Norm Cabacar is getting used to his team's season ending in Raleigh.

Cabacar, the second-year J.H. Rose volleyball coach, and his Rampants will be looking to defend their 4-A state championship when they play Ardrey Kell tonight in Raleigh at 7:30. The match will be played at Reynolds Coliseum, where JHR captured the 2008 4-A title with a 25-12, 25-22, 25-19 sweep of Mount Tabor in Cabacar's first season with the Rampants.

“I've been lucky as a coach to step into this program,” said Cabacar, who has guided the Rampants to a 51-1 record in his two seasons. “There were some very talented girls here before I even came here.”

The Rampants (24-0) are entering the state title match with plenty of momentum on their side, much like last year.

The last time the Rampants lost a match was Oct. 2, 2008, in a setback to rival D.H. Conley. Since then, Rose has been nearly unstoppable.

JHR entered the 2009 season nationally ranked, was rarely tested during the regular season and hasn't lost a set in the playoffs.

Rose has done all of that despite having a target on its back, which its players are aware of.

“We all understand that everybody is out to get us because we are defending state champions,” said senior Emily Neideffer, who had a match-high 10 kills in the 2008 championship match. “We never try to go into a game overconfident and we understand that we have to work for every single win that we get.”

Ardrey Kell comes into tonight's match with a 24-5 record and is the No. 2 seed from the Southwestern Conference. The Knights have needed five sets in two of their playoffs wins, including the Western Regional final victory over North Mecklenburg.

JHR breezed through its first three playoff matches before getting tested slightly in its final two.

The Rampants beat conference rival Wilmington Hoggard in the fourth round and swept Raleigh Enloe, 25-19, 25-12, 25-20, in the Eastern Regional final.

According to Cabacar, the Rampants had a clear-cut goal when they entered the 2009 season. They are now one victory away from obtaining that goal.

“I have a great group of girls this year,” Cabacar said. “My goal at the beginning of the year was to get them back to the state championship so that we could defend our title. This year has been a little tougher because we've had a target on our back.”

Contact Ronnie Woodward at rwoodward@reflector.com or (252) 329-9592.