SPOTSYLVANIA — Throughout its last four postseason runs, James Wood volleyball has rarely strayed from home. That changed on Tuesday when the Colonels traveled to Courtland High School for a Class 4 state semifinal match.
Despite a hostile crowd environment, James Wood remained poised and punched its ticket to a fourth straight state championship appearance, defeating the Cougars 3-1 (27-25, 18-25, 25-16, 25-22) in a rematch of last year’s state final that the Colonels won in five sets.
“It honestly feels so good, and I wouldn’t want to do it with any other teammates,” senior outside hitter Brenna Corbin said. “I have been so blessed with the coaches I’ve had and the teammates that have been right by my side, no matter what. I’m just really grateful.”
With this win, Corbin, along with fellow senior Kennedy Spaid, reached her fourth state championship match in as many years. Corbin finished the night with 13 kills and 24 digs, while Spaid added 28 kills, 15 digs and two aces. Additionally, senior middle hitter Claire Keefer tallied six kills and two blocks and junior setter Kylee Plumb recorded 29 assists and 11 digs.
This was the first non-neutral site postseason match James Wood had played since the 2022 Region 4C semifinal against Rock Ridge. Despite the two-hour trip down the road, Colonels’ head coach Adrienne Patrick said the team didn’t feel too far removed from its normal routine.
“We tried to replicate as much as possible of what we would normally do if we were at home,” Patrick said. “We still had a bit of a film session, like we always do. It just happened to be in a restaurant instead of a classroom … our trainer traveled with us, which was phenomenal. I think things like that are really important. I think consistency and continuity are important.”
This consistency certainly translated on the court for James Wood, especially in the match’s competitive final set. With the teams tied at 19 late, and with both struggling to go on sustained runs, James Wood broke the set open with a 5-1 run that gave it a 24-20 lead. After the Cougars scored two points, they had a service error that gave the Colonels the victory.
This tense win in the final set followed a third set where James Wood outscored Courtland 15-6 down the stretch. Keefer said she and her teammates overcame the pressure of being on the road by utilizing the crowd noise to their advantage.
“Personally, I was a little nervous, but our coaches talked to us,” Keefer said. “They said to just use all of the away [cheers] as them cheering for you, because they’re here to see us.”
Before the Colonels’ strong finish, the Cougars gave them a run for their money early. The two teams were neck-and-neck early, playing to 5-5 and 9-9 ties.
A 4-1 Courtland run made it 13-10 before a kill by Spaid and an error by the Cougars helped bring the score to 15-12.
James Wood tied it at 15 following a similar sequence with a Spaid kill and a Cougars’ attack error, but Courtland fought back to take a 17-15 lead.
Corbin cut the lead to one before another point by James Wood tied things at 17. Kills by Corbin and Kyla Wilhelm, who finished with seven kills, then gave the Colonels a 19-18 lead.
After Spaid assisted on a Keefer kill, the Colonels committed a service error that cut their lead to 21-19. Corbin scored again, but Courtland then tied the set at 22 following a Sophia Morin ace and an Aubrey Parker kill.
The match remained tied at 23 and 24 before Spaid recorded a kill to give her team a one-point lead. Courtland tied it, but Reese Justice responded with a kill to bring up set point. An attack error on the home team then gave James Wood a 1-0 lead.
James Wood went up 3-1 early in set two behind kills from Spaid and Corbin, but Courtland recorded a pair of aces to help it take a 6-4 lead.
A 3-0 Courtland run helped them go ahead 11-6 before Wilhelm stalled the Cougars with a kill. Two errors on James Wood then extended the home team’s lead to 13-7.
Across the coming possessions, Keefer, Spaid and Kennedi Bower each recorded a kill to help their team get back in it, but Courtland still led, 17-12.
James Wood called timeout after Courtland went ahead 20-13, but two errors out of the brief break extended the Cougars’ lead to 22-14. Kills by Parker and Caroline Eastlake helped close out the second set, giving Courtland a 25-18 victory that tied the match.
Patrick said her team wasn’t playing its usual brand of volleyball during the second set, and she encouraged them to change that heading into the third set.
“[My message was] we have to talk, that playing tight and playing quiet isn’t going to work,” Patrick said. “We’ve got to play our own game, so to speak, because not talking and being quiet, that’s not who we are. So that was kind of [what I said], that we know what to do, and now we need to make it happen.”
A pair of blocks by Keefer early in the third set gave James Wood an early 4-2 lead, before a 5-0 run extended this advantage to 10-4.
Across this stretch, a Courtland error was followed by assists from Plumb to Spaid and Keefer. After this, a block by Justice and another kill by Spaid, aided by a dig from Corbin, helped James Wood add to the lead.
A few plays later, Corbin recorded a kill that was immediately followed by an ace from Spaid, extending the lead to 15-6. A 3-0 Courtland run cut the lead down to 17-9, and a 4-0 run soon after further narrowed the deficit to 18-13.
In response, Corbin, Spaid and Bower each recorded a kill, making it 22-13. Corbin and Spaid soon added two more points, before Courtland scored a pair to bring the score to 24-16. Keefer then recorded a kill to give her team a 2-1 advantage.
James Wood opened the final set ahead 6-3, thanks in part to points from Spaid and Wilhelm. A pair of errors helped Courtland tie the set up, beginning what became an extremely back-and-forth final set.
For the majority of the set, neither team could engineer a sizable service run, with the teams managing one 2-0 run each from the time the action was tied at six until the Cougars led 19-18.
From this point forward, the switch flipped for the Colonels. A 4-0 run, powered by three kills by Spaid, allowed them to establish a 22-19 lead.
Courltand scored another point, but Plumb then found Spaid again for a kill, making it 23-20. An attack error brought about match point, but Courtland scored two more times. One final service error wrapped things up and sent James Wood back to the state championship.
“[The fourth set] was just that back and forth, and I feel like that went on for quite some time, and that can be nerve-racking for a player,” Patrick said. “Getting on a serve run and being able to get some points together, that allows you to take a breath and then feel more comfortable. So that back and forth, that’s tough, and for that to happen for so many points in a row is challenging for the girls.
“So, for them to be able to then get to a point where they’re going to push past and then get two points, then get three points and, especially in a later set, I feel that speaks to their tenacity and their heart and their grit.”
With this victory, James Wood will now travel to Virginia State University and face Loudoun County in the Class 4 state championship at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The Colonels bested the Captains 2-0, on Aug. 30 in their tournament at Shirley Gymnasium.
Knowing how far the Colonels have come this season, Keefer said she and her teammates got emotional after the win over the Cougars.
“When we got to the fourth set, when it got into the 20s, I could feel it in my heart, I was like, ‘wow, this is really one of my last games,’” Keefer said. “It’s really an achievement that I know we’ve all been dreaming of since the beginning of senior year. Me and Kennedy just cried. So, it was super exciting, and I can’t wait for Saturday.”
— Contact Joe Tuman at jtuman@winchesterstar.com
Follow him on X @jtuman21