James Wood sweeps Atlee to advance to state championship for third straight year

WINCHESTER — When the James Wood High School volleyball team played in the state title match in 2022, head coach Adrienne Patrick wore a shirt that read, “Make history.” The Colonels are on track to do that yet again.

After sweeping Atlee in the Class 4 state semifinals in Donald H. Shirley Gymnasium on Tuesday, James Wood punched its ticket to the state title match for the third consecutive year. With hopes for a three-peat, James Wood will play Courtland — which defeated Loudoun County 3-1 on Tuesday — at the Siegel Center at Virginia Commonwealth University at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Winning with the set scores of 25-13, 25-18, 25-15, the Colonels (22-3) only trailed Atlee for two possessions in Tuesday’s match.

Patrick said it felt “phenomenal” to clinch another berth to Richmond and added that she could feel the positive energy among her players and in the gymnasium.

“I don’t know, it’s one of those things where you can almost sense that something greater is happening,” Patrick said. “Couldn’t be happier for the group, for how hard they work, and we’re very excited.”

While Patrick said she didn't necessarily think the Colonels would go to three straight state title games when she took over the Colonels’ program in 2020, the 2005 James Wood graduate has made sure her teams have instilled the belief that they could do so.

“There was a lot of intention with the very first state match,” Patrick said. “The shirt that I wore said ‘Make history,’ because I went to school here, I played here, I work here. This is the only place that I applied to work, this is the only place that I've ever coached [and] this is the only place I've ever played at... It just means the most. The only thing that I can say is, when you are that passionate about something, you can do anything.”

Even with six new players on the Colonels’ roster this season, they have maintained the course to hang a third banner. Junior outside hitter Kennedy Spaid, who finished Tuesday’s match with 11 kills, six digs and two blocks, has already helped lead the Colonels to two state trophies. She is now looking to go three-for-three before vying for a fourth in her senior season next year.

“This team is really special because we [grew] from a team where it was kind of new to us, so we created a big bar, and I think that’s really helped us through this season,” Spaid said.

One of those new players is junior defensive specialist Gigi Norris, who transferred to James Wood after playing for Millbrook her freshman year.

Norris, who had an ace down the stretch to help Wood win Set 3, said she’s going to be “locked in” for her first state title match appearance.

“I’ve never had this experience before, so the fact I get to experience this is just crazy,” Norris said. “These girls are amazing. I wouldn’t trade this for anything.”

After a back-and-forth opening to the first set, James Wood broke a 7-7 deadlock and went on an 8-1 run to take a 15-8 lead and force Atlee (20-5) to take a timeout. That stoppage didn’t pay off for the Raiders, as middle blocker Tenley Mattison had three kills in seven possessions to propel Wood to a 20-10 lead and force another timeout.

From there, the Colonels scored four more points off an ace from Mattison, a kill from Spaid, an attack error and a service error. Spaid finished things off with an ace off a high toss into the air — a powerful serve that she pulls off from time to time — to give the Colonels the first set.

“It definitely feels good to get that over and get the ace because that's something that I use in beach volleyball,” Spaid said. “That's something that I can use in my beach volleyball and indoor skills, so it is really special to get it over and get an ace on the last point.”

Atlee never led in the second set, as James Wood jumped out to a 9-4 lead. Although the Raiders made it a 13-9 score, the Colonels’ lead snowballed into a 24-14 advantage behind three kills from Spaid, two aces from Mattison and two kills from Brenna Corbin.

Down 10, the Raiders scored four straight, but a kill from Wood setter Kylee Plumb ultimately gave the Colonels a 2-0 lead heading into the third set.

The beginning of Set 3 played out similar to the first set, with both teams finding themselves tied at seven apiece. And just like the opening set, the Colonels went on a run to break away. This time, it was a 13-2 run to go up 20-9. Corbin led the way in that stretch, slapping down four kills on top of two kills and one block from Spaid.

Atlee stormed back and brought its deficit to within six when the set was 21-15, but the Colonels then scored the final four points, including an ace from Norris that made it a 23-15 game. Two possessions after Norris’ ace, an Atlee hit went out of bounds, sending the entire James Wood team crashing onto the floor for a dogpile celebration.

After last week’s five-set victory over Dominion in the state quarterfinals, Corbin said it was good to see the team bounce back in convincing fashion.

“Definitely refreshing to get a game like this,” Corbin said. “It’s kind of a like a warmup for the next game.”

Corbin had nine kills and nine digs on the night. Mattison finished with nine kills, eight digs, four aces and two blocks. Plumb had 36 assists and nine digs.

Looking ahead to Saturday, Patrick wants her team to appreciate the moment but not get caught up in it.

“Going into Saturday's game with that momentum is terrific, but again, being in the Siegel Center — huge environment, huge arena — that's where all the pressure is,” Patrick said. “That's the big game. They're on a high right now with all that energy, but nerves are going to come up, and that's something we always have to talk about [is] how to control the nerves.”

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