WILSON EXTRA : Notebook: Guy keeps her head up after 3-1 loss

RICHMOND

Kala Guy didn’t get a chance to talk in the interview room simply because she wasn’t in there. Guy, who was held in check most of the match (producing only nine kills), didn’t shed any tears. Instead, the girl who may go down as one of the best Green Hornet volleyball players ever, just smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

Always cool and usually calm, it was Guy who stopped the Green Hornets from walking off the floor with their heads hanging after their four-game loss to Strasburg. Her message was a simple one.

“We did something no one’s done at our school for a long time,” she said. “We got nothing to be ashamed of.” …

Strasburg’s Jenna Smoot pulled a double-dozen in the win over Wilson, recording 12 kills and 12 blocks. Her play was the main reason that Guy was taken out of the picture for most of the night. …

When the Rams came to Fishersville for the Region B championship, part of the reason they were swept was lack of production from any other hitters other than Smoot. One of those missing hitters came alive Friday in the rematch with Wilson – Stephanie Conde. Conde’s nine kills might not jump off the state sheet, but the came at all the right times against Wilson. With the Hornets scoring two straight points (Guy kill and a Crosby block) to take a 20-18 lead in Game 4, Conde’s crater-maker stopped the run and tied it at 20. The Hornets could only muster three more points after that. …

Gate City advanced to its fifth straight title match and second straight against Strasburg thanks in part to senior swatter Tessa Burton. Burton, in the decisive Game 5 with Auburn, dropped in an ace to tie it at eight after her Devils quickly fell behind 5-1. Then she fittingly slapped down the match-winner with one of her seven kills. Nope, she didn’t plan it that way.

“I just do what my team needs me to do,” said the six-foot senior. “And that just happened to be like that.”

— Jim Sacco/The News Virginian