Hornets pick up big district win

After losing in a five-game match Wednesday night at Page County, Wilson Memorial regained its form, defeating upset-minded Luray 23-25, 25-23, 25-14, 26-24 to move back into at least a tie in the Shenandoah District.

"I think we were stunned a little from last night," said Wilson coach Kim Claytor. "We've had a long week."

Luray took the first game, coming back from a 22-16 deficit, scoring eight straight points on the Hornets to take a 1-0 lead.

"We still had some jet lag to start with," Claytor said.

The Hornets led for most of the second game, but needed a kill from Kala Guy on game point to even the match.

Wilson got its act together in the third game, roaring out to a 15-2 lead and cruised to a relatively easy win.

"We told the girls to go back to having fun," Claytor said. "If they don't have fun, it makes it a lot harder on them."

The momentum carried over into the fourth game, as the Hornets scored eight consecutive points at the outset on the pinpoint serving of Christine Coffield.

But the Bulldogs battled all the way back, tying the score at 23 on a block at the net by Julie Jones. After a Wilson hitting error, Taijha Jones prolonged the game and the match with a kill, and after a Bulldog error at the net, Coffield clinched the narrow win with a kill.

The win improved Wilson to 3-1 in the district and 9-4 overall.

"This is a different season and a different team," Claytor said, referring to the Hornets' success in recent years. "We're very young."

Guy had her usual efficient all-around game, putting down a total of 16 kills, with 14 service points, six blocks and 36 defensive digs. Jones added 16 kills of her own, while Coffield served a total of 26 points, including seven aces for the Hornets.

After four games, each team in the district has won at least once and no team is undefeated.

"There's no dominant team this year," Claytor said. "It's going to interesting playing everyone the second time around."

The Wilson JVs lost a close 19-25, 25-23, 10-15 match. Katie Grimm served nine points for the Hornets with three aces, five digs, two kills and a block.