James Wood rallies to advance to 4A West volleyball semifinals

• -Jerry Holsworth Special to The Star

WINCHESTER — Heading into her senior season, James Wood’s outside hitter Leilani Burch was poised to receive the honors due one of the top players in the area. Late this season, she gave all of that up to shore up the Colonel defense with a move to libero.

“I personally like playing libero more,” Burch said. “I like it more for one reason, it helps the team more. Even though it’s not the most glamorous position it’s been good for our team.”

Monday against a powerful Fauquier front line, that move paid big dividends as Burch registered 20 digs to lead the Colonels to a 20-25, 26-24, 25-20, 25-23 comeback victory in the quarterfinals of the Region 4A West Tournament.

“We didn’t play this match like we did the last two, but we were able to persevere,” said Colonel coach P. W. Hillyard, whose team rolled to a pair of 3-0 wins in winning the Conference 21 West Tournament. “We found a way to win and we’ve done that all year.”

The triumph advances James Wood (21-2) to the semifinals where they will host Heritage, a 3-0 winner over Salem, at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Burch’s heroics were not just on the back line. She scored the set-winning point in the third set and nailed back-to-back aces in the final set to help secure the win. Burch’s back-line teammates also had a good night. Megan Hillyard registered 17 digs and Taylor Robinson had 16.

“Leilani had a great night for us,” P.W. Hillyard said. “But I thought our whole back line played well.”

The Colonels’ road to the semifinals was an uphill climb. After trailing 10-4 early, the Falcons battled back to take the set. Still down 15-10, Fauquier rattled off six straight points to take its first lead. Keely Scott, Madison Carter, Rachel Crowe, and Julia Oravec all scored on kills during the Falcons’ rally.

Later Wood trailed 21-19, but a pair of short returns by the Colonels and two kills by Carter gave Fauquier the set.

Wood fell behind 3-0 to start the second set, but finally found a combination that worked in Jessica Putnam and Morgan Biggs. Putnam scored on four kills in the set and Biggs added three. The Colonel duo also was able to neutralize the powerful Fauquier front line.

“We started slow, but when we were finally able to get it together we really came on,” Putnam said. “But Fauquier fought for every point. It was a really tough match.”

With Wood trailing 13-11, kills by Putnam and Biggs finally tied the score 13-13, but the Colonel resurgence was short-lived. Kills by Mollie Frazier and Oravec and a long return by Wood put Fauquier back up 16-13.

The Colonels refused to quit, and finally took their first lead of the set when Putnam and Taylor Heishman scored on two straight kills to put Wood up 24-23. A kill by Carter tied the score, but a long return by the Falcons and a hard kill by Biggs sealed the victory for Wood.

“I think that the secret to our comeback after the first set was that we played together as a team and took things one point at a time,” Putnam said.

The third set was just as close with Fauquier jumping ahead 8-4 early. Wood rallied, however, and took the lead 12-11 on a kill by Heishman. From that point Biggs and Putnam took over play at the net and slowly built Wood’s lead to 23-19. A kill by Carter gave the Falcons hope, but Burch sealed the set with a winner.

Fauquier fought to keep its season alive in the fourth set, but the Colonels back line, plus Biggs, Putnam, and Heishman refused to give up the momentum.

The Falcons quickly pulled ahead 8-3, but Wood came roaring back to take the led 14-13 on a kill by Putnam. With Wood leading 19-15, Fauquier’s Ashley Renzi scored on a kill and two aces to narrow the Colonel lead to 19-18.

Wood went ahead 22-18, thanks to a kill by Heishman and a pair of aces by Burch, but Fauquier narrowed the Colonels’ lead to 24-23. Biggs then finished off the Falcons with a hard, match-winning kill.

“I thought that we played great as a team,” Biggs said. “There was a lot of energy out there. We really weren’t connecting early in the match. But we kept working hard together and eventually everything clicked.”

Putnam led Wood with 15 kills and a block. Biggs had 12 kills, while Heishman contributed eight kills and three blocks. Robinson added seven kills and an ace.

Carter led Fauquier with 15 kills. Oravec added nine kills, a block, and an ace.