Wood Volleyball Falls To Raiders 3-1 In Conference 21 Final

Posted: November 7, 2014
By JERRY HOLSWORTH
Special to The Winchester Star

LEESBURG — It was a battle from start to finish, but Loudoun County was able to withstand a determined effort from the James Wood volleyball team to defeat the Colonels 3-1 (22-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-22) Thursday in the finals of the Conference 21 Tournament.

“We made a lot of mistakes and we still were able to keep it close,” said Wood coach Jill Couturiaux. “There’s always room for improvement and we could very well see them again.”

Wood (23-3) served notice almost immediately that this match was going to be a battle as the Colonels jumped ahead 4-1 in the opening set.

The Colonels got clutch play from several of their seniors during the set, as outside hitter Katie Houser led Wood with seven kills and a block, but she was by no means the only Colonel to contribute.

Senior setter/outside hitter Ashley Hillyard drove home four kills, junior middle blocker Emma Montgomery scored on a kill, and sophomore middle blocker Taylor Heishman and senior Lindsay Painter each had a block.

The Raiders were led by University of North Carolina commit Taylor Borup, who matched Houser with seven kills.

Wood led by a narrow margin through most of the set, but the Raiders finally caught them, tying the score at 14-14 on a kill by Hannah Vandergrift.

Refusing to be intimidated by the noisy Raider crowd, Wood fought back and took the lead 16-15 on a kill by Houser. And the Colonel senior’s score put Wood up for good as Painter got the set-winner with a block.

Wood’s brilliant play in the first set seemed to wake up the Raiders, who came out for the second set with renewed energy.

Taking a 6-0 lead to start, Loudoun County never trailed in the set. Borup was again the driving force in the Raider offense, scoring on five kills and two blocks.

Despite Loudoun County now holding the momentum, Wood jumped ahead early 3-1 in the third set. The Raiders, however, rallied quickly to tie the score 5-5.

From that point both sides battle furiously for the lead.

With Loudoun County holding a tenuous 10-8 lead, the Raiders went on a 5-1 run to pull ahead 15-9.

Although the Colonels continued to play with great heart, the Loudoun County lead was just too much to overcome.

Facing elimination, the Colonels rallied, and the fourth set turned out to be the closest of the match.

Trailing 5-1 after six exchanges, Wood came roaring back to tie the score 9-9 on a kill by Houser. Like the first set, Houser and Hillyard led the Colonel offense with 10 kills between them.

The Raiders’ top guns, however, were just as prolific. Borup scored on six kills, and teammate Ciara Kain contributed four kills for Loudoun County.

“We were really surprised with the big crowd that James Wood brought,” said Raiders hitter Olivia Aycock. “It took us a while to adjust to having that kind of support for a visiting team. They didn’t show up like that the last time we played them.”

With the Raiders leading 20-18, Loudoun County was able to fight off the Colonels to take the set by three points, with Vandergrift getting the match-winner with a kill.

Two critical factors that usually go unnoticed played a key role in Wood’s ability to compete so effectively with the Raiders.

The Hillyard sisters, Ashley and sophomore Megan, were on all night setting for the Colonel offense, with Megan leading the way with a team-high 21 assists to go along with Ashley’s 16.

The other factor was a surprise to nearly everyone as, just before the start of the match, nearly 50 fans from the student body poured into the gym. The Colonel students’ noisy and passionate support for their team didn’t go unnoticed by the Wood players.

“I was so nice to see our crowd come out for the match,” Montgomery said. “It was an unforgetable experience to have them here, and it really helped lift us through the game.”

Houser led Wood with 18 kills, two blocks, and two aces. Ashley Hillyard was nearly as productive with nine kills and a block. Montgomery also was an important part of Wood’s scoring, nailing four kills and a block in the final two sets.

“We definitely want to see them again,” Montgomery said.

Borup led the Raiders with 21 kills, and two blocks. Kain also had a big night for Loudoun County with 11 kills.

“That was a tremendous match,” said Raider coach Sherrilyn Hannna. “We came out a little slow, and they came out on fire. I was proud of the fact that we were able to keep our poise and battle back in the next two sets. This could have gone either way. It was a great match.”