Colonels lose heartbreaker to Riverside, suffer first loss in nearly a year

WINCHESTER — For the first time in nearly a calendar year, the James Wood High School volleyball team felt what it was like to lose a match on Tuesday.

In what was a back-and-forth match, Riverside defeated James Wood 3-2 in Donald H. Shirley Gymnasium on Tuesday night by the scores of 28-26, 23-25, 25-14, 23-25, 15-13.

After narrowly winning the fourth set by two points, James Wood found itself down 14-7 and hanging on by a thread in the fifth and final set, which goes to 15 points.

With the help of junior outside hitter Kennedy Spaid, junior outside hitter Brenna Corbin and the Colonels’ defense, James Wood stormed back and brought itself within one point of tying the match’s final set.

But on what ended up being the final rally, Riverside’s defense held up and delivered the match-winning kill to seal the victory, sending the Rams to a pile on the floor in celebration.

The last time the Colonels suffered a loss was Sept. 16 last year. With Tuesday’s defeat, James Wood’s 18-match winning streak dating back to last season came to an end.

Tuesday’s match was a battle of two juggernauts. James Wood is a two-time defending Class 4 state champion, while Riverside finished 27-1 last season, with its only loss coming to First Colonial in the Class 5 state championship match.

Coming into Tuesday’s match, James Wood head coach Adrienne Patrick knew it was going to be a back-breaking matchup between two of the top teams in the state from last year.

“It's the second game of the season, and we knew that that was going to be a tough team,” Patrick said. “There is a lot to learn from this match, though, in regard to how we react and respond to certain things and not playing on our heels, so to speak, waiting for something else to happen.”

While it wasn’t the outcome she had hoped for, Patrick was proud of how resilient her team was and how it fought back after falling 25-14 in the third set to go down 2-1 in the match.

“We definitely have a lot of people on the team that put the team before I, and you can see that,” Patrick said. “They’re hustling, they’re diving and they’re the ones communicating to the rest of the team not to give up.”

Outside of the fourth set, which James Wood lost 25-14, each set came down to the wire and resulted in two-point victories.

After suffering a 28-26 loss in the first set, the Colonels responded in the second. Corbin and Spaid — who made a verbal commitment to Arizona State for beach volleyball last week — delivered down the stretch, combining for six kills to tie the game up at one set apiece. Senior defensive specialist and outside hitter Addie Pitcock also played an instrumental role in the second set, recording three aces.

Corbin propelled the Colonels past the Rams in the fourth set, recording six kills, including the set-winning kill to send the match to a fifth frame. The 5-foot-5 James Madison commit said she was proud of how her team competed and was glad to get experience against a quality opponent.

“They’re a good team,” Corbin said. “I mean, we’ll never see them again. It was good competition. I’m glad they showed us what they could do. We needed to lose to conquer the rest of the teams.”

Other contributors for James Wood included junior middle blocker Tenley Mattison, who finished with four kills, four blocks and one ace, and outside hitter Kyla Willhelm, who recorded three kills and two blocks.

Patrick viewed her team’s serving errors as a big reason behind the loss and said that the number of errors her team committed Tuesday night was “way more” than what the Colonels typically average.

“Getting control of our side of the quarter is what we have to do first,” Patrick said. “Worrying about the other side, their height, their ability, their record, their whatever comes second. We have to focus on what we need to do first, so that's what we will be doing [Wednesday] in practice.”

With three players 6-foot and above on its roster, Riverside’s height and ability to attack were too much for James Wood to overcome.

As a team, the Rams recorded 53 kills, 17 of which came at the hands of 6-foot-2 junior outside hitter Nadiya Johnson, who was a dominant offensive force all night.

Johnson and 6-foot-2 senior Brianna Holladay were lethal in the third and fourth sets, combining for 12 kills.

“They have height, and they have great experience,” Patrick said. “They’re the state runner-up from last year, and I think it was just back-and-forth. It seemed like whoever had to serve ended up winning the set.”

James Wood will be back in action on Friday when it travels to Sherando.

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

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