Millbrook pulls off miracle comeback against James Wood in volleyball

By JERRY HOLSWORTH SPECIAL TO THE STAR | The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — Hollywood couldn’t have staged a more dramatic ending to Wednesday’s Class 4 Northwestern District volleyball tournament semifinals between Millbrook and James Wood.

With the sets tied at two, the fourth-seeded Colonels were within a point (14-9) of defeating the top-seeded Pioneers and advancing to the championship round against Fauquier today.

Then Millbrook’s freshman libero Jessica Cleveland stepped to the service line and orchestrated one of the most unlikely comebacks in area volleyball history. Millbrook took the next six points and finally prevailed 23-25, 25-20, 15-25, 25-19, 19-17. The Pioneers will host Fauquier at 7 p.m. today for the Northwestern District tournament championship.

“It was good volleyball all the way around,” Millbrook coach Carla Milton said. “Both teams played well. It was really nerve-racking. It was back and forth all night.”

Facing an upset loss, the Pioneers commenced on their key run. Tori Johnson was the driving force, pounding three kills in the run. Alexis Weir also chipped in with two amazing blocks that left the Colonels reeling and Cleveland capped it with an ace.

Wood recovered to tie the score thanks to a kill by Jessica Putnam and the battle was on for the victory. Twice the Pioneers took a one-point lead and twice the Colonels responded by tying the score.

But with the score tied at 17, Abigail Koeller, who had an amazing 26 kills for the night, nailed two straight kills to seal the match for Millbrook.

“It was just crazy out there,” Koeller said. “It was like a rollercoaster. We got down so many times but we were able to hold together. We just refuse to give up and when we get down like that we know that it’s our defense that will bring us back.”

“We just weren’t able to put the game away,” James Wood coach P. W. Hillyard said. “Our girls have to learn a way to finish. We’ve had this problem all year. We just can’t finish things.”

Nothing came easy for either team as the two battled for most of the night with neither side able to rest comfortably with the lead.

James Wood (15-10) shocked the Pioneers by beginning the opening set with a 10-1 run. Senior Morgan Biggs was the catalyst during the run, scoring on one kill and two blocks. The Wood senior also had a career night, finishing the match with 15 kills, 10 blocks, and four aces.

Taylor Robinson was also an important contributor to the Colonels early success with three aces during the run.

Millbrook refused to cave and began a slow, steady comeback and nearly stole the set. A pair of kills by Koeller gave the Pioneers the lead 23-22 but Biggs answered with a kill, and then gave Wood the set with an ace.

“We spent a lot of time tonight trading points,” Milton said. “You really don’t want to do that because you’re allowing them to stay around. Wood came in here with all of the confidence in the world and played like it.”

Two kills by Alexis Weir and another by Tori Johnson gave Millbrook an early 3-1 lead in the second set and, although the set was razor-close throughout, the Pioneers never trailed. Biggs and Koeller battled relentlessly at the net, with Koeller smacking nine kills and Biggs scoring on four kills, three blocks, and an ace during the set. Tori Johnson finally got the win for the Pioneer with a kill.

The third set was the most lopsided of the night with Wood pushing ahead 20-9. Millbrook got to within 24-15, but Biggs got the set-winner with a kill.

With Millbrook (18-4) facing elimination, the fourth set was a nail-biter.

Koeller and Biggs staged another one-on-one battle at the net during the set which featured nine ties. Wood held a narrow lead until a kill by Koeller and a short return by the Colonels tied the score at 16.

Koeller gave Millbrook the lead 17-16 with a kill, but Biggs answered with a kill and an ace to put Wood up 19-18. Koeller tied the score with a kill, and Jordan Weir put the Pioneers up 21-19 with a kill and a block. Koeller closed out the set with a kill.

“It was up and down the whole match,” Biggs said. “One minute we had a good lead, then it just evaporated. Our team played so hard, but we just couldn’t finish it.”

Tori Johnson had 12 kills and five aces. Alexis Weir scored on seven kills and four blocks, three of which came during the tiebreaker.

“I thought we played extremely well as a team,” Tori Johnson said. “We brought a lot of energy into this match. It was really loud here in our gym and the fans helped us a lot.”

Putnam had a productive night for the Colonels, scoring on 12 kills (six in the tiebreaker) and two aces. Kristyna Van Sickler added seven kills and an ace and Robinson scored on two kills, a block and five aces.

Millbrook and Fauquier split a pair of regular-season meetings. The Pioneers swept the Falcons 3-0 on Saturday in a playoff to decide the top seed for the tournament. Both have now clinched regional berths.