Volleyball Player of the Year: James Wood's Kennedy Spaid

Kennedy Spaid was already among the best volleyball players in Virginia as a sophomore in 2023. She found a way to outdo herself this fall.

The junior outside hitter for the James Wood High School volleyball team led the area in kills with 417 and was fifth in digs (278) and fourth in aces (65), improving on nearly all of her marks from last season. She was also named Northwestern District, Region 4D and Class 4 Player of the Year — the second straight year she’s received those honors.

But more importantly, Spaid led the Colonels to their third straight state title, all of which she has been a part of since she was a freshman in 2022. For those reasons, Spaid is The Winchester Star’s Volleyball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

As with many great athletes, Spaid answered the bell when it mattered most.

She had one of her best matches of the season in the finale, leading the Colonels in kills (25) and digs (24) and tying for the most aces (four) in the state championship match against Courtland, which James Wood won in five sets.

Coach Adrienne Patrick thought Spaid’s performance was critical in delivering another state title to James Wood.

“We did rely heavily on [Spaid and Brenna Corbin] to score, and that worked out for us,” Patrick said. “But again, if it wasn’t for Kennedy, being able to score, then we would’ve been in trouble.”

Throughout this year’s run, Wood’s players were adamant that they wanted to prove to themselves that they could pull off the three-peat after losing several starters from last year’s team. Spaid was no different.

“I feel like we didn’t really have to prove it to anybody, but I feel like we wanted to prove it to each other that we can do anything we put our minds to,” Spaid said.

With six new players on this year’s roster and just one senior in Addie Pitcock, Spaid was thrust into more of a leadership role on this year’s team. Although Spaid was already a floor captain last fall, Patrick thought she led by example even more than last year.

“She was kind of thrust into that [leadership] role because people look up to her,” Patrick said. “Girls on the team look up to her. People that want to play volleyball in our community look up to her. It is one of those things where she had to kind of step up and become a little bit more vocal on the team.”

The 5-foot-11 hitter thought this year’s championship was a testament to the younger players stepping up, as well as the Colonels’ foundation as a program: family.

“It obviously feels amazing to say that we’ve won three straight state titles, and we knew it was going to be a little tougher this year just having a lot of new players,” Spaid said. “But I’m truly proud of them for stepping into that big role because they had a role to fill, with four seniors leaving last year, and I think we all worked really hard in practices and worked on developing the bond to take what it takes to win. We truly became like a second family to each other, and I think that’s what set us above the rest of the other teams.”

Spaid improved in nearly every major statistical category from her all-state campaign as a sophomore last year.

In three fewer matches (three more sets) than in 2023, Spaid had 71 more kills, 85 more digs and 11 more aces. She also improved her kill percentage from 44.8 to 48.2 and her hit percentage from 33.9 to 35.3. She had a career-high 30 kills in a single match against Millbrook in the regular season. She then reached the 1,000-career kill mark against Millbrook in the region semifinals.

“It’s abnormal in what I have experienced to see somebody just continuously grow and gain momentum,” Patrick said.

Spaid has been around Patrick and the James Wood program since she was in middle school and was a manager for the team. Despite being around Spaid for years, Patrick is still impressed with just how special of a talent she is.

“I have watched her play for so long — it’s weird to say this — but it becomes this thing that you kind of expect that when she gets the ball, she’s gonna put it down,” Patrick said. “I would say that there are so many shots, and specifically this season, where I’m like, ‘I don’t even understand how you were able to pull that off.’”

Spaid’s performance on the court has been so dominant that she has turned into a local celebrity. She said a little girl came up to her in the parking lot outside of James Wood and asked for her autograph after the Colonels defeated E.C. Glass in the region championship. Spaid obliged.

“It cheered me up a little bit because it showed me that I’m a role model for these little kids,” she said. “It just kind of put a special [feeling] in my heart.”

Spaid is now trying to teach the underclassmen the same thing that was taught to her when she first joined the program.

“When I first got to James Wood, I was kind of nervous, and the upperclassmen really showed me that they had confidence in me,” Spaid said. “They also gave me my lifelong nickname, I think it’s going to be, which is ‘Baby.’ They call me that because I was the baby of the team. People now randomly just call me that, and I’m like ‘OK.’ But I think with them doing that for me, I feel like I have to give back and give that to my younger players, just to show them that I have confidence in them, so hopefully they can be where I’m at in the next two to four years.”

Spaid’s season didn’t come without its challenges. She was sick with pneumonia during the onset of the region tournament and had to sit out a couple of practices with a fever. Spaid said she was nervous she was going to sit out a playoff match. That didn’t end up happening.

“I’m very hardheaded, so having a sickness doesn’t really stop me,” Spaid said. “I definitely wanted to do that for my team because if I wouldn’t have been there, and they maybe would have lost the game, I would have felt really guilty. So I kind of took my downtime and just ate healthy and drank lots of water just to get back in shape and be the best I could for my team.”

Spaid already has her eyes set on 2025 with hopes of graduating James Wood with four state championship banners hanging up in Donald H. Shirley Gymnasium.

“I feel like the main goal for the seniors next year is going to be winning four state championships,” Spaid said. “Me and Brenna, we joke about having four rings in our senior pictures.”

After Spaid turns her tassel in the spring, she will be attending Arizona State University to play beach volleyball on a full athletic scholarship.

But before Spaid heads out west, Patrick is looking forward to one final season with Spaid on her team.

“If you kind of look at what could you predict for next year? I mean, I can only tell you that based on this pattern, it’s only going to get better,” Patrick said. “That’s what I feel like is so amazing about her whole story is that I feel that by the time she graduates, she’s going to arguably be one of the best female athletes to have ever been at James Wood.”

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