Wood is final district test for Warriors

November 4, 2010

By Robert Stocks
The Winchester Star       

STEPHENS CITY- The only obstacle standing in the way of a perfect Northwestern District volleyball season for Sherando is the only district opponent that's taken any sets from the Warriors - Frederick County rival James Wood.

The top-seeded Warriors (18-3) host the No. 2 Colonels (16-5) tonight at 6 for the district tournament championship.

James Wood took two sets from Sherando the last time the teams met in Stephens City (Oct. 14), but outside of that the Warriors are 27-0 against district foes.

"I feel like every time we play Sherando we get closer and closer to beating them," James Wood coach Jill Lester said. "When we played them last time we were up in Game 5 13-9 and all we had to do is side-out for game point. I think those last two points have been haunting us since the last time we saw them. It's something that's never left our mind.

"We'll be ready for [tonight]. We'll definitely be ready, and we're looking forward to playing them again. It will be a good match." Sherando senior setter Megan Sirbaugh said facing the rival Colonels should help the Warriors focus on the type of consistent play they'll need heading into regional play, which both squads have already qualified for.

"We definitely need to pick up our level of play a little bit," Sirbaugh said. "We can't get down on ourselves when we don't play well, so we just need to work on staying up and staying together as a team. [Against] James Wood - that's a little bit of extra incentive for us to play well. We love playing against them."

The Warriors have won three straight regular season district titles, but this class hasn't won a tournament title.

"We're hoping that we finish strong," said Sherando senior outside hitter Lauren Wilkins. "We know it's going to be a tough game. They're a good team, and we've beaten them twice, and hopefully it won't be as intense as the last one. Hopefully we can get it done in three again, but you never know. They're going to bring the heat, as we are. We've just got to be ready to play each play."

The Colonels say not having a regional berth hinging on tonight's outcome helps, but it doesn't make them want to win any less.

"It does take pressure off, but we still want to be first in the district," said James Wood senior outside hitter Emily Shannon, who only needs 13 kills to become the first player in school history with 1,000. "We're still going to play our hardest. We're just going to go in with a lot of intensity, and we're ready."

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