From the court to the farm, Wood’s Corbin lives life to the fullest

WINCHESTER — Opposing teams may struggle to believe it, but Brenna Corbin can be gentle. With 200 cattle in her family’s care, she has to be.

Between bottle-feeding calves, watching out for injuries to the herd and vaccinating cows, Corbin has a knack for watching over animals.

But when it comes to hitting a volleyball, Corbin is anything but empathetic.

Corbin, a junior outside hitter for the James Wood High School volleyball team, has helped the Colonels win back-to-back Class 4 state championships the past two seasons at Virginia Commonwealth University. Over that stretch, the Colonels went a combined 53-3, setting a school record for most wins in a season last year when they went 27-2. This year’s team was 15-3 heading into Thursday night.

Corbin was a Class 4 All-State selection as a freshman in 2022 and a sophomore in 2023, helping James Wood’s volleyball program bring home its first two state trophies.

“It was an unforgettable experience,” Corbin said in a phone interview earlier this month. “Winning states for the first time for your school is insane. It was definitely nerve-wracking the first year — the second year was also nerve-wracking a little bit — but you kind of get over those nerves, and it’s just awesome to be playing in VCU and have all those people there watching you and cheering you on.”

Corbin started playing rec volleyball at age 9. One season later, she was playing travel for the Blue Ridge Volleyball Association’s 12-U Orange Team still as a 9-year-old. She continued to play two years up on her age, until last year, and plays beach volleyball.

Corbin’s early success at volleyball followed in the footsteps of her mother, Brandy, who played the sport at the collegiate level.

Brandy was a walk-on setter at West Virginia University for the 1998-1999 season before transferring to Shenandoah to play her final three years in Winchester. Brandy also serves as James Wood’s JV volleyball coach and the assistant coach for the varsity team.

Since she coached Brenna in her youth, Brandy hoped that she would find a passion for sports. From the moment Brenna started playing, Brandy saw that she had a gift for volleyball.

“Her father and I were both athletes, played multiple sports, and we only hoped that our kids would have that same drive as far as athletics,” Brandy said. “I think she definitely picked up the game very early on. I feel like anything that she put her mind to, she kind of has that passion for it.”

When James Wood plays, fans won’t see Brandy coach Brenna more than the other players. Brandy wanted Brenna to develop a passion for volleyball on her own.

“I always said whenever I started coaching her at a young age that I’m not going to be the reason that you played D-I volleyball,” Brandy said. “Because that was her goal at a young age... I feel like I’ve done a really good job of separating the two, and I’m just coaching her as if I would coach any other player on the court. I said, ‘You’re not going to get your name because I was the coach.’ She’s the one that puts the hours in. She’s the one that puts the work in.”

Having her mother as her coach has been beneficial for Corbin, she said.

On the drive home after a match, Brandy will let Brenna do most of the talking.

“I like to get what I think out and just try and do everything I can to make our team better,” Corbin said. “I also give her practice plans, like things that I think would help us become a better team and all-around better people.”

Even after years of playing and coaching volleyball herself, Brandy learns things from her daughter.

“I do feel like her level of it was a lot different than my level because the game has gotten so much faster,” Brandy said. “I actually learned a lot from her, and I let her do a lot of the talking on some things that she sees.”

Corbin’s passion for the sport led her to committing to Division I James Madison, where she will continue her volleyball career. She said she chose JMU because of the proximity to relatives in Harrisonburg, as well as the positive relationships with the coaching staff.

What the 5-foot-5 Corbin lacks in size, she makes up for in her leaping ability and ball placement, a skill the Dukes will be glad to have at their libero position.

That hitting talent is what led to James Wood head coach Adrienne Patrick moving Corbin from libero to outside hitter after the Endless Summer tournament in September of 2023.

Although Corbin had played libero in 2023 and is set to play that position at JMU, she embraced the position change.

“She told me I was an outside, and I didn’t really have a ton of background on that because I’ve been a libero for so long, but I knew how to do it,” Corbin said. “I just practiced a lot, and I got the fundamentals down and just increased my vertical.”

Corbin’s position change helped spark the Colonels to win a second consecutive Class 4 state title last November. Corbin and James Wood are now eying a three-peat this year.

“Brenna’s going to a [Division I] school to play volleyball for a position that she doesn’t even play for me,” Patrick said the Colonels’ sweep against Manassas Park in September. “When she goes to college, she’ll be playing for JMU as a libero, and she plays as an outside for me because of her strong arm. So that’s kind of what I mean about that leadership. She’s consciously on the court and talking and communicating with [others].”

Corbin believes the position change has helped her become an all-around player.

“I always loved hitting when I was younger,” Corbin said. “I was a hitter on 12-U and I mean, I definitely knew how to do it, and I was prepared, but I was also a little nervous because I’m not the tallest one on the court. But I guess I do have jumps to back me up a little bit. I like being a six-rotation outside because you can do everything; you can pass, you can hit block, which is super fun”

Joining Corbin hand-in-hand in her journey has been Kennedy Spaid.

Spaid, also a junior outside hitter at James Wood, has played volleyball with Corbin since age 9.

The pair are the Colonels’ most dangerous attackers. As of Tuesday, they had combined for 424 kills, 412 digs and 104 aces.

Spaid is committed to play beach volleyball at Arizona State. She said she will miss having Corbin by her side when the two go to college across the country from each other.

“She’s obviously my best friend,” Spaid said. “She’s my comfort person on the court. Every time I’m down, I just high-five her, and we just get up together. It’s obviously fun playing with your best friend, and it’s going to be really sad when we go to college.”

Corbin is already working on getting a leg up on her college course load, taking three college-level classes this year. Between those classes and playing up to three volleyball games a week, free time is a luxury for the junior.

“I’ve just realized I got to study every day in order to get those grades and keep those A’s,” Corbin said. “So, volleyball on top of that is definitely a lot. I mean, three games a week is wearing me out, but it’s good, and it’s definitely preparing me for the collegiate volleyball life.”

And when she does have time off, that’s often spent with her dad on the farm. The 200 cattle in their care are spread out across several different farms in Gore and Hayfield in Virginia, and Morgan County and Capon Bridge in West Virginia.

Helping out on the farm has come with a lot of heavy lifting — literally.

“I just help my dad out with whatever he needs,” Corbin said. “He’s like, ‘Hey, Brenna, help me on the farm.’ I’m like, ‘OK.’ I don’t say no because it’s something I love to do, and it’s also made me stronger. Lifting all those square bales up, loading them up on the trailers. I love doing it.”

When her playing days are over, Corbin wants to continue her passion for animals as a veterinarian.

That dream will be put on hold for now, though, as Corbin and the Colonels look for a three-peat. Meanwhile, opposing teams will try to derail that mission, and Corbin will do everything in her power to prevent that.

“We got to keep up,” Corbin said. “We know people are going to be wanting to beat us, and we’ve just got to keep that in mind and play hard every single game. We cannot let up, because these teams are wanting to beat us. They’re wanting to take that from us. I feel like we do a good job at keeping our attitudes up and keeping each other up, and working just at our hardest. Even though we can work on it a little bit, we’ll get it, and we’re not going to let up. We’re going to keep that and go for three.”

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