Wood volleyball tops E.C. Glass in state quarters

WINCHESTER — James Wood’s magical volleyball season continued on Saturday, and for the Colonels and their fans the ride couldn’t be any sweeter.

For the third time since 2014 the Colonels advanced to the semifinals of the Class 4 state tournament as a result of a 3-1 (25-18, 25-16, 23-25, 25-14) victory over Region 4D runner-up E.C. Glass at Shirley Gymnasium. The program’s last state semifinal appearance was in 2016.

With the win the Colonels (24-1) get a rematch with Dominion (19-7), who they beat 3-2 in the Region 4C championship. The Titans — who beat Region 4D champion Western Albemarle 3-2 in a quarterfinal on Saturday — will travel to James Wood for a 7 p.m. match on Tuesday for a chance to move on to the Nov. 19 state championship match at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

James Wood coach Adrienne Patrick felt her team prepared well for Saturday’s match.

“Everybody gets to this level by working really hard and you need to make sure you’re on your ‘A’ game,” Patrick said. “We have a strong focus about focusing on our side. We need to stay fundamentally sound with what we’re doing. That’s our goal because our opponent is going to change every night.

“Our girls put in the work every day and this means a lot to them. It means a lot to the school as you can tell by the crowd, the turnout on a Saturday. It’s huge for the school.”

The start of the match was delayed for a few minutes because Glass’s bus was delayed on I-81 and didn’t arrive to the gym until 30 minutes before the scheduled start time.

The first set was tied six different times, with the last coming at 15-15 following a kill by the Colonels’ Ashlynn Spence (13 kills, six digs, four aces, three blocks). That started a 7-0 run.

Three more kills, another by Spence and one each by Paige Ahakuelo (18 assists, six digs) and Brenna Corbin (nine kills, 13 digs) pushed the Colonels to set point. James Wood won the first set 25-18 on an unforced error by the Hilltoppers (16-11).

Spence and freshman outside hitter Kennedy Spaid (team-high 16 kills, nine digs, three aces) each had three kills in the first set to lead the Colonels while senior libero Carsyn Vincent (team-high 18 digs) had three of her team-high eight aces.

In the second set, the Colonels snapped a 6-6 tie with an 8-3 run to jump out to a 14-9 advantage.

The turning point of the second set came with the Colonels leading 14-13. The Hilltoppers thought they had tied the set when Spaid’s shot went out of bounds long. However, the officials ruled that the Hilltoppers had tipped the ball and the Colonels were awarded the point and a 15-13 lead.

That started an 8-1 James Wood run and the Colonels went on to a 25-16 victory. Spence picked up five kills in the second set while Spaid added two more and Vincent chipped in with two more aces.

Saturday was the latest example of Spence thriving in the middle hitter role she switched to for the Region 4C semifinals after previously playing on the outside. Spence plays in the middle for club volleyball.

“I feel like when I get put in the middle I can just place it and hit it wherever I want,” Spence said. “It’s good for the team and I can stay hyped for them and keep the energy up.”

With their season on the line, the Hilltoppers came out and won a hard-fought third set that featured 10 ties. Tied 23-23, Glass took the lead on a Wood error and took the set with an ace from senior Meredith Plunkett.

Wood didn’t take kindly to losing a set. The Colonels broke a 9-9 tie in the fourth set with a 16-5 run and rolled to a 25-14 victory and their spot in the state semifinals.

“We just had to fight back after that third set,” Spaid said. “This is really big because this is my first high school season and to make it this far is just so awesome. The team really brought me and Brenna (fellow freshman Brenna Corbin) in and welcomed us so it wasn’t as tough.”

James Wood also also led by Hannah McCullough’s 24 assists and five digs.

Spence said the atmosphere on Saturday was outstanding, and she’d love to give the Colonel fans more to cheer about.

“Winning a state championship would be insane,” she said. “I think we’d all cry happy tears and the people supporting us would probably cry, too.”

First, James Wood needs to get past Dominion to have that opportunity.

“We know what we’re gonna get and what we have to work on,” Patrick said.

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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