Season ends at Memorial

By Laura Clark

Published: November 12, 2008

Nelson’s season came to an end at the hands of Wilson Memorial in the Region B semifinal match Nov. 6 in Fishersville.

The senior-heavy Hornets (17-3) played in-your-face volleyball with powerful hits and steady defense to win 3-1 and advance to the state tournament.

In game one, Nelson watched an early lead slip away as the Hornets, led by senior Kala Guy, came on strong at the net. Several long rallies ensued through the middle of the game, and Nelson was within two points until they were stalled by hitting errors. Hornet Julia Aronson made the final kill to win 25-19.

“I think that honestly, our youth came through tonight,” Gov coach Vicki Crawford said. “They’re more experienced. Their chemistry was there. They covered the court better than we did.”

The Hornets did not let up through game two, flying to the net for quick spikes and adjusting on defense when Nelson had a chance to run an offense. Wilson Memorial led 11-1 before Nelson started to get going with Sarah Buckley’s hits and Tashia Crawford’s blocks. Libero Brittany Crawford worked hard on the back row and finished with 16 digs.

Guy had six kills in game two and the final ace to win the game 25-12.

After early ties in game three, Nelson finally rattled the Hornets, taking a lead at 7-6 and going on a run that put them up 20-14 at one point with Tashia Crawford’s stuff block. Wilson Memorial got back in the game at the net and trimmed Nelson’s lead to 23-21.

Erika Toliver scored a kill, which was answered by Guy. Then the Hornets sent a Buckley spike out of bounds. Buckley came up with the winning kill through two blockers for a 25-23 score.

“I think everybody thought that (Guy) could do it all,” senior Jennifer Payne said. “But we overcame her. We still lost, but we dug her balls up. They got really tired in the third game.”

The Hornets bounced back in the fourth game and went on a run, leading by nine until Payne got a kill and a block. The Hornets made three hitting errors in a row while Buckley and Toliver kept swinging. Junior Noel Bartley kept the Hornets from slipping behind with several kills. Guy put the game away with her spike to win 25-19.

Payne said part of the loss was due to not getting low and ready on defense. And not calling the balls made for too many unforced errors. They had to adjust to the fierce Hornet hits that their own district play hadn’t prepared them for.

“Once we started digging that up, and making better passes to Shay, I thought our hitting came along,” Vicki Crawford said. “We hit the ball hard, and they would dig it up. We’re 21-3, so it’s like I told them in the locker room, ‘You have nothing to be ashamed of. That was a better team tonight.’ ”