WINCHESTER — James Wood’s quest for a fourth straight Class 4 state championship started off strong on Wednesday night, as Region 4D’s North No. 1 seed swept North No. 4 Sherando to advance to the semifinals on Monday.
Powered by several extended service runs and 12 combined aces, the Colonels defeated the Warriors 25-14, 25-17, 25-17. Sherando finished its season 15-7, picking up a 3-0 win over Charlottesville in the first round before suffering this season-ending defeat.
James Wood (25-2) was led by senior outside hitter Kennedy Spaid’s 14 kills and three aces, senior outside hitter Brenna Corbin’s eight kills and nine digs, junior setter Kylee Plumb’s 16 assists and seven digs and senior middle hitter Claire Keefer’s 11 service points. Keefer’s 7-0 service run to close out the first set played a huge role in her team’s win.
Spaid, along with Corbin and Keefer, is playing to win a state title in her final high school season. She said she’s trying to take things “game by game” during the postseason run, but also said it’s dawned on her that her last few chances to put on a James Wood uniform have arrived.
“It’s definitely emotional because it’s my last year,” Spaid said. “So I’m putting all my heart out there and [giving it] everything I got.”
This playoff run will also be the last dance for head coach Adrienne Patrick, who’s leaving James Wood to become an assistant principal at Millbrook. Patrick, who’s coached the team for six years, said this feeling of finality is the biggest difference she sees for the seniors and herself during their latest playoff run.
“It’s tough when things come to an end, especially when you really like it and you’re doing really good at it, you know, you’re having fun,” Patrick said. “So, if I’m looking for a difference, the [thing] that stands out to me the most is knowing that this is my last [season].”
While change is on the horizon, Patrick also noted how a lot of her team’s approach is the same as it has been in previous years. She said the team is still focusing on the task at hand and not taking any wins for granted.
“The focus of one game at a time, the focus on our side of the court and what we need to do [is the same],” Patrick said. “That translates into how we say that we play as a family. Working on all of that, I feel like is similar to other seasons.”
Motivated by their goals, the Colonels looked hungry from the outset in this one, going up 7-2 after Spaid recorded three straight kills to begin the match. Freshman Kennedi Bower also recorded the first of her four aces during this stretch.
Two kills by Kyla Wilhelm and another by Corbin helped extend this lead to 11-6, while Sophia Zimmerman recorded an ace and Riley Alger tallied a kill to help the Warriors score some points.
An ace by Wilhelm and a kill by Corbin, coupled with an attack error, brought the score to 14-7 before Zimmerman gave her team a shot in the arm with back-to-back aces that cut the lead to 14-9.
An ace by Carleigh Ritter and a kill from Sophie Weir drew their team even closer, now down just 15-12. Bower responded with a kill and an ace before committing a service error to make it 17-14 James Wood.
From here, the Colonels took complete control when Spaid made a kill that gave her team possession for the remainder of set one. Across Keefer’s 7-0 service run, Spaid added another kill and a block, while a Kylie Putt kill and a pair of Sherando errors led to James Wood winning the opening set 25-14.
“Serving and passing is what we attribute to what fundamentally will win a match,” Patrick said. ”When you get on a run like that, I feel like, especially for our team, it impacts so much. It impacts the energy and levels everyone up, so it’s really important to have that consistency.”
James Wood got off to another solid start in the second set, leading 6-2 after three errors, along with an ace from Bower, put Sherando in a hole.
Two further errors on Sherando, along with an ace from Keefer and a block by Reese Justice, increased the lead further to 10-4. Sherando then battled back, going on a 6-2 run that saw Alger, Weir, Hannah Beck and Avery Curtis each record a kill.
Now trailing 12-10, the Warriors continued to go back and forth with the Colonels, trading errors and kills as the set reached a 16-14 James Wood advantage.
After the Warriors turned possession back over to the Colonels, the home team once again gained complete control. Two more errors and an ace by Spaid caused Sherando to call time while down 20-14.
After this breather, Wilhelm recorded two kills to extend the lead to 22-14. Though three errors gave the Warriors a few more points, the Colonels were able to close out the set 25-17 thanks to kills by Putt, Corbin, and finally Keefer.
With its season on the line, Sherando came into the third set with more aggression. The two teams were neck and neck early, tying six times en route to a 7-7 score. Two kills by Hannah Mood highlighted this stretch for Sherando, while Bower continued her strong evening with another ace and a kill.
An attack error on Sherando kick-started a 5-0 James Wood run in which Wilhelm tallied an ace and Corbin added two more kills.
Down 12-7, Sherando got back in it by cutting the lead to 16-13 after Curtis and Mood added more points to their names. An ace by Corbin and a block from Spaid, along with two Warrior errors, kept their team out in front.
The Colonels then got back in their groove, going on a 5-1 run to make it 21-14 after Corbin kept her strong set going with a kill and a block. Keefer and Putt also scored during this stretch.
Alger ended this run with a kill, but points from Bower, Putt and Wilhlem furthered the James Wood lead to match point (24-16). Curtis recorded a block to score one final point on the season for Sherando, before a ball-handling error gave James Wood the final point it needed to advance.
After a strong season that ended with a loss to a dominant program, Sherando head coach Chuck Ashby said he wanted to have more success after taking James Wood to five sets in the regular season, but said he’s optimistic about what awaits his roster come 2026.
“It would have been nice to take at least one and push the fourth set,” Ashby said. “The thing I like about us is our core group is coming back. Next year, all eight juniors are all going to be seniors, and they’ve basically played together since they were sophomores. So you’re going to get that core nucleus.”
Following its win, James Wood will now host North No. 2 Millbrook on Monday in the Region 4D semifinals. The winner will take the North part of the bracket, earn a state tournament berth and advance to face the South winner in the Region 4D title match.
— Contact Joe Tuman at jtuman@winchesterstar.com
Follow him on X @jtuman21