Freshman leads Colonels' volleyball team to opening win

August 26, 2011

By Mark Sawyer

Special to The Winchester Star

After all, the Colonels lost the school's all-time kills leader in Emily Shannon and front row mate Hannah Tierney (both first team all-Northwestern District selections), as well as second team all-district players Megan Crabtree and Peyton Clark to graduation.

Add to that the fact that the Colonels hadn't played any scrimmages at all (they were scheduled to compete today at Virginia Beach but that was canceled due to Hurricane Irene) and Lester wasn't exactly sure what she had yet. And oh yeah, Kettle Run only lost five matches last season and advanced to the semifinals of the Region II Tournament.

Lester may have been a bit edgy heading into the match but her team showed no signs of nerves and wasted little time putting their coaches mind at ease.

Behind a nice combination of veteran leadership and youthful talent, the Colonels rolled to an impressive 3-0 (25-14, 25-12, 31-29) sweep over Kettle Run at Donald H. Shirley gymnasium sending a message to the rest of the Northwestern District.

"They were really excited, but I was a little nervous about tonight," Lester said. "We were kind of in a position because we haven't had a chance to scrimmage, so I just went with the numbers tonight. We're so excited for this season, the girls couldn't wait for tonight.

"This year our focus is heart and defense. We made some great defensive plays tonight and filled some shoes. We need to keep building on that. I'm very proud of this team."

With the graduation of so much offense there were obvious questions as to who was going to pick up the slack for the Colonels. That question was immediately answered by a newcomer.

Sure the Colonels still have plenty of offensive firepower in veterans Tarah Wampler and Erica Hepner, but it was freshman Katie Houser that turned the heads of the Wood faithful.

Playing in her first varsity competition of any kind at the high school level, Houser showed little, if any nerves, slamming home two impressive kills in the Colonels first four points. She finished with a match-high 13 kills and tacked on three aces for good measure.

"I think she's gonna be turning a lot of heads," Lester said of Houser. "When she was set for that very first ball, what she did with it is going to have a lot of people talking in the district and good for her. She's a very level-headed athlete, she's very focused and she wants to win."

James Wood (1-0) found itself down 3-1 early in the first set, but that's when it introduced the home crowd to its new weapon.

Houser took a set from Emilee Payne (27 assists) and rifled it through the Cougars' defense before they knew what hit them. After an ace from Eleanor Kent tied the set 3-3, Houser and Payne gave the Cougars a repeat performance in case they missed the first show and it was just a sign of things to come.

Wood broke a 4-4 first set tie with a 4-0 run and never looked back, eventually running out to an 18-10 lead.

Kettle Run (0-1) was done in by seven hitting errors and three service errors in the first set alone. Each time it would be set to make a run it would make a mistake and open the door for Wood to increase the lead.

Leading 21-14 the Colonels closed out the first set with another 4-0 run. Fittingly Houser collected two kills in the last three points, including the set winner to give the Colonels a 1-0 lead. Houser had four kills in the first set and Hepner added three more.

"I was really excited, but I was really nervous too," Houser said. "I was thinking 'just put it away [on the first kill of the match].' There's some pressure on me but it's a good kind of pressure. As a team we look at every time like it's the best team we've played."

With one set under their belts the Colonels went right to work in the second. A 17-6 run broke open a close set and gave the Colonels a commanding 24-11 lead. Wampler's third kill of the set gave the Colonels a 2-0 advantage. Houser had four more kills and an ace to lead the way. Hepner and Rachel Rau added two kills each in the set.

It appeared the Colonels were going to make short work of the Cougars by jumping out to another commanding lead in the third set.

Once again it started out tight, but Wood used a 13-7 run to increase its lead to 19-12 and then 20-13.

Having no scrimmages and only practice time to evaluate on, Lester went to her bench and got some younger kids some important playing experience with the big lead.

Though down two sets and trailing by seven in the third, the Cougars showed why and how they got to the regional semifinals last season. Three straight points closed the gap to 20-16 and it was back and forth like that until Wood pushed it to match point at 24-19.

Kettle Run then rallied hard, scoring the next five points to tie it 24-24 and extend the match. From that point on it was back and forth with the two teams exchanging a point here and a point there until the Colonels were down 29-28.

The Cougars seventh service error of the third set once again tied it 29-29 and sent Houser back to serve.

And just like a storybook ending should be, Houser ripped off a pair of aces to send the Colonels to victory 31-29.

"I'm very excited," Hepner said. "We worked very hard in practice and I think we're ready to show what we have. We still have some things to work on and we can always get better. Tonight we showed that we're a team that's going to work hard."