Wood gets inspired sweep

October 19, 2011
By GREG BRILL
Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER- Nothing was going to stop James Wood from getting a sweep on this night.

The month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the Colonels held their third annual "Dig Pink" volleyball match against Fauquier on Tuesday night.

There was plenty to play for.

There was a fundraising effort in full swing, through the SideOut Foundation, which raises funds for the awareness and fight against breast cancer.

When entering Donald H. Shirley Gymnasium, the casual fan was treated to a sea of pink.

On one gym wall there was a "Wall of Hope." Across the balcony on the other end, a banner stated "James Wood digs Pink."

Before the match, local girl scout troop 40663 presented a check of $50 to the Colonels' three seniors, who took time to shake the hands of each girl and take pictures with them.

As they lined up for the announcements of the lineups, their warm-up tops came off and a pink and white jersey with "Hope" on the back was revealed.

As Eleanor Kent came over to shake Fauquier coach Diana Story's hand, she glanced back to her mom in the stands, Dena, a breast cancer survivor, gave a smile, and pointed to her to mouth, as if to say, "This is for you."

All breast cancer survivors in attendance were asked to stand, and when they did, they were honored with a rousing round of applause.

When things got down to business, James Wood kept its mission and needed only 61 minutes to sweep the Evergreen District leading Falcons, 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-10).

"It meant a lot to us tonight," said Kent, who posted nine aces and three kills in the win. "A lot of us know breast cancer survivors or are related to breast cancer survivors. So it definitely hits home for us and we definitely always come out strong and play for the survivors."

The Colonels (13-4, 3-1 Northwestern District) had come off a crucial win last Thursday to beat Sherando in five sets, and followed that up Monday night with a four-set win at Washington (W.Va.).

They had Fauquier (11-3, 5-1 Evergreen) across the net for the second straight season on this special night and came out firing.

In the first set, James Wood unloaded the attacks. Freshman sensation Katie Houser torched the Falcons often, nailing seven of her match-best 17 kills.

She followed that with five kills apiece in each of the next two sets, even with time spent on the bench to allow James Wood coach Jill Lester a chance to use her entire 14-player roster.

By now a respected player, Houser nailed attack after attack, booming kills inside the 10-foot line to make digs near impossible.

"[Houser's] their team," Story said. "When she's on and she's attacking, they just can't be stopped.

"She's tough. She's a good little player. They've got other people to help her out, but for the most part, she's [their best player]."

Story's team was behind the eight-ball to start. Top hitter Antoinette Bruno broke her hand in two places last weekend and is lost for the season.

The Falcons, who Story said "just didn't play," were limited to 14 kills in the match and just two in the third set.

Even so, the Colonels proved they were the far better team.

The play of Kent had a lot to do with that. In the first set, the senior keyed a 9-0 run from the service line that included a trio of aces.

In the second set, Fauquier had closed to 17-14 when Houser dropped a kill to return sideout.

From there, Kent served out the set. She closed it out with three straight aces.

"I think I just took my time and put it where I could," Kent said. "I put it on the court."

Lester said her players handed out cards to the breast cancer survivors that said "Tonight we fight for you."

A nice touch, for sure. And before the match, Lester hit that point home with her team.

"I told them, 'It's not about playing for wins and losses. It's about playing for the woman that finds it difficult to get out of bed each day and difficult to go to treatment. We're playing for that woman, because she's a fighter,'" Lester said.

"We wanted to be inspired tonight when those women - the breast cancer survivors - stood. We wanted to let that soak in, for the fight they put up each day. That's really what tonight was all about."

It did inspire tough play on the defense, as well, as senior Cate Beach and junior Kelby Jackson each had 13 digs.

It inspired junior setter Emilee Payne (24 assists) into another good match for distribution, and it inspired senior middle Rachel Rau to collect four kills and two blocks.

On this night, the goal was to end the match in three sets. Nothing else would be accepted.

"Yes, we did," Kent said when asked if the goal was a sweep. "We wanted to take it in three."