Over the past four seasons, James Wood volleyball has experienced unquestioned success.
Following their win over Courtland in the Class 4 state semifinals on Tuesday, the 29-2 Colonels will now look to win their fourth straight state championship on Saturday against 17-5 Loudoun County in the Class 4 final. The match starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Virginia State University in Petersburg.
While James Wood has often been tested by its local Northwestern District rivals throughout its four-year run, it has usually passed those tests with flying colors.
In order to continue testing her players, Colonels’ head coach Adrienne Patrick said she’s worked to construct a schedule that presents them with challenges and encourages them to keep getting better.
“The schedule that we run, it’s tricky because losses hurt,” said Patrick, whose team barely finished as the top North seed ahead of Millbrook (0.18 difference) despite sweeping the Pioneers in the regular season. “But again, if you don’t force your team to grow and push yourself to play teams that … are going to challenge you, you’re not going to be able to grow.”
In the first week of the season, James Wood hosted the Champions Classic and beat each of their opponents 2-0, including Loudoun County (25-15, 25-21). The Colonels also beat Riverside, which will play for a second straight Class 5 state title on Saturday, Class 4 quarterfinalist Dominion, and West Virginia Class AAAA semifinalist Musselman.
At the Endless Summer Tournament in Virginia Beach, James Wood won 2-1 in the title match over Georgetown Day, the District of Columbia State Athletic Association champions. The Colonels also beat Kellam (Riverside’s Class 5 opponent on Saturday) and Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division I state champion Flint Hill.
This season, the Colonels’ two defeats came in a 3-0 loss to North Hagerstown and a 3-2 loss against fellow Northwestern District team Kettle Run.
After winning three straight Maryland Class 3A state championships, North Hagerstown was the state runner-up this season. Kettle Run also had a strong year, ultimately falling in the Class 3 state semifinals to bring its 25-2 season to a close.
Though the Colonels fell to both teams, they came out on the other end looking sharp. After the loss to the Hubs on Oct. 3, James Wood went on a five-match winning streak that included wins over rivals Sherando, Liberty, Handley and Millbrook.
Ever since Kettle Run ended that win streak on Oct. 23, the Colonels have only lost two sets across six matches in the regular season and postseason. Senior outside hitter Brenna Corbin said the pair of defeats fueled the team to improve.
“Teams like Kettle Run and North Hagerstown, they just make us better,” Corbin said. “Yeah, we lost, and that sucked, but we were able to grow from that and learn from that, and be able to come out stronger against tougher teams.”
On Tuesday, the Colonels had a rematch of last year’s state championship match with Courtland that they won in five sets. Courtland (27-2) hadn’t lost a best-of-five sets match all season, but James Wood won 3-1 Tuesday. The Cougars had a 24-match winning streak snapped, with their other defeat coming to Class 6 state finalist Charles J. Colgan.
This season wasn’t the first time Patrick and her staff targeted tougher opponents. Last season, for example, the Colonels faced and defeated North Hagerstown, as well as Williamsport of Maryland, which went on to win the Class 2A state championship. They also split a pair of matches with Kettle Run and lost 3-1 to Hedgesville of West Virginia, which went on to win the Class AAAA state title.
Patrick said she’s prioritized this approach throughout all six years she’s coached the Colonels.
“That’s what I’ve felt the entire six years that I’ve been coaching the varsity team,” Patrick said. “I have always believed that I can’t just let somebody stay [at the same level] and expect them to improve. I have to push them to grow. And so, that’s why we play tougher teams.”
Saturday’s match will also bring about a full-circle moment for Patrick and four-year varsity members Corbin and Kennedy Spaid, as Loudoun County was the first opponent James Wood defeated during the initial state championship season of its current four-year run of excellence. The Captains were coming off a run of 14 state championships in 15 seasons that year. The two teams also met in the 2014 state championship, where the Captains were victorious, 3-0.
With the Colonels looking to cap off the season with a title, senior middle hitter Claire Keefer said the team’s challenges earlier this season have them well-prepared.
“When you’re playing tough opponents between both of those matches [against North Hagerstown and Kettle Run], it was just like some of our biggest competitions,” Keefer said. “That’s really where we put our whole hearts on the court, and we just had to learn from that. On Saturday, we just have to push through and be ourselves. So, play Wood volleyball.”
— Contact Joe Tuman at jtuman@winchesterstar.com
Follow him on X @jtuman21