Claire Parker had 17 kills for Cape Fear Christian.
(Photo/John Dupree)

Claire Parker said she had never been on a Cape Fear Christian Academy team that had beaten Freedom Christian in volleyball.

The senior outside hitter, who had 17 kills Tuesday night, and the Eagles had a new experience with a 3-0 win over the host Patriots in the semifinals of the Sandhills Athletic Conference tournament. Set scores were 25-19, 25-20 and 25-22.

Second-seeded Freedom had beaten the third-seeded Eagles, 3-1, in each of a pair of regular-season meetings.

“I looked at the last match and they killed us on tips,” said CFCA coach Paul Hobbs.

The Eagles made an alignment adjustment that paid off and also got an impactful performance from Rhyleigh Horne at libero.

CFCA, which made just five passing errors on the night, jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first set with Horne serving.

Horne had seven aces for the match and Abby Hobbs had six. Hobbs, a freshman setter, also had five kills.

CFCA (14-8) plays at regular-season champion Fayetteville Christian (16-1) for the SAC championship on Thursday.

Libero Rhyleigh Horne helped the Eagles pass efficiently.
(Photo/John Dupree)

Freshman setter Abby Hobbs waits for the ball to descend.
(Photo/John Dupree)

Larah Tripp blocks for Cape Fear Christian in the SAC semis.
(Photo/John Dupree)

Ella John Dupree bumps the ball forward in Tuesday’s win.
(Photo/John Dupree)

Senior Mariah Bell serves for the Eagles at Freedom Courts.
(Photo/John Dupree)