Volleyball - Burch Leads Colonels Past Hampshire

Posted: September 21, 2016
By JERRY HOLSWORTH
Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — Senior Leilani Burch drove home 14 kills and added two aces to help James Wood sweep Hampshire 3-0 (25-6, 25-18, 25-9) in a non-district girls’ volleyball match on Tuesday night.

"Leilani is our go-to girl." Colonel coach Paul Hillyard said. "She really steps up when we need her to. She does what a senior should do. She leads the team, she’s vocal, and all of the girls know that she can get the job done."

Although the Colonel senior was clearly the star of the match, Wood also demonstrated to the Trojans that it has a deep bench as 11 of the Colonels’ 13 players contributed points in the rout. Every player on Wood’s roster saw significant playing time during the sweep.

"We put out a lot of effort tonight," Burch said. "I hope all of our games are like this one. We have a target on our back this year, but I think we’ve reacted well to the challenge."

After trailing early 2-0 to Hampshire, Burch, Taylor Heishman, and Jessica Putnam hammered home kills to put Wood up 4-3, and the Colonels never looked back.

Leading 10-5, sophomore Taylor Robinson stepped to the service line to lead the Colonels on a 12-0 run that left the Trojans in the dust. Burch again was at the forefront, nailing three kills during the run, but she was not alone. Ashanti Day scored on a pair of kills, and Putnam contributed three aces to put Wood up 22-6.

"It was exciting out there," Day said. "I thought Hampshire did a really good job of setting up their offense. We tried to counter that by moving the ball around a lot. We try to distribute the ball equally, but I was very happy with opportunities I got tonight."

Burch, who had six kills during the set, and Putnam put Hampshire away with an ace and a kill.

"I really didn’t expect to get that many kills," Burch said. "It varies from game to game. A lot of it depends on how their defense is set up."

Wood was even more dominating early in the second set, pulling ahead 5-1, then expanding its lead to 11-4. Hampshire, however, staged a dramatic comeback, to narrow the Colonel lead to 22-18.

But Burch came to Wood’s rescue, closing the set with a kill, and a set-winning ace.

Like the first set, Burch wasn’t the only star as Coach Hillyard subbed liberally. Sophomore Katherine Lever, junior Morgan Biggs, and senior Kara Norman came off the bench to contribute points for the Colonels.

With Wood firmly in control, the Colonels began the final set with an 11-3 run, and coasted to an easy victory. Putnam was Wood’s primary offensive weapon, scoring on three kills during the set. But like the first two sets, the Colonels also got major help from their bench. Lever contributed three aces, and sophomore Kaitlyn Poppo scored on an ace for Wood.

Wood got the match and set-winner when a return by Hampshire sailed long.

"This was a good match up for us," Day said. "It shows us what we need to strengthen on, and how we can get better as the season progresses."

Besides Burch, Heishman and Day made their presence felt at the net. Heishman scored on three kills and three blocks while Day sent four kills past the Trojan defense, and blocked two balls at the net. Putnam finished the night with four kills and an ace.

The Trojans were led by Lucie Smith, who had three kills and two blocks.

"We were able to control the ball and get into our system," Hillyard said. "A lot of player also got to play. It’s nice to be able to reward kids that don’t get to play that much. We’re very proud of our girls. We have a lot of sophomores that come off the bench and do what we asked them to do. Our seniors are also doing a good job of leading them."