James Wood volleyball shows off firepower in sweep

September 7, 2011
By Robert Stocks

WINCHESTER- After losing four all-Northwestern District hitters to graduation last year, the James Wood volleyball team definitely lost some firepower but that doesn't mean this year's squad lacks some go-to players at the net.

The attack might not be quite the same as it was with Emily Shannon, Hannah Tierney, Megan Crabtree and Peyton Clark up front, but James Wood seniors Rachel Rau and Eleanor Kent and freshman Katie Houser showed the Colonels can score plenty of points at the net.

Rau and Houser led the way with eight kills apiece, and Kent chipped in with five to lead James Wood to a 3-0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-18) non-district volleyball victory over the Rams at Donald H. Shirley Gymnasium Tuesday evening.

The Colonels (3-1) jumped all over the Rams (0-2) in the opening set, but needed to rally to win both the second and third sets for the sweep.

"We've got some newcomers to the team and they're in positions where there's a lot of pressure to put the ball away," James Wood coach Jill Lester said. "We still just have to find that rhythm. We need to do in the second and the third set what we did in the first. We have that first set and then just kind of lose focus and make too many errors." James Wood never trailed in the first set and took control when Kent stepped to the service line with the Colonels ahead 5-3.

Wood reeled off seven straight points, getting a pair of aces from Kent and a kill by Houser to take a 12-3 advantage.

Houser had four of her eight kills in the opening set and Strasburg never cut the deficit to less than six the rest of the way.

Rau said the team wanted to start with some intensity in front of their home fans.

"It was our second home game so we were really amped up," Rau said. "We were able to come out with a lot of aggression and excitement."

"[We] wanted to come out and really prove a point right off the bat," added Kent, who added three aces. "That gets us fired up. We just didn't come out as strong [after that] and maybe play to our ability."

The Colonels made eight hitting errors but still overcame nine ties and six lead changes to take the second set.

Strasburg senior Cassie Myers' kill put the Rams ahead 23-22, but James Wood evened the score after a net violation by Strasburg. From there, Kent's kill gave the Colonels set point and an errant hit by Strasburg gave James Wood the set 25-23.

The Rams definitely had the Colonels on their heels for a while in the second set. Strasburg appeared to take a 17-14 lead after an ace, but the referees never blew the whistle on the play. The Colonels' return dropped down on the court as the Rams' players celebrated what they thought was an ace. Instead of a three-point advantage, the no-call helped the Colonels cut the deficit to 16-15.

The set was tied three times after that so the Rams had their chances, but Strasburg coach Suzanne Mathias said the play should teach her team to never give up on a point - regardless of the call.

"I thought it was down and my kids all thought it was down," Mathias said. "But that's just a case where you've got to play until you hear the whistle."

The Rams jumped out to an early lead in the third set, getting a kill and then a block by Anna Racey to take an early 7-3 advantage. Strasburg kept the four-point advantage after 6-foot-1 freshman Lindsey Painter blocked Rau to make it 11-7.

From there, James Wood responded, getting five straight kills (from five different players) to tie it at 12.

Kent's service point followed by an ace gave the Colonels their first lead at 15-13 and James Wood never trailed the rest of the way.

Lester said her team might have lost focus a bit after taking the opening set because erratic hitting cost her team after that.

"I think what happened after [the first set] was we just made too many hitting errors," Lester said. "We had 19 hitting errors which is uncharacteristic of us and it's something that we definitely need to work on."

Junior setter Emilee Payne had 29 assists, and libero Kelby Jackson added 10 digs for the Colonels.

Myers and Corissa Alsberry had four kills apiece, and Taylor Hill added three for Strasburg.

After dropping the opening set, Mathias credited her team for playing tough the rest of the way.

"In the second and third games we stepped up and made some adjustments," Mathias said. "We blocked very well, and that's probably the best I've seen them block this year. We did better on our serving. We struggled for that in our first match, but I think we only missed four through the three games so I'm pleased with that."

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