NSA’s Kaylor Nash reaches new heights
Published 10:49 pm Friday, September 13, 2013
Nansemond-Suffolk Academy senior outside hitter Kaylor Nash entered rarefied air on Monday when she hit her 1,000th kill, but she reached a level all her own in school history on Wednesday when she also achieved her 1,000th dig.
It came late in the second game of a 3-0 victory over host Salem High School.
“I just don’t have words for my emotions,” Nash said. “I’m so happy. I’m super-excited. It’s unbelievable. It’s unreal for me to have all these accomplishments.”
Lady Saints head coach Robyn Ross said, “I told her that I knew when she was a freshman that she was going to do stuff like this, so to see all of her hard work pay off, it’s huge and fun and sort of emotional,” Ross said.
“I never thought I would have a thousand and a thousand by my senior year when I was a freshman,” Nash said.
The coach said what makes this achievement so spectacular is it largely happened in the last two years alone. For example, Ross estimated that as a freshman, Nash had only about 70 kills.
Ross said the tally of digs was probably more difficult for Nash to get because she has fewer opportunities to get them compared to liberos, who stay on the back row. Nash splits her time evenly between the front and back.
She ended up with 10 kills, eight digs and five aces on Wednesday, as Nansemond-Suffolk defeated Salem 25-20, 25-8, 25-8.
The Lady Saints played five matches on Saturday and one each on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Additionally, Tuesday’s match was a particularly emotional road win over rival Norfolk Academy.
Of her team’s Wednesday performance, Ross said, “They did well but were noticeably tired.”
She gave specific praise to juniors Caylin Harris and Lizzy Fowler.
“Both of our middles have been doing well in the front row and the back row,” she said. “Lizzy had another great night of serving and playing some defense, so it’s been really fun to watch her confidence go up every match.”
Nash already has a new goal. She will be headed to Radford University next fall, where she will be teammates with current freshman outside hitter Jordan Watson, who recorded about 1,400 kills in high school.
“So my next goal is to get more kills than Jordan,” Nash said.
NSA (8-2, 0-0) will begin play in North Cross Tournament in Roanoke today.