Colonels come together in fourth set to top Judges in volleyball

WINCHESTER — After not having any student fans at their matches in 2020-21 because of COVID-19, the sight of more than 30 James Wood students dressed up in neon yellow and orange construction uniforms with hard hats meant everything to the Colonels volleyball players on Tuesday night at Shirley Gymnasium.

“It definitely encourages us when [the fans] are all cheering really loud and they have fun,” James Wood sophomore outside hitter Izzy Turner said. “When they’re having fun, they’re loud, so we have fun. It just works really well together.”

The outfits added joy to the atmosphere, but they were also a constant visual reminder that the Colonels needed to put in work to win. Handley threatened to make James Wood work a full five-set shift, but in the middle of the fourth set the Colonels started hammering the Judges with their serves, spikes and defense to send everyone home a little early.

James Wood scored 16 of the last 21 points to complete a 3-1 (25-18, 25-17, 23-25, 25-14) win over the Judges in the Class 4 Northwestern District opener for both teams.

With the score 9-9 in the fourth set, Turner (five kills, five aces), had three aces in an 8-0 run to help James Wood (2-1) take control of the set, and a kill and block on consecutive points by sophomore middle Lexi Taylor (six kills, three blocks) put the Colonels up 21-10 and gave them a double-digit lead for good. Junior Melia Burch (11 digs) finished off the match with a forceful kill in which Handley (2-2) bumped the ball off the ceiling, then couldn’t stop it from rocketing to the floor.

James Wood coach Adrienne Patrick said she experimented with her lineup in the third set, which saw the Judges rally from a 14-9 deficit to win the set. Patrick felt the Colonels — who had nine attack errors in the third after having six in the first two sets combined — had trouble moving on from their errors.

But in the fourth set, Patrick played the lineup with which she started. Patrick told her team to play the way it is capable of, and the Colonels eventually asserted themselves.

“Over the past couple of games, we’re just really growing and learning how to play together overall,” James Wood junior middle Ella Kelchner said.

The Colonels showed excellent teamwork on Tuesday, but there were many times where five of James Wood players on the court got a bit of a break thanks to 22 aces. In addition to the three aces in the 8-0 run, Turner had another hard serve that the Judges couldn’t get over the net after three hits.

“I felt really good,” Turner said. “I remember one time Coach Patrick, she told me to serve between the one and six seam (the back center and right zones). I served right in the seam, and she said, ‘You blew my mind.’ It just made me feel so good.”

Sophomore Paige Ahakuelo (six aces) played a huge role in putting the Judges away in the second set with four aces during an 8-0 run that put James Wood up 18-4.

“We were serving hard, serving to spots,” said Patrick, who also received five aces from senior setter Katey Matthews (11 assists).

Defense also was big. In the fourth set, Kelchner had one of her three solo blocks to put James up 13-9, which led to three impressive serves from Turner. Taylor’s block made it 21-10 and helped James Wood finish off the match.

“I feel like on a solid block, our team’s energy really gets up,” Patrick said.

Handley stayed in striking range for the first set, but the Judges had a hard time putting the ball in between the lines on Wood’s side. They had six attack errors and three service errors in the first set, seven attack errors in the second set, but only had two attack errors in winning the third set.

“We started off hitting the ball long, maybe because of the adrenaline pumping with a big game,” Judges coach Lindsay Cole said. “We adjusted somewhat in the third set and early in the fourth set. Hitting was starting to fall in. Then we just kind of fell down again in the fourth set.

“[James Wood] was definitely a good team. They were challenging us in every way.”

Cole said the Judges missed not having defensive specialist Yoana Katrandzhiyska on the floor. She suffered an injury in Monday’s 3-2 loss to Independence. Cole was pleased with how Alexa Gluszak played in the back row to replace her, but playing Gluszak in the back meant she couldn’t do her normal hitting role.

Cole is pleased at what the Judges have been doing throughout the season.

“It’s definitely a special team,” she said. “They’ve getting along on and off the court, which is hard with 14 young females. I think we’ll just keep progressing into the district.”

Overall, James Wood couldn’t have asked for a better atmosphere against a local rival, not just from the costume-wearing students, but everyone in attendance for the Colonels’ first match against Handley in two years. The Frederick County schools did not play during the Virginia High School League season last year.

“Just getting people in the crowd, I think that that’s really important,” Patrick said. “It’s something that we completely missed out on last year with only having parents.

“I think everybody realizes what they missed out on, and they don’t want to take any of that for granted again. I love it.”

“I love the energy here,” said Kelchner while wearing a construction vest. “It always makes the game so much more fun.”

James Wood was also led by Kendall Funk (six kills), Hannah McCullough (14 assists) and Caitlyn Shutts (eight digs).

The Judges were led by Lindsay Pifer (eight kills, 13 assists, 11 digs), Anna Prosser (seven kills) and Carter Gerometta (six kills).

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