Arendell Parrott's Virginia Edmondson goes for a kill in Tuesday's NCISAA semifinals match against Cary Christian. Photo by William ‘Bud' Hardy / Neuse News

It took five grueling and intense sets, but in the end the defending champs dug deep.

For the third consecutive season, the Arendell Parrott Academy Patriots will play for a state championship. Their incredible run continued with a win over conference rival Cary Christian 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 26-28, 15-12 in the NCISAA 3A semifinals. David Barnes and his Patriots (20-3) had to fight off a Knights squad they’ve played in the last three Final Fours.

“This was a big win,” Barnes said, “We didn’t play our best, but we did play well enough to win and advance. After losing in the title game in 2017 and winning it last year, we’re right back in the hunt for another championship. Alli Grant Avery and Virginia Edmondson are two of the biggest reasons why we’re here, but it was a total team effort today.”

Arendell Parrott won a tight first set led by a couple of early kills from Avery. The Patriots ran off a 6-0 run in the second set, but the Knights came back. The Patriots trailed 20-18 before scoring four straight points to take the lead. However, they weren’t able to hang on and thanks to a 5-0 run, Cary Christian (16-9) was able to win 25-22 to even the match at one set all.

Virginia Edmonson’s serving got the Patriots going in the third set. The Knights held a 9-7 lead before the Patriots answered with four straight points. Cary Christian would keep it within a couple of points throughout the set, but Arendell Parrott put them on the brink by taking the third set.

“I was proud of how we all came together,” Edmonson said. “We’re good because we practice really well and get great coaching. (Coach Barnes) deserves a lot of credit for helping us get better throughout the year.”

It could’ve been over in the fourth set as the Patriots were able to get it to match point, but the Knights kept fighting. Led by sophomore Brianna Frazilus, Cary Christian was able to win 28-26 to force a fifth and deciding set. 

“The special thing about our team is that we work as a team,” Knights head coach Lesley White said. “We work on encouraging one another and together that’s what made this team so great. Going into this game, we committed to working hard and I think we did just that. Unfortunately, we came up short against a great team, but we’re going to take this experience into next year.”

In the final set, the Patriots started the set on a 7-1 run only for the Knights to answer with a 10-3 run of their own. Arendell Parrott stayed cool and called the number of their powerful outside hitter. Avery delivered with three straight kills to force a match point. 

Cary Christian saved one match point, but a service error ended the match and sent the Patriots players and fans into jubilation.

“My teammates do it all and I do the easy part,” Avery said. “They’re the ones that make me look good and I just hit off of their great passing. It’s so awesome to be back in the state championship game. As long as we take care of our side, the rest will take care of itself.”

Another familiar opponent will be waiting for the Patriots on Saturday. Arendell Parrott will play at 12 p.m. against Raleigh Grace Christian, a conference opponent the Patriots defeated twice in the regular season (both in straight sets). The match will take place at North Raleigh Christian Academy and Coach Barnes knows that his team is in a great position to do something special.

“We’re a team of great all-around players,” he said. “We have great blockers, passers and hitter. I think we have to pass well and serve efficiently if we want to win on Saturday. If we can do both of those things, we’ll have a great shot at the state championship.”