James Wood Volleyball Ready To Face Raiders For 4A State Title

Posted: November 22, 2014
By KEVIN TRUDGEON
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — Following a five-set loss to Loudoun County in the 4A North Region finals a week ago — the closest the Colonels have ever come to beating the Raiders — James Wood coach Jill Couturiaux had a clear message for her team.

“We talked about how we got swept [in a regular season matchup on Oct. 28], took one set [in the Conference 21 final on Nov. 6] and now took two sets,” Couturiaux said. “And I told them, ‘Let’s beat them when it really counts, let’s beat them when everything is on the line for a state title.’”

When the Colonels take the court tonight at 5 p.m. at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center in the Group 4A state finals against Loudoun County, they will get the chance to do just that.

For two teams separated by 40 miles, the Raiders and the Colonels know just about everything there is to know about one another.

Loudoun County (28-2) is the two-time defending state champions, winner off six of the last seven state titles, and a perfect 7-0 over the last four years against the Colonels.

James Wood (26-4) reached the state quarterfinals for the first time in a decade in 2012, advanced to the semifinals last year and are in the state finals for the first time in program history this season.

The Raiders are led by a roster full players who will be playing at the Division 1 collegiate level, including 6-foot-3 junior Taylor Borup (committed to the University of North Carolina as a freshman), 6-foot-1 senior Hannah Vandegrift (Temple University) and 5-foot-10 senior Olivia Aycock (Rider University).

The Colonels have a pair of future Division 1 players in senior outside hitter Katie Houser (Notre Dame) and senior setter/outside hitter Ashley Hillyard (Radford University), and an experienced lineup featuring seven seniors, three juniors and four sophomores.

“One advantage we have is that every starting player of mine was on the court last year in the state semifinals, with the exception of Katie,” Couturiaux said. “So our girls know what to expect with how wide open the space is and how it can affect depth perception and cause you to serve balls out or overpass.”

Couturiaux said James Wood worked on some minor adjustments the last few days — and practiced at Shepherd University Friday to get a feel for playing in a bigger gym — but that at this point there isn’t much more to learn about Loudoun County.

Having already played three matches and 12 sets against the Raiders, the Colonels know what they’re going up against and the challenges they will face.

“We definitely have a game plan,” Couturiaux said. “We want to put pressure on their serve receive, establish the block early, and we want to try and side out with the first ball as often as we can.

“We can take confidence from the three times that we played them, take confidence from the fact that we can take one set and two sets, so why not three?”

Loudoun County first-year coach Sherrilyn Hanna admitted that it’s never easy beating a good team twice, much less four times, but she said the Raiders aren’t worried about the three previous matches.

“Obviously James Wood is an exceptional team and they’ve been challenging every time we’ve played them, but we’re really just focusing on the match at hand and playing our best on Saturday,” Hanna said. “They know us and we know them, so to that effect there’s probably not a lot new that’s going to happen, it’s just about who goes out and plays their best.”

Two keys to the game could come from who gets better play out of the hitters on the right side and the blockers at the net.

Couturiaux has stressed throughout the postseason the need to get production from the right side, and she’s been pleased with the play of senior Lindsey Painter and sophomore Leilani Burch of late.

Loudoun County will counter with Vandegrift and Aycock, but most important player for the Colonel defense to keep an eye on may be 6-foot junior middle hitter Rachel Voketaitis.

After James Wood went up 2-1 in the region finals, the Raiders stormed back to take the fourth set 25-6 and the fifth set 15-7 behind a steady diet of quick sets to Voketaitis.

Sophomore Taylor Heishman finished with nine blocks in the match, but she noted afterwards that Voketaitis hurt the Colonels and Couturiaux said some of the work this week revolved around making sure players were in better position to establish a block and defend the Loudoun County attack.

While the head-to-head comparison over the years may not favor James Wood, Couturiaux believes the improvement the Colonels have shown in their three matchups this season with the Raiders shows how close the two teams truly are, and she hopes her squad can find that one edge to push them over the top with everything on the line today.

“We know we need to come out with a lot intensity, but we have to play with great poise, confidence and heart,” Couturiaux said. “There has to be a difference between us and them. When it comes to our mental game we have to be stronger mentally, more mentally prepared, and be ready to go out there and take it.”

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