Colonels Hold Off Handley Volleyball In 3-0 Sweep

Posted: October 31, 2014
By JERRY HOLSWORTH
Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — When Handley and James Wood get together for an athletic event, sparks are bound to fly and Thursday’s volleyball match was no different.

Add to that the fact that it was Senior Night for the Judges and the Colonels were coming off an emotionally charged match on the road against Loudoun County Tuesday, and everything was in place for a stunning upset.

Although the upset didn’t happen and Wood was able to sweep Handley 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-19), it was anything but a runaway for the Colonels.

“We were incredibly tired tonight,” said James Wood coach Jill Couturiaux. “The loss to Loudoun County was a tough loss physically, mentally, and emotionally. It’s been a long season. We want to be peaking at this point in the season, but we’re not quite there yet, and we’re running out of time.”

The Judges set a fierce pace in all three of the sets, and Wood looked unprepared to deal with an enthusiastic and determined Handley team early on.

Despite taking an quick 3-1 lead in the first set, the Colonels weren’t able to hold it for long as the Judges came roaring back to take the lead 11-10 on an ace by Lauren Morris.

Wood didn’t help itself by committing two service errors in the set, but its problems with putting the ball in play had just begun. The Colonels committed 11 service errors for the match, and in the process made keeping the pesky Judges at bay even more difficult.

Handley, thanks to a kill by Alexis Zygmunt and three Wood miscues, was able to build a 15-10 lead and seemed to be on the verge of taking the first set until a late rally by the Colonels.

“This is a big rivalry game, and you could really feel it coming out on the court to begin the match,” Zygmunt said. “The stands were full and it would have been ideal to win, but I really liked how we rallied and played. We didn’t play them that well the first time we played them. I thought that tonight we showed them what we’re capable of doing.”

With the Judges holding a 19-18 lead, James Wood senior outside hitter Katie Houser took over the set and led her team to victory. Houser scored on a kill, then followed with a pair of aces to put Wood up 21-19.

Kills by sophomore Taylor Heishman, senior Ashley Hillyard, and sophomore Leilani Burch put the Colonels up 24-19 and Wood got the win when a Handley return fell short.

If the Colonels thought they had weathered the storm after the first set, the Judges quickly served notice that this match was going to be anything but easy.

Battling relentlessly, the Judges were able to keep things close throughout the second set, and another five service errors by James Wood aided Handley’s effort.

Houser, however, proved why she’s considered the best player in the district this year, keeping the Judges at bay with timely kills. By the end of the second set, the Colonel senior had amassed 13 kills, just two less than the entire Handley team. With Wood leading by three points late in the set, Houser’s seventh kill of the set proved to be the winner.

Wood finally was able to put everything together in the third set, jumping ahead early and slowly building on its lead. This time Houser got a lot of help from Heishman, who scored on three kills and three blocks in the set.

“We didn’t play very well in the first two sets,” said Colonel senior libero Ally Iden. “But by the third set things began to kick in. We really wanted to be undefeated district champions so we really focused on our game in the final set.”

Senior Lindsey Painter also made her presence felt for the Colonels, scoring on three kills and a block. Wood got the set and match-winner when a return attempt by Handley fell into the net.

“We really focus on blocking the ball on defense,” Heishman said. “We practice a lot on that, and it really paid off tonight. For our seniors, this was their last time to play Handley, and we really wanted to win it for them.”

Houser was the top scorer for Wood with 17 kills and three aces. Heishman finished the night with six kills and six blocks.

“Handley really played strong on defense tonight,” Couturiaux said. “They played with excitement and enthusiasm. We were lacking in both those things, and they were able to capitalize on that.”

Zygmunt led Handley with eight kills and a block.

“We gave it our all tonight,” said Judges coach Lindsay Cole. “We fought them point for point. We just weren’t able to finish things in the first and second sets. I wish we had come out on the winning side, but playing in a match like this was a good experience for us heading into the playoffs.”