Colonel volleyball seniors end careers with title

RICHMOND — Back in 2014, Melia Burch served as a team manager when her sister Leilani and the rest of the Colonels volleyball team marched all the way to the Class 4 state championship match at the Virginia Commonwealth University Siegel Center.

She dreamed of getting to a state final as a player herself one day. On Saturday, the senior outside hitter and captain got to experience the best reality of all as James Wood defeated Grafton 3-0 for the program’s first state title at the same location.

“From the stands, everything seems so unreal on the court,” said Burch, recalling her experience as a fourth-grader. “You can’t imagine being out there yourself. Being out there and winning was unbelievable.”

For James Wood’s three seniors — each of whom has contributed significantly to the Colonels during their careers — Saturday will be a day they’ll never forget. They were happy that they won, but they loved the experience of playing for the Colonels so much that they also don’t like seeing it end.

Burch is a two-year varsity member, and libero Carsyn Vincent and middle hitter Ella Kelchner finished their third seasons on the varsity this year, but each became involved with James Wood volleyball before entering high school.

Vincent’s time with the James Wood volleyball program began as a seventh-grader, when she was a manager for the JV team for two years.

“This is probably the best game that I’ve played,” said Vincent, who had 15 digs and three aces on Saturday and led the team with with 373 digs and 68 aces this year. “It was a lot of fun and I’m glad we went out winning a state championship. But I think it’s really sad that it’s over for me.”

Burch said she had some mixed emotions.

“It’s bittersweet,” said Burch, who had 110 kills this year (fourth on the team). “It’s the best way to end our career. We wanted this the whole season and worked for it the whole season. But it’s upsetting to not be able to play anymore.”

Kelchner — who was a manager on the 2015 Colonels volleyball team — said she couldn’t help but cry after Saturday’s win, but it sure felt a lot better to be emotional after a win than a loss.

“We looked at [Grafton’s] record and their film, and we knew they weren’t going to be an easy team to beat,” said Kelchner, who led the team with 61 blocks this year (a team-high four on Saturday) and had 95 kills. “But we just came out with all we had, and our confidence went a lot higher [as the match went on].”

Burch said the strong determination, passion for the game and team spirit that all the team’s players have was evident on Saturday.

“Our bond is unbreakable,” Burch said. “We’re all very close. A lot of us have played together for a while, but seeing us come together like we did this year was great.”

James Wood coach Adrienne Patrick said the seniors did an excellent job leading the way in helping with the team’s bond, and setting a strong example in the classroom. Patrick said all three seniors are MaxPreps All-American Best and Brightest selections this year based on their GPAs (each is above 4.0) and stats.

“They put in so much work,” Patrick said. “The amount of leadership [from them stands out]. Sometimes it’s vocal leadership on the court. Sometimes it’s non-verbal leadership in regards to being present. Academic leadership. The amount of dedication they put into the program is evident. I’m super proud of them.”

Patrick said they each embodied the team spirit on Saturday.

“Melia had several important touches,” Patrick said. “Maybe it wasn’t a block that led to a point, but she was able to slow down the ball. You have to have things like that to allow us to continue to be successful, to get the dig, to get the set, to have an opportunity to kill the ball.

“It takes the all-in effort mentality and effort to come this far and be successful. That’s what they’ve contributed all season.”

Each of the seniors definitely appreciated their time with each other.

“None of us are playing in college, so it was like all of our last games ever,” Kelchner said. “It was a nice way to go out, especially with them.”

Though her career at James Wood might be over, Vincent is looking forward to the Colonel’s future given that they will have eight returners, each of whom contributed this year.

“I know that they’re going to do well,” Vincent said.

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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