Wilson sweeps Pride

FISHERSVILLE – Wilson Memorial stole the show on Thursday night, defeating Riverheads in three games 25-11, 25-21, and 25-22.

The first game was all about the Hornets, who dominated the entire floor. The Gladiators could barely get the ball over the net and rigid kills from Wilson’s Kala Guy didn’t help much either.

“We’ve had a problem with coming out strong this year,” said Riverheads coach Whitney Dove.

Wilson put in a total team effort in the first with Guy, Noel Bartley, and Taijha Jones combining for a majority of the kills, while Christine Coffield and Tiffany Crosby handled the assists.

The Gladiators were down and out, but not for long. Riverheads came out in Game 2 on fire, going back-and-forth at the net with the powerhouse Guy. The Gladiators went on consecutive seven-point runs due to errors on the Wilson side.

Even with a fight breaking out in the stands, the two teams would not be pushed off their game.

With the score tied at 17 off a long shot from the Hornet’s hands, the Gladiators went on another run of four successive points led by Kelley Tuennermann who nailed three back-to-back aces. Wilson answered back with an unanswered eight-point run to take the game.

“We played better in the last two games,” Dove said. “It’s just hard keeping the lead.”

Game 3 played out similar to the previous with Riverheads neck-in-neck with Wilson. The game tied four times before the Hornets took off. With the game stuck at 16, Wilson ran with eight unanswered points to take the lead, but the Gladiators weren’t about to lie down.

Riverheads answered back with a run of its own for six points, giving the Hornets a quick scare as the Gladiators came to within two points. A timeout from Wilson threw the Gladiators off their game, as the Hornets forced an error and took the win.

“This is our trade mark,” said Wilson Memorial coach Kim Claytor. “We blast in the first game and then let up in the second and third. I can’t figure it out, but a win’s a win.”

Guy had 11 kills, 12 service points with three aces, 15 digs, and four blocks for the Hornets. Coffield added eight assists and five service points while Crosby had eight assists and eight digs for Wilson.

Katie Coffey led the Gladiators with nine service points and 11 digs, Kristen Moody added seven kills and four blocks while Tiffany Flesher had eight service points.

Wilson (12-3, 5-1) travels to Buffalo Gap on Tuesday while Riverheads (8-8, 2-4) stays home against Stonewall.

Riverheads dominated in the JV match, taking the win in two games 25-14 and 25-16. Jill Jackson led the way with 13 service points for the Gladiators.