Wood volleyball regroups to beat Sherando, clinch region berth

WINCHESTER — The James Wood volleyball team had already picked itself up after a rough first set.

Facing three set points in the fourth set and reeling after an 8-1 Sherando run, the Colonels saw no reason why they couldn’t pick themselves up again.

Down 24-21, No. 2 James Wood ripped off five straight points to beat the No. 3 Warriors 3-1 for the third time in three meetings on Tuesday night at Shirley Gymnasium in the Class 4 Northwestern District semifinals.

In winning 17-25, 25-22, 25-20, 26-24, James Wood (17-5) advanced to tonight’s championship match at No. 1 Millbrook (20-1) and clinched a Region 4C tournament berth. The Colonels — who did not have the opportunity to compete in the Virginia High School League postseason in the spring — last earned a region berth in 2019.

After three Sherando (13-9) errors knotted the match at 24, junior middle hitter Ella Kelchner had a block to give the Colonels the lead. Junior libero Carsyn Vincent then finished off the hard-fought match with a deep serve down the middle that landed just inside the back line to inspire roars from the players and the James Wood fans.

All five points in the Colonels’ run came after James Wood coach Adrienne Patrick called a timeout at 24-21.

“We just talked about if we wanted to win this game, we just had to dig deep and take the game back,” Kelchner said. “No one was going to give it to us.”

Patrick said a few people, including senior captain Katey Matthews, spoke to help inspire James Wood.

“We were just saying it comes down to who wants it more,” Patrick said. “We talked about how we can win in that moment was just being simple in our game. Not trying to do anything extra, just playing simple fundamental volleyball.

“And we talked about playing together as a team and having fun. In the first set and one time in the second set, we said we play our game best when our energy’s up and we’re having fun.”

Though the Colonels had some highlight-reel plays throughout the match, that match-ending 5-0 run was really about the Colonels playing more efficiently than Sherando. In general, James Wood executed a higher level in the last two sets after committing 11 attack errors and seven service errors in the first two sets and was blitzed with a 21-6 run by the Warriors in the first set after the Colonels won six of the first seven points.

In the fourth set, the Warriors had a service error out of the timeout. At 24-22, Sherando gave itself a makeable chance to get its third touch over, but an overhead shot about 10 feet away from the center line was hit softly into the net. The Warriors then sent an inaccurate pass to make it 24-24.

Sherando then forced James Wood to make a defensive play and Kelchner rose to the occasion. With Matthews (eight kills, 18 assists, three aces, five block assists) leaping up beside her on James Wood’s right side, Kelchner rejected a Warrior spike to give the Colonels a match point.

“I was really nervous,” said Kelchner, who had four kills and five blocks (two solo). “If that ball fell over, I would have been so scared.”

That gave Vincent a fourth straight serve, which was definitely a good thing for the Colonels. At that point, Vincent already had three aces in the match and had some other serves that the Warriors had trouble handling.

Despite her previous serving success, Vincent said she was a little nervous when she realized she was up next in the serving rotation during the timeout.

She didn’t show it, though. On her last serve, she had a perfect shot down the middle, though both Sherando and Vincent thought it was going long.

“My heart kind of sank,” Vincent said. “But then it dropped in at the last second. It was pretty exciting for me.”

Though it was Vincent’s serve that ended it, her defense again played a big role in a successful night for James Wood. The area’s regular-season leader had 21 digs to improve her season total to 405.

Vincent said she didn’t play her best in the first two sets, but she and the rest of the Colonels picked up their play on defense as the night went on at the net and in the back row. Lexi Taylor (nine kills and six blocks) contributed to three of James Wood’s five blocks in the second set.

“We were really good at talking with each other about what to do and what not to do,” Vincent said. “For blocking, we were telling people to get out more and close the block. For digging, we were talking about who’s got seams and where they should be in their defensive positions.”

The Colonels scrambled well, too. After Addie Pitcock ran down a ball toward the back of the James Wood sideline chairs and hit it toward the back line, Vincent bumped a ball over that Sherando couldn’t control to make it 16-15 in the fourth set. Three points later, Vincent dove forward to dig up a ball during a rally that ended with a Matthews kill to put James Wood up 18-16.

“Back row defense, I feel like we were picking it up in the fourth set,” Patrick said.

Kelchner said the combination of postseason nervousness and James Wood taking its previous success against Sherando for granted — the Colonels won the first two sets in both of those matches — likely played a role in their rough start.

It would have been tough for any team to beat Sherando in the first set. The dynamic duo of senior hitters Regan Minney (six of her match-high 18 kills in the first set) and Saige Garver (four of her nine kills in the first set; four aces for the match) put the pressure on as the Warriors did not have a single attack error in the opening set.

“We really meshed together in that first set, and our enthusiasm was through the roof,” Minney said. “We were so hyped. It was such a great set.”

Sherando made James Wood work throughout the match. It took a 4-1 run at the end for the Colonels to win the second set, and Sherando was on the brink of winning that fourth set. James Wood just played better in crucial moments.

“We had enthusiasm throughout the whole game,” Sherando coach James Minney said. “It was a battle back-and-forth constantly, but they just wore us down. I really thought in the last set that we maybe pull through and play a fifth, but we got in a situation to where we just couldn’t return the ball.

“We came in thinking, ‘Let’s just play tough and see how it goes.’ Our team played hard and played well, and they gave it all they had. I’m very proud of them.”

Both Minneys were proud of the Warriors’ season. In addition to all-district players Minney and Garver, Sherando also loses seniors Emma Hunter (middle hitter; two kills, two blocks, three aces Tuesday); Gillian Banks (defensive specialist); Mackenzie Ingrassia (all-district setter); and Lauren Moses (libero).

“We had a good run for the last couple of years,” James Minney said. “I’m happy with the way the season went. The team worked hard.”

“We really grew so much as a team throughout the season, and I think we played so well and fought so hard,” Regan Minney said.

Regan — who is looking to play in college — enjoyed the opportunity to be coached by her father in high school. “My dad has been a huge part of my career,” she said. “It’s been such a fun ride.”

James Minney has coached Regan since she was 8. “Every year has been a great run working with her,” James said. “I’ve been very fortunate. Not very many fathers get the opportunity to do that. She’s done a tremendous job and works hard.”

Sherando was also led by Helena Ritter (three kills, four aces) and Abby Branner (three blocks) on Tuesday.

Sherando couldn’t figure out a way to beat James Wood in three meetings this year. The Colonels hope the third time is a charm for them when they play Millbrook in Thursday’s final. Millbrook won the first two meetings in five sets.

“I feel like we can actually beat Millbrook,” Vincent said. “I feel like we have a pretty good shot if we play our defense the right way and we go at it with all we got. We’ve got to put our hearts into it. There’s nothing else you can do.”

James Wood was also led on Tuesday by Melia Burch (six kills, 11 digs) and Hanna McCullough 16 assists.

In Monday’s 3-0 win over Liberty, the Colonels were led by Burch (13 kills, five digs); Taylor (six kills, eight digs); Pitcock (six kills, three aces); Kelchner (six kills); Matthews (17 assists, nine digs, six aces); Vincent (20 digs) and McCullough (17 assists).

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