WINCHESTER — Amid its quest for a fourth straight Class 4 state championship, James Wood volleyball replicated a key moment from its 2024 postseason run by defeating E.C. Glass on Wednesday to win the Region 4D championship.
This marked the fourth consecutive region title for the Colonels and their second in a row where they defeated E.C. Glass. This time around, they earned a 3-0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-19) victory over the Hilltoppers.
With the team now set to host Dominion in the Class 4 state quarterfinals, just as it did a year ago, head coach Adrienne Patrick said she’s hoping this theme of repetition continues. The Colonels will play the Titans at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
“It means a lot that we’re able to continue to advance,” Patrick said. “It is kind of unique that last year, we played E.C. Glass in this game, which then led us to play Dominion in the next game … the only thing that I hope is that it would continue and the whole situation would repeat itself all the way to November 22.”
Throughout the win, James Wood was led by outside hitter Kennedy Spaid (nine kills, 17 digs, three aces), middle hitter Kyla Wilhelm (nine kills, four digs), outside hitter Brenna Corbin (seven kills, eight digs) and setters Kylee Plumb and Bella Middleton (16 assists each).
After facing fierce competition against local rivals Sherando and Millbrook, the Colonels didn’t deal with as much adversity versus the Hilltoppers. Establishing sizable leads in each set, they appeared to be playing loose, not bogged down by any late-set stress.
Patrick said this allowed the team to try new things, such as placing the setters closer to the net or giving some of the team’s less experienced varsity players more run than usual.
“I think that there were several opportunities where we let different people essentially play in different positions,” Patrick said. “We don’t really have our setter stay in the front row very often. It did end up where a couple people maybe weren’t exactly where they were supposed to be, and that’s something that will happen when you’re trying new things. I’m glad that the kids felt comfortable enough that they could try things.”
While James Wood was well-positioned for most of the match, the opening set was its most lopsided victory of the night. The Colonels jumped out to an 11-4 advantage, thanks in part to three kills by Spaid and additional points from Reese Justice and Kyla Wilhelm.
After the Hilltoppers scored a point, Wilhelm and Corbin added kills to help extend the lead to 15-5. After an ace from Corbin and a kill by Claire Keefer, E.C. Glass attempted to regroup with a timeout. However, Wood added four more points coming out of this break, going ahead 21-7.
The visitors scored two points before Corbin and Spaid added another kill each to make it 23-9. A pair of errors helped cut the lead to 23-12, but kills by Wilhelm and finally Corbin closed out the set for James Wood. Patrick said the standard Corbin and Spaid have held themselves to has helped them continue finding postseason success as they chase the fourth state title of their careers.
“They expect a certain caliber of themselves and of the team,” Patrick said. “So I feel like, for them to be able to continue to perform at a level that gets them to their end goal, I feel like it’s an expectation for them.”
E.C. Glass started strong in set two, playing James Wood to an early 5-5 tie. After a kill by Wilhelm, Spaid went on a 5-0 service run, making it 11-5.
Soon after, kills by Corbin and Kylie Putt and an ace by Wilhelm extended the lead to 15-7. Two errors gave the Hilltoppers two additional points, but a kill by Putt kickstarted a 5-0 Colonels run that made it 20-9. Keefer and Corbin each recorded a kill over this stretch, while Plumb scored on a dump.
The two teams then traded three points back and forth, making it 23-12, before a service error brought the Colonels to set point. After scoring two more points, E.C. Glass committed a service error to end the set at 25-15.
The final set was close early once again, as James Wood led 5-4 after committing three early errors. However, kills by Spaid, Justice and Wilhelm, along with an ace from Spaid, moved the lead to 10-5.
Each team then went on a 3-0 run, bringing the score to 13-8. E.C. Glass committed two errors before striking back with three points to cut the lead to 16-11.
Two errors, along with a kill by Plumb and an ace by Kennedi Bower, extended the home team’s lead to 20-12. Spaid then picked up another kill, and Keefer recorded an ace after the ball bounced through the legs of a Hilltopper defender, moving the lead to 23-14.
A 5-0 run by E.C. Glass, which included two errors on James Wood, caused Patrick to call time. After an attack error brought up match point, Justice tallied the last kill to secure her team’s fourth Region 4D championship in as many years.
“It felt really great knowing that I was able to contribute to our team and help our team push past them and get the higher seed in states,” Justice said.
Now set to host Dominion — a team they swept in two sets at their home tournament in August — the Colonels’ largest challenges still lie ahead.
Looking to win the fourth and final state title of her high school career, Corbin said the team knows competition will be as fierce as ever going forward.
“We have a lot of pressure,” Corbin said. “We know teams are going to want to beat us. We’re going to have a target on our back, and we’re just going to stay positive through it all.”
— Contact Joe Tuman at jtuman@winchesterstar.com
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