November 11, 2011
By Greg Brill
Special to The Winchester Star

LEESBURG- Once James Wood's players got over the shock of facing what is otherwise known as the Loudoun County volleyball machine, the Colonels kept up with the four-time defending Group AA champs quite well.

As each set passed, the Colonels brought better attacks. They even had a couple well-timed blocks to make a couple Raiders look at each other in near disbelief.

The back row play got a lot better and the Colonels found themselves willing to give the Raiders a battle and extend the match during Thursday night's Region II semifinal round.

When the third set rolled around, and with their season one lost set from ending, the Colonels gave the Raiders all they wanted.

"We just realized we had to take it one point at a time," James Wood freshman outside Katie Houser said. "We had nothing to lose. You know, third [set], possibly the last time we would play this season. We just pulled out all our trick plays, I guess."
Houser finally got her attacks to drop in the third set, and she unloaded for six of her nine kills. Senior opposite Eleanor Kent was looking to find any spot on the court, tricking the Raiders on a few exchanges to drop four of her six kills in the set.

With plenty of momentum swinging its way, James Wood had a chance. The Colonels enjoyed several leads, but the Raiders got back to being consistent again and found a way to gain another sweep in a season full of them.

Loudoun County finished with an 8-5 run to hold on and gain its fifth straight three-set sweep of the postseason and seventh straight overall by beating James Wood 25-12, 25-12, and 25-22.

The Raiders (25-1) have won their last 16 matches and their only loss of the season came to local rival and 2010 Group AAA runner-up Stone Bridge in five sets. Loudoun County will try for its sixth straight regional title at home on Saturday against either Western Albemarle or Dulles District foe Potomac Falls.

When the match concluded, the Colonels (16-8) could feel satisfied that they had given the Raiders a tough go at it. From coach Jill Lester to several of her players, the feeling on the James Wood side was one of accomplishment.

"We knew we were coming in as the underdog and that we had nothing left to lose," Lester said. "I thought our passing played a factor in the first and second set because they're the most aggressive serving team we've faced. No one had done a top-spin jump-serve at us, so we had to make an adjustment with that. I think once we got comfortable with the style of play they had, then we could make our adjustments and play James Wood volleyball."

For Kent, this was the end of the road. She hopes to continue playing some level of club as she looks to attend a Division-I college after graduation next spring. She said she also would like to come back someday and coach. Not a bad thought, given the leadership she showed in her final high school match.

"We started to leave everything out on the court - we had nothing to lose coming into this [match]," Kent said. "They're state champions, but there really wasn't that much pressure on us. We tried not to think about [Loudoun County's state championships] and not let that intimidate us. We took it point for point and tried to get what we could get."

The Raiders came out in an offense that left the Colonels back on their heels a lot. With top attackers Maggie Phillips (match-best 12 kills), Jenna Strange (10 kills, two blocks), Katrina Kirby (eight kills, six total blocks), and Taylor Huewe (three kills) all listed at 5-foot-10 or taller, Loudoun County brought lines, quicks, sliders, and cross-court hits at a rapid pace in the first set and beyond.

"We definitley haven't seen a team like that," Kent said. "They run a very quick offense. All their hitters are very talented and their sets were something we were not used to. Their setter kind of put the ball anywhere, no matter where she was."

Senior setter Jordan Leiter (34 assists) directed traffic with above-average skill on the front line and distributed very well to her attackers. The Raiders peppered the Colonels for 13 kills and six aces to open the match, and Lester knew her team had to find some way to adjust all over the floor.

The Colonels showed some flashes of improvement in the second set, but another five-kill total left the team with just 10 total through two sets.

During the three-minute break in the change-over before the third set, James Wood decided to get it together.

The Raiders got out to a 4-1 lead before the Colonels were able to make a dent. A missed serve allowed James Wood to gain sideout, and the Colonels got the next four points to take their first lead of the match.

An ace by Kent started things and Houser, who had more attack errors than kills through the first two sets, hit her spike through the block for a point. Houser then hit an off-balance attack that somehow slipped through the Raiders again for another kill. The Raiders tied it at 5-5, but Houser had her third straight kill with a soft tap to the front for the first of several one-point leads for James Wood over the next few exhanges.

There would be a total of 13 ties in the third set. The attacks of Houser, Kent, and senior Rachel Rau (three kills) would get matched by those put down by Phillips, Stange, and Kirby.

But the Colonels did have their share of hustle plays on defense and dug up several strong attacks by the Raiders to keep things tight.

"I thought Tarah Wampler had several nice digs there on defense from their outside attack," Lester said. "Once we could play some defense and get the ball back to our offense and score and make a little bit of a run, we did well.

"Overall, I was pleased. We had to replace five starters this year."

But mostly, down the stretch, it was the big-time hitting by Phillips, a sophomore second-team all-Dulles pick, that made the difference.

Phillips, who had a team-best 240 kills coming into the match, made the Colonels pay for a free ball my pouncing quickly to give Loudoun County a 17-15 lead.

A pair of attack errors by the Raiders allowed the Colonels to tie it once more before a ball-handling error by James Wood gave Loudoun County the lead back. Leiter then had a heads-up play, and her flip provided a two-point lead. Phillips then got a kill to make it 20-17 and Lester asked for a timeout.

The Raiders then got a little sloppy and had a few attack errors, letting the set appear like it was about to be lost. Kent had a kill to the back row to cut the deficit to 22-21, but Leiter had another flip tail along the front line and drop to make it 23-21.

When Kirby wiffed at the net on an attack to allow the Colonels another breath of fresh air, Loudoun County coach Jenica Matthias called a rare timeout. She smiled at her players in the huddle and that calm apparently lifted the Raiders out of their shell.

On the next exchange, Strange found a spot on the near side to drop a kill and provide match-point. When Quinn O'Donnell crashed on a free ball and got a kill to the front, it was over.

The Colonels, who advanced one round deeper in regionals this season, also got 12 digs from Kelby Jackson, 11 assists from Emilee Payne, and nine assists from freshman Ashley Hillyard, who did not play in Tuesday's win at Fauquier.

"It feels great to get this far," Kent said. "It feels good being the last team from our area still standing."