WINCHESTER — Coming off a hard-fought victory over Handley, James Wood volleyball hosted Millbrook on Tuesday in a battle of undefeated teams.
After being pushed to the brink during a five-set match against the Judges, the Colonels made a statement by sweeping Millbrook 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-23) at their Shirley Gymnasium, improving to 16-0. This match marked the Pioneers’ first set losses of 2025, causing them to fall to 8-1.
James Wood was led by outside hitters Brenna Corbin and Kennedy Spaid, who each recorded 13 kills. Spaid added 13 digs, while Corbin had eight. Additionally, setter Kylee Plumb finished with 16 assists and five digs.
Colonels coach Adrienne Patrick said defeating a “real rival” like Millbrook is never something that comes easy. She said the players’ familiarity with each other, despite playing for different schools, often creates “amazing competition.”
“Outside of indoor high school volleyball, they play beach [volleyball] together, they also play club together,” Patrick said. “They know each other so well … it’s just so tense, and you know what the others can do, and you know what to expect. It’s just a heightened level of intensity.”
Though both teams displayed this intensity throughout the evening, it was James Wood that started hot, going up 7-1 behind two kills from Spaid and three errors on the visitors.
This stretch also included a 5-0 service run by Corbin, which set the tone for what became a productive serving night for James Wood’s entire lineup. Five players recorded service runs of at least 3-0, which Patrick said was a strong reflection of her team’s depth.
“That just speaks to the caliber of the athletes that you have in your program,” Patrick said. “And that’s what we want to do. We don’t want to [say] ‘everything is going to fall on the one player’s shoulders.’ So I love to see that. I love to see the shared responsibility.”
Millbrook didn’t back down from its early deficit, cutting the lead to both 12-5 and 15-8 while forcing several back-and-forth sequences.
James Wood then benefited from three more Millbrook attack errors, going up 20-10. The Pioneers continued to fight, getting back into the match with a 5-0 run that was capped off with a kill by outside hitter Aaliyah Green. Green finished with 11 kills.
Kills by Spaid and Corbin extended James Wood’s lead to 23-18 before another point from Spaid and a blocking error against Millbrook wrapped up the first set, 25-19.
Pioneers coach Dave White said his team had “slow starts in every set,” which hurt its ability to come back and win. He said he was nonetheless glad his team didn’t give up despite initial struggles with the momentum.
“They were putting a lot of pressure on us. That’s the most pressure we’ve faced so far this season,” White said. “We didn’t handle it well until it was too late in the set to catch back up. But I do like that they kept their heads up and kept battling in every set.”
Of the three sets, Millbrook’s best start came during the second. The action was tied 5-5 before the Pioneers climbed up to an 8-5 lead.
However, kills by Corbin and Claire Keefer, coupled with a service error and attack error on Millbrook, helped James Wood rally and go up 10-9.
A pair of blocks by senior Dreu Patterson created an 11-11 tie, and the set was soon knotted again at 13.
James Wood then got hot offensively, as a kill by Reese Justice was followed by a 4-0 service run from Kyla Wilhelm that helped the Colonels carve out an 18-13 advantage.
Corbin said she thought she and her teammates were “super aggressive at the service line,” saying that the success came due to “mental toughness.”
From here, a block by Justice and an attack error on Millbrook furthered the Colonels’ lead to 22-14.
Three James Wood attack errors, along with points from Avery Fauver and Lora Totcheva, helped Millbrook get back into it with a 5-0 run.
Totcheva then seemingly recorded a kill that would’ve cut the Colonels’ lead to 23-21, but the officials ruled it an error, making it 24-20 James Wood. Natalie Huck recorded one last point for Millbrook, but Corbin wrapped up the second set with another kill.
In the final set, James Wood sprinted out to a 10-1 lead after Wilhelm snuck two kills over the net to record her team’s first two points. From here, Justice made another block and Spaid recorded a kill, before four straight errors on Millbrook to contribute to the home team’s impressive lead.
Millbrook responded after Green tallied three kills and an ace to help cut the deficit to 11-8. Two more Corbin kills, along with a Macie Hewitt ace, then allowed James Wood to stay ahead at 16-9.
Two kills from McKenna Homans, along with a pair of James Wood errors, made it 17-14 Colonels.
Green then caught fire again, narrowly fitting two kills in the back corner of the court before also recording another ace to bring Millbrook within one point at 20-19. This caused Patrick to call a timeout.
The Colonels came out of the huddle and put two more points on the board before committing an attack error.
With the score now 22-20, an ace from Lanie Yeggy and a kill by Fauver tied the match at 22. A timely kill by Corbin put James Wood up by one, and an attack error then made it 24-22 Colonels.
After an error on James Wood made it 24-23, Bella Middleton set Corbin up for the sweep-securing kill.
Patrick said defeating a team of Millbrook’s caliber is a true confidence booster for her players as James Wood pursues a fourth straight state championship.
“What this match proves to ourselves is that, no matter what adversity we face, we’re able to come together,” Patrick said. “When you have girls that are playing for each other, lifting each other up, supporting each other on and off the court, I don’t know how you beat that team.”
Following this victory, the Colonels will be at home and face Williamsport on Thursday, while Millbrook will travel that same day to face Liberty. Both matches are set for 7:15 p.m.
— Contact Joe Tuman at jtuman@winchesterstar.com
Follow him on X @jtuman21