I attended my third volleyball match of the season tonight and although I still don't understand the sport and some of its rules, I did come away with a very clear understanding of why the Wilson Memorial Lady Hornets are candidates to repeat their 2-A state title this year, as they took care of Riverheads 26-24, 25-20, 25-15.
As you can almost tell from those scores, the Hornets got stronger as the match progressed. In fact, the first set was pretty much controlled by Riverheads and had the Gladiators been able to pull it out, the match could have gotten interesting. Riverheads broke away from a 4-4 tie and soon found themselves leading 11-6. They padded the lead to as many as 7 points at 18-11 and again at 20-13. They held on and were headed for match point at 24-22 before the Hornets came alive and finished out the 26-24 comeback victory. (I remind you again that I don't speak the language so I can't describe specific plays.)
WM kept the adrenaline flowing as they scored the first three points of the second set and never trailed. RHS did make somewhat of a game of it, trailing late by only 20-18 before Wilson put it away. Then in the third, the Lady Gladiators kept things even for roughly the first half of the set and even had a lead here and there, but Wilson caught a second wind, surged ahead 16-10, and coasted from there.
Not knowing the Wilson personnel, it appeared to me that they got their strongest net play from Cassidy Davis and Paris Hutchinson. I guess Wilson fans could tell us whether that is usually the case.
Another thing to be gleaned from studying the rosters is that both coaches have to be licking their chops for the future as the teams have only three seniors between them. So we may see you right back here next year to report on another hotly-contested match.
As for the immediate future, I believe the Lady Gladiators host Luray next week for Senior Night and I think it was announced that Wilson has a BIG home game coming up with East Rockingham, their top competitor in the district and in Region B.
As you can almost tell from those scores, the Hornets got stronger as the match progressed. In fact, the first set was pretty much controlled by Riverheads and had the Gladiators been able to pull it out, the match could have gotten interesting. Riverheads broke away from a 4-4 tie and soon found themselves leading 11-6. They padded the lead to as many as 7 points at 18-11 and again at 20-13. They held on and were headed for match point at 24-22 before the Hornets came alive and finished out the 26-24 comeback victory. (I remind you again that I don't speak the language so I can't describe specific plays.)
WM kept the adrenaline flowing as they scored the first three points of the second set and never trailed. RHS did make somewhat of a game of it, trailing late by only 20-18 before Wilson put it away. Then in the third, the Lady Gladiators kept things even for roughly the first half of the set and even had a lead here and there, but Wilson caught a second wind, surged ahead 16-10, and coasted from there.
Not knowing the Wilson personnel, it appeared to me that they got their strongest net play from Cassidy Davis and Paris Hutchinson. I guess Wilson fans could tell us whether that is usually the case.
Another thing to be gleaned from studying the rosters is that both coaches have to be licking their chops for the future as the teams have only three seniors between them. So we may see you right back here next year to report on another hotly-contested match.
As for the immediate future, I believe the Lady Gladiators host Luray next week for Senior Night and I think it was announced that Wilson has a BIG home game coming up with East Rockingham, their top competitor in the district and in Region B.
