Wood volleyball sweeps E.C. Glass for third straight region title

WINCHESTER — As dominant as the first set was for the James Wood volleyball team on Wednesday night against E.C. Glass, Colonels coach Adrienne Patrick wasn't going to take anything for granted given the magnitude of what the Hilltoppers accomplished Monday night in coming back against Jefferson Forest.

On Wednesday, E.C. Glass glued itself back together pretty well after losing the first set of the Region 4D high school title match by 16 points. But no matter who it is, James Wood just has a way of shattering everything in its path when the calendar turns to November.

The North No. 1 seed Colonels won their 14th straight postseason match by beating the South No. 2 Hilltoppers 3-0 (25-9, 25-20, 25-20) at Shirley Gymnasium. They will next host Region 4C runner-up Dominion at 5 p.m. on Saturday in the Class 4 quarterfinals.

Two-time defending Class 4 state champion James Wood (20-3) did its research on its new opponent and only trailed for five points the entire match.

"We definitely prepared for this," said junior outside hitter Kennedy Spaid after Colonels players took a series of photos with the Region 4D championship trophy. "We take each practice and focus on a certain thing, we watch the film, and we focus on what they do good and try to shut that down as soon as possible. We're talking all these games as, 'We don't know these people, but we're going to come here and dominate.'"

James Wood scored the last seven points of the first set to put away E.C. Glass, with the reigning Class 4 Player of the Year Spaid (match-high 18 kills, 12 digs and two aces for the match) recording four of the eight kills she had in the opening game in that stretch. Gigi Norris closed it out at 25-9 with an ace. Kyla Wilhelm had three of her five aces in first set.

It was by no means an inspiring start for E.C. Glass, but the Hilltoppers had more than proved their mettle this week. E.C. Glass was swept by Jefferson Forest during the regular season and lost the opening set to the Cavaliers in Monday's Region 4D semifinals, but they came back to win the last three sets.

"Just because we won the first set, we were not thinking, 'This is over,' by any means," Patrick said. "I'm really proud of how the team continued to keep momentum and hold it. And if we did get down a little bit, we were calm. We didn't let too many points go before we made some type of shift or adjustment. So I'm very proud of their performance tonight."

The Hilltoppers only led once in the second set at 1-0, but they didn't let James Wood pull away for much of the second game.

James Wood led only 17-15 after an attack error. But a 3-0 run that featured a kill by Spaid off a Kylee Plumb assist, a push kill from Reese Justice (two blocks) off another Plumb assist, and an ace by Norris made it 20-15. The Colonels led at least four points the rest of the set and captured it at 25-20 when the Hilltoppers served into the net.

E.C. Glass put its best foot forward in the third set, wiping out a 12-7 deficit with an 8-1 burst for a 15-13 lead. Patrick took a timeout at the point.

"We had a couple of miscommunications, and we were kind of playing back, expecting this, expecting that," Patrick said. "We just reminded them that you have to expect the ball and don't expect somebody is going to get it. It's your ball. Just reminding them of really what they already know. Reminding them where their targets are, where we're trying to place the ball, and reminding the girls of their talent and what they can do."

The two squads battled until it was 20-19 Hilltoppers, with E.C. Glass fans screaming in appreciation for the block by Elizabeth Bauer on Spaid that gave it that lead.

But then James Wood closed out the match roar-producing 6-0 run. Spaid tied it with a kill, then Justice had a deep blast off a set from Plumb. Tenley Mattison (two blocks) served up two aces in a row, then Justice had a block and a kill for the win.

It was another impressive setting performance from Plumb. A first-year varsity member, the sophomore had 28 assists on Wednesday to give her an average of 31 per match in the Colonels' three postseason contests. Plumb also added eight digs on Wednesday.

"It was a lot of pressure at first, just knowing that I had to step up," said Plumb about the beginning of her season. "I think that was a good kind of pressure, though. I love pressure. I thrive under it, I think. So I just stepped up. Playing with these girls, it's a great opportunity to play with them. I'm just taking it one game at a time."

That's an approach that has served James Wood well, which is why the Colonels have made a habit of celebrating regional titles in Shirley Gymnasium. Another state title is the goal, but the Colonels appreciate every step along the way.

"It's great [to win]," Plumb said. "I'm so glad to have a team like this. It's like we're family. I'm blessed."

Patrick said it takes everyone to make nights like Wednesday happen.

"We have so many talented athletes on this team," Patrick said. "And I couldn't be as successful as I am without the people around me. I have to give a lot of credit to my assistant coach [Brandy Corbin]."

James Wood will now try to take its next step toward a state title against the team it opened the season against. The Colonels beat Dominion 3-1 (18-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-18) at Shirley Gymnasium in August. The Titans (22-3) are coming off a 3-1 loss to Loudoun County in the Region 4C final on Tuesday.

Spaid said the expectation is to dominate after the Colonels practice and research to the fullest again.

"We've got a big reputation to uphold," Spaid said.

The Colonels were also led by Brenna Corbin (18 digs, six kills, one block) and Claire Keefer (two blocks). The Hilltoppers were led by Aubri Willis (nine kills), Lynley Cannon (seven kills), Bauer (four blocks) and Jayden Smith (three blocks).

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