Wilson is going to states

FISHERSVILLE — Wilson Memorial is going to the Group A tournament.

After two straight seasons of making an early exit in the Region B tournament, the Green Hornets locked up their berth in the state tournament with a 25-19, 25-12, 23-25, 25-19 win over Nelson County.

“I don’t know what to say,” said Wilson’s Noël Bartley. “These are my best friends and I’m so glad to see us make it this far.”

Everything came together for Wilson on Thursday night and with the exception of Game 3 the Hornets held control of the youthful Governors. 

“We’ve got so much youth out there,” Nelson coach Vicki Crawford said. “[Wilson] is just so much more experienced than us. I could tell at the beginning that the youth showed through.”

Wilson will host defending Group A champion Strasburg on Saturday for the Region B championship and the winner will get home-court advantage in the Group A quarterfinals against the Region A runner-up. The Region B runner-up will travel to the Region A champion.

“I think they are pushing it to the limit right now and I think this is testing their limits and ability,” Wilson coach Kim Claytor said. “I’m proud of them and I love them like they were my own kids. For me this is the most awesome thing for me to see through my eyes.”

Wilson took a 1-0 lead in the match after a big rally in Game 1. The Govs took a 4-0 lead after Tyrah Stewart and Jennifer Payne combined for a block. Wilson took back the momentum when Jessica Arbogast and Christine Coffield were able to keep an errant dig from falling to the floor. Coffield hit the ball back over the net while tumbling to the floor and caught Nelson off guard.

After the save, Taijha Jones ripped off six straight service points, helped by two-and-a-half Kala Guy blocks, to put Wilson up 9-5. Wilson never looked back and cruised to the 25-19 win and carried the momentum into the second game where it crushed Nelson 25-12.

“I think we played some of our best ball,” Guy said.

In the third game, Wilson’s communication began to break down and the Governors took a 16-11 lead. Two Guy kills started a Green Hornet rally that allowed the team to close the gap. One point behind at 24-23, Nelson’s Sarah Buckley smashed a kill past the Wilson front line that secured the win.

With the Group A tournament one game away, Wilson got its composure back and blasted away to a 20-10 lead with contributions from Bartley’s attack at the net and two Guy aces.

“They are a good team,” Bartley said. “Before the match we didn’t know anything about them, so we were watching them warming up. … We had to play our hearts out.”

Nelson did start a rally and put the score at 24-19, but a hard Guy kill ended the match and sent the Hornets into the state tournament. 

“I know how they feel because I have been there,” Claytor said. “In this game, emotion can go wild.”

Wilson has seven seniors to Nelson’s three and the Governors also have to rely heavily on three sophomores. Crawford said she expected to be back in the Region B tournament next season.

“I’ve got three great seniors and that’s a big loss,” Crawford said, “but I told them in the locker room, ‘Who would think on Aug. 1 that we would be 21-3?’ ”

The Region B championship match will start at 7 p.m. Saturday.