A not-so-clean sweep

By Robert Stocks
The Winchester Star

Winchester — The only thing that slowed down James Wood High School in Tuesday night’s non-district volleyball match against Jefferson (W.Va.) was nacho cheese.

Whether it was junior outside hitter Emily Shannon putting away kills or junior middle Hannah Tierney serving aces, the points came easily all night for the Colonels, who returned to the court after a two-week layoff with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-14) sweep.

Shannon’s powerful kills ricocheted off Jefferson players throughout. One bounced off the floor and hit the balcony overlooking the court. Another kill deflected off a Jefferson player and landed in the next to last row near the top of the bleachers.

Short of a few service errors in Game 2, the only thing that slowed down the Colonels was when Shannon’s ace bounced off the court and landed in a trash can.

The ball, fished out by James Wood cross country coach Mike Onda, who was serving as a line judge, had nacho cheese stuck to it, so the game was delayed for a few minutes.

“It was all cheesy,” said Shannon, who led James Wood with 12 kills. “That was pretty gross.” Shannon’s ace illustrated how much Jefferson (1-2) struggled on serve receive, and the Cougars rarely put together much of an attack.

In Game 1, Tierney’s ace put James Wood ahead 3-2, and she stayed at the service line for the next 10 points. Shannon, Eleanor Kent, and Megan Crabtree all had kills, and Tierney added six aces in the run to help James Wood take a commanding 12-3 lead.

Jefferson never cut the deficit to less than five the rest of the way, and Shannon made a team-high five kills in the opener. Tierney added a block and a kill from her middle hitter position, but she did most of her damage from the service line.

“I’ve just been practicing hard on my serves,” said Tierney, who totaled eight aces and seven kills in the match. “The whole team has. We’ve been working really hard on that.”

The Colonels’ serving proved to be a little erratic in the second game, but James Wood overcame seven ties with dominant play on the front line.

Three-straight kills by Tierney, Crabtree (four aces) and Peyton Clark put James Wood ahead 18-14. Tierney’s kill started the run, and then she moved to the service line as James Wood closed Game 2 with 10 straight points.

The Colonels made six service errors early in the second game, and James Wood coach Jill Lester said her team had a few too many miscues on serve.

“I’m always a fan of putting pressure on the other team’s passing so they have a hard time getting the ball to their attackers,” Lester said. “I tell my kids that, so I’d like them to be aggressive at the service line, but we do have to be a little more controlling with our serve.”

Lester’s team controlled pretty much everything else against Jefferson.

Shannon watched most of the final game from the bench, and James Wood’s younger players filled in just fine.

The Colonels never trailed after the first point in Game 3, and all 11 players on James Wood’s roster contributed. Four sophomores — Anne McLaughlin, Amanda Shaughnessy, Cate Beach and Rachel Rau — saw action in the third game. McLaughlin and Shaughnessy had a kill apiece, and Beach had a pair of service points (including an ace) to help James Wood close the match.

Senior setter Carly Mullin led James Wood with six digs.

Lester said Shannon played sparingly in Game 3 to rest her shoulder.

“[Emily’s] not 100 percent right now. Her shoulder is bothering her a little bit so we’re just trying to save her as much as we can,” Lester said. “You might not know it coming out here and seeing her play with the way she’s putting the ball away and the way she’s just ripping top-spin jump serves. When she gets them in, they’re not touching them so [Emily] definitely can compensate.”

After a two-week layoff, Lester said her team was anxious to get back on the court to follow up on its win over Spotswood on Aug. 25.

The Colonels travel to Hedgesville (W.Va.) tonight, and then play at Loudoun County’s tournament on Saturday.

And although they can’t wait for it to start, the Colonels don’t open Northwestern District play until next Wednesday at Sherando.

“We’re playing as a team,” Shannon said. “I’m just really excited for the [district] season. I’m ready for it.”

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