October 6, 2010

By Robert Stocks

The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER- James Wood quickly took control of the first two sets of Tuesday night's volleyball match at Millbrook, but the big advantage might have made the Colonels a little too relaxed - and maybe a bit overconfident.

Millbrook took the third set after never having more than a 1-0 lead in each of the first two, and the Pioneers nearly forced the Colonels into a fifth. But James Wood survived 13 ties in the fourth set to close out a 3-1 (25-15, 25-14, 22-25, 25-21) Northwestern District victory at Casey Gymnasium.

The Colonels' lapse in intensity came when they switched their lineup to give players experience playing different positions.

"In that third game we changed our rotation up, so it was a little unfamiliar to us," said James Wood senior middle blocker Hannah Tierney, who had 11 kills and a team-high eight blocks. "They might have picked it up a little bit, but I feel like we weren't playing up to our intensity because we weren't familiar with where we were. We were just trying new things to see what happens."

James Wood coach Jill Lester moved Tierney to outside hitter and switched Megan Crabtree to the right side from her usual spot on the left.

"We were just trying a couple things out for when we see Sherando again," Lester said. "I felt comfortable. They played with a lot of intensity in those first two sets, and we need to try different things to prepare for the district tournament. It was a good opportunity for us to try something different, so that's what we did." Junior Blake Parkes played the biggest role in the Pioneers' third-set victory.

After a James Wood service error, sophomore Brittany Whitacre reeled off two straight aces and Parkes capped a 4-0 Pioneers spurt with a kill to pull ahead 10-8.

A Pioneers' service error cut the lead back to one, but Millbrook stretched its advantage to 13-9 after a kill Nicole DeRemer, a kill by Parkes, and a block by Parkes.

Millbrook (5-4, 0-3 Northwestern) led by as many as six, but senior Emily Shannon helped Wood (12-3, 2-1) battle back and force four set points.

Shannon made two of her match-high 22 kills, cutting Millbrook's lead to 23-19.

After a kill by DeRemer gave the Pioneers set point, Shannon answered with another kill. Crabtree, who led the Colonels with 19 digs, followed with back-to-back aces to cut Millbrook's lead to 24-22.

But Parkes ended the set with her seventh kill to keep the Pioneers from being swept.

"We just realized that we could hang with them," said Parkes, who led the Pioneers with 10 kills and five blocks. "We just gave it our all and we fought. We started hitting it down the line and it was open."

Pioneers coach Eric Heflin said his team struggled throughout with service errors, but the Pioneers made progress after focusing more on placement.

"We were a little slow starting in the first two games, but we played more of our ball in the last two," Heflin said. "They worked for it. We didn't sit back and wait for them to bring us the ball. We took the ball to them.

"What hurt us the most tonight was the serves. We missed 10 or 11 serves. It was a little rough on serving."

Winning the third set seemed to inspire Millbrook, which took an 19-18 lead in a back-and-forth fourth set.

The score was tied two more times before Shannon's tip over the Pioneers' front row put James Wood ahead for good.

Colonels senior Peyton Clark followed with one of her three aces, giving Wood the lead at 22-20.

Parkes cut it to one with a perfectly-place kill in right corner, but Tierney answered with a tip to extend the Colonels' lead to 23-21.

After a Millbrook hitting violation, Tierney clinched the match with a kill in the left corner.

Lester said she told her team between the third and fourth sets to re-focus on defense.

"I think we were getting a little sloppy with our defense and getting beat on the tip," Lester said. "That's one thing we emphasized on the timeout, to own that defensive position and refuse to let them tip on you any more. ...

"I told them they can never let their guard down. I think that's what happened. We get out to a comfortable lead, and they start to let up a little bit. That's something we can't do."

Sophomore setter Emilee Payne paced James Wood with 38 assists.

Millbrook setter Callie Beegle had 19 assists, and fellow junior Mary Katherine Francisco led the Pioneers with 11 digs.