Hornets rock Bison

FISHERSVILLE — Wilson Memorial completed the opening week of the Shenandoah District volleyball schedule in style.

On Tuesday, the Green Hornets swept Riverheads in Greenville and followed that win with a sweep over Buffalo Gap on Thursday night. The Bison challenged the Green Hornets in the first two games, but fell 25-21 in both instances. In the third game Wilson was in complete control and walked off the court with a 25-15 win. 

The Green Hornets had more on their minds than volleyball on Thursday. In addition to holding the team’s annual fundraiser, Wilson was also honoring Evanne Coffman — a Wilson Memorial student who died in a car accident on March 4.  Coffman’s family was in attendance and the team wore purple shirts and socks, Coffman’s favorite colors.

“To do something for the family was really nice,” said Wilson coach Kim Claytor. “It’s hard sometimes to celebrate. In my case I lost my aunt last night, but we know good things are going to happen for us and people are looking down on us.”

Wilson soared into a 10-4 lead over the Bison after Tiffany Crosby served back-to-back aces. The Bison were unable to close the gap, but continued to stay in the game, trailing 21-16, when Lauren McCutcheon took to the service line. McCutcheon served five straight points, including three aces, and the Bison trailed by only one when her sixth serve went into the net. The Bison were unable to keep the momentum and Kala Guy put the game away with a kill.

Gap took a 2-0 lead in Game 2, but a side out and a Taijha Jones kill knotted the score. Wilson couldn’t shake the Bison and began to score against themselves. Jessica Arbogast got caught in the net, three attacks went out-of-bounds and an off sides gave Gap a 12-1 lead.

The Green Hornets slowly worked back into the game by taking advantage of Bison mistakes.

With the score tied at 16, the teams traded the lead until Crosby hit two aces to stop the momentum and propel Wilson to a 25-21 win.

“I didn’t know if it was an adjustment, it was just the atmosphere and meaning of the night,” Claytor said. “I knew it was going to be that way because of the emotions but we talked about that for a couple of weeks. … They played their game but I think things played back in their minds about their classmate and fallen hero. I think that is what it was.”

In the final game, the packed gym was shaking with the Wilson student section shouting for every point. Other than a brief 3-1 lead, Gap never challenged in the match and Wilson took an easy 25-15 win for the match.

“I said it’s time to bring out the power and end this thing,” Claytor said.

After the match Botkin was proud of how her team handled itself on the hostile court.

“I’m pleased with their performance tonight,” she said. “We’ve had five of our seniors injured and we just had another one so it’s a new rotation for us. They hung in there did their best and I think they did a good job.”

Wilson (9-2, 2-0 Shenandoah) and Gap (4-8, 1-1 Shenandoah) will both be home on Tuesday, with the Green Hornets taking on Page and the Bison hosting Stonewall.