VOLLEYBALL: Riverheads tops Wilson in 4

FISHERSVILLE — Trailing 9-2 in Game 4, Riverheads coach Whitney Dove took a timeout to regroup her team.

“They, the players, were the ones doing the talking during the timeout,” said Dove. “I didn’t really have to say anything. They knew what they had to do.”

The Gladiators responded as a team overcoming a 10-2 deficit to tie the game 13-13 after an ace from Kelley Tuennermann. Both teams kept battling away at each other keeping the score close.

Wilson took the lead 24-23 on an ace from Kayley Argenbright, but the Hornets were not able to force a deciding Game 5, as the Gladiators won 29-27 on a tip from Tuennermann that fell helplessly between a pair of sprawling Hornets. The Gladiators won 20-25, 25-22, 25-22, 29-27.

“We wanted to beat Wilson so bad,” said junior Kelsie Floyd after the win. “We worked so hard out there together. Wilson’s crowd was very loud and it threw us off our game, but we were able to block them out and really kept playing as a team.”

After dropping Game 1 to Wilson Memorial, the Gladiators took the next two with a chance to put away the Green Hornets in four.

The Hornets fed off the emotion of the loud crowd and had the Gladiators pinned against the ropes, beating the Gladiators in Game one, but the Gladiators kept their focus and blocked out the crowd noise.

Games 2 and 3 were both very close and sent both teams on roller coaster rides.

In Game 2, the Hornets jumped out to the early lead, but mistakes allowed the Gladiators to come storming back after being down 16-11. Riverheads jumped up late 23-19 before Wilson came back to cut the lead to two, but the Gladiators put the game away 25-22.

Game 3 saw Riverheads jump up 11-7 before Wilson rallied back to take the lead 17-15. Riverheads once again came back to defeat the Hornets 25-22.

“I think we are getting better. We played better tonight then we did last week, but the maturity on the court is still not there,” said Wilson coach Kim Claytor. “As long as I am seeing improvement, then that is a good thing. We use non-district matches to get out all the cob webs before district play starts.”

Riverheads (2-0, 0-0 Shenandoah) was lead by Kelsie Floyd and Tiffany Flesher each with six kills. Floyd also added 13 assists in the win.

Wilson (1-2, 0-0 Southern Valley) had nine kills and four blocks from Kayley Argenbright, while Danielle Dove added 14 digs in the lost.