Rivalry renewed: Colonels knock off Pioneers in yet another thriller

By Brian Eller -- This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

WINCHESTER -- James Wood players can't explain it. Neither can Millbrook's. But both will agree when the two schools meet on the court, the level of intensity skyrockets.

"I don't know," James Wood's Carly Mullin said. "There's always been a curse with them, but we know we can beat them."

"We're kind of rivals," Millbrook's Devon Courneya said. "It always brings out the competitiveness in both teams so it's just a harder game for both of us."

The latest installment in the rivalry was no exception, as the Colonels held off a late rally by host Millbrook to defeat the Pioneers, 3-2 (25-19, 30-28, 13-25, 15-25, 16-14).

It was senior night for Millbrook, as the team's six upperclassmen were honored before the match. Along with Courneya, seniors Anna Comer, Ashley DeRemer, Gennie McGuirk, Jordan Orndoff and Ellie Schryver were introduced in the middle of the court, each accompanied by their parents.

It didn't take long for the celebration to end, however, as James Wood jumped out to a 25-19 win in the first set. After the two teams traded points to begin the match, the Colonels went on a 6-0 run to push their lead to 15-10. From there the lead never reached less than 4 as James Wood took the opening set. The highlight of the match came in the second set. This one began similar to the first set, with several lead changes throughout. It appeared the Colonels would take the second set as well as they held onto a 24-22 lead. The Pioneers wouldn't quit, however, tying the game at 24. Again the two teams traded a 1-point lead, before the Colonels finally rattled off 2 consecutive points to win the second set, 30-28.

"We had a totally different rotation in Games 1 and 2," James Wood coach Jill Lester said. "We tried something different tonight just because we wanted to shake things up a bit. I had Emily Shannon hitting middle and Hannah Tierney hitting outside. Hannah's not used to playing all the way around. She's used to coming in and playing really strong for three or four rotations then having a little break, so she's not used to us feeding her as many balls as we did tonight."

Whether it was all of the expended emotion from the second set, or the fact that Millbrook found itself backed up against the wall, the third and fourth sets saw a huge swing in momentum. In both sets the Pioneers dominated, allowing just 28 points combined. Millbrook never trailed in either set, and as the two teams headed to the decisive fifth set, it appeared the magic of senior night had resurfaced.

"I think [in the first two sets] we were just a little bit too tight and just stressed out instead of just relaxing and playing the game," Courneya said. "Once we did that we loosened up and we just played hard."

Millbrook raced out to a 5-1 lead in the fifth set as the Colonels continued to struggle to gain momentum. After Lester called a timeout, James Wood began to reclaim some of its swagger from earlier in the match, tying the game at 6-6, then taking a 3-point lead. The Pioneers would eventually tie the game at 14-14, but back-to-back points from James Wood gave the Colonels the five-set win, putting an end to the comeback by Millbrook.

"I think we were really strong the first two games, and we were strong in the last game, but the third and fourth game, I don't know what was wrong with us," Mullin said. "We just weren't talking, weren't communicating with each other, but then we pulled it together in the end."

Shannon led the Colonels with 18 kills and also registered a team-high eight blocks in the win. Senior Cady Schaffer had 26 kills and Eleanor Kent led the way with five aces. Mullin finished with a team-best 32 assists.

When asked whether she felt any remorse for putting a damper on Millbrook's senior night, Mullin, one of James Wood's two seniors, said not really. After all, they're rivals.

"I'm friends with one of them on the team," she said, "So no, not really, no."