Lake Norman Charter volleyball embraces cancer survivors, aims for 2nd state title
A few weeks back, Lake Norman Charter’s volleyball team — the reigning N.C. 4A state champion — played rival Community School of Davidson, on “Go Gold for Cancer Night.”
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Players from Lake Norman Charter wore gold ribbons in their hair, and there was a special ceremony pregame to honor people in the Knights’ family who have fought against the disease.
And cancer, sadly, has worked its way through this team.
Assistant coach Zoe Sinclair fought it last year and is fighting again, even as she coaches middle school and high school volleyball. One of the player’s brothers has fought and beaten the disease. And so has Lake Norman Charter freshman Avery Caruso, whose older sister, Riley is an Army commit and one of the team’s best players.
“But you know what?” Lake Norman Charter coach Bethany Kiley said. “I think all of that has made us closer, made us more determined.”
On Go Gold Night, Kiley’s team blitzed Community School of Davidson, winning 3-0. Senior London Stewart had 15 kills. Junior Julia Pacitto had 12. Riley and Avery Caruso had eight assists and six digs. And Danielle Lewis, a libero committed to NCAA volleyball power Missouri, had two aces and a team-high 15 digs.
And there have been a lot of nights like that one.
This season, the Knights (19-1) have shut out 17 opponents and only lost five of 57 sets.
Last week, the 4A team had its 43-match win streak, then the longest in North Carolina, snapped by Marvin Ridge, the reigning 7A state champs. But with four matches left to play, Lake Norman Charter is certainly a favorite to repeat in its smaller classification.
“We love each other, on and off the court,” said Stewart, who was MVP of the 2025 state championship win. “Our cohesiveness always transfers and we always have that winning mentality. We won states so we know we can big again.”
Avery Caruso started having some bouts with bad fevers when she was 9 years old. A blood test revealed childhood leukemia that led to three years of chemo. Though she struggles with memory due to her treatments, Avery, now 15 and three years clear of cancer, has a 4.5 GPA. Her coach said she’s thriving.
“I feel childhood cancer is not talked about enough,” said Avery’s sister, Riley Caruso. “I knew it existed, but I never thought it was an actual reality, especially to someone like my sister. It was a shock. It changed my whole world.”
Riley said watching her sister juggle school and medicine and pain was awful, like she wanted to do something, but there wasn’t much to do, other than to hope — and pray.
“That’s how Riley got into volleyball,” Kiley, the Lake Norman Charter coach, said. “When Avery was going through treatment, Riley used volleyball as a release. She started playing (in middle school) and fell in love with the game. It was her release to not worry about what’s going at home and not be worrying about (her) sister. Like, I just go out and play the game. And she’s blossomed since then.”
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Avery, now 15, has blossomed, too. She said her family and her belief in God helped her get through everything. And she found volleyball because of it, too.
When she started her cancer journey, Avery was a soccer and tennis player. But shortly after she finished treatment, her dad suggested she try volleyball, and join her sister.
“I was like, ‘All right, I’ll try it out,’” Avery said. “I fell in love with it.”
Kiley said that Avery Caruso’s work ethic is hard to ignore, and her dedication rubs off on her teammates.
“I wasn’t sure if she’d get playing time at the beginning of the season,” Kiley said. “She was just a freshman, and I had only lost one senior (from the 2025 state championship team). But she’s done really well with playing the back row and getting some second balls and just owning a position.”
There was a big crowd at the Huntersville school for Go Gold For Cancer Night, and Lake Norman Charter’s camaraderie — and talent — was on full display. The Knights chase down balls that look lost, even when they have a big lead. They defend.
And they are always — always — cheering each other on.
Stewart, who is getting college attention, is nicknamed “Big Stew” although she’s only about 5-foot-4, short for an outside hitter. But her incredible leaping ability is hard to ignore — and effective. She had 22 kills against Marvin Ridge, the large-class champ that’s ranked No. 3 overall in North Carolina.
And as Stuart and Lewis and the Carusos have gotten rolling, the target on their jerseys in the volleyball community has grown, too.
But that’s just fine with the Knights, who had never been past the third round of playoffs until last year.
They like it this way — much better.
“Honestly,” Riley Caruso said, “it’s all about the team. Like, we know our goal. We have awesome rapport. And I definitely feel a lot of pressure, but pressure is such a privilege. Like, if there’s no pressure on you, what are you even doing? For me, I love it. We all do. We thrive under those pressure situations.”
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This story was originally published September 30, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
