By Dennis Atwood — Daily Sports Correspondent

WINCHESTER — After their short-handed loss to Sherando ended their previous run of 29 consecutive regular season wins, the Millbrook Pioneers extended their current volleyball winning streak to three games Thursday night by sweeping the visiting James Wood Colonels 25-20, 25-18, and 25-19.

With Devon Courneya and Anna Comer rejoining the nearly all-juniors lineup in the previous game at Brenstville, and the addition of freshmen setter Megan Perry and Blake Parkes, the Pioneers' appear to have regained their stride in leading the Northwestern District.

"I'm playing Megan Perry as opposite back row, getting her ready for a setter role," said Millbrook coach Jen McCullough. "She plays very aggressively and has a lot of potential, as does our other freshman, Blake Parkes. I don't believe in a seniority system. You can be good at any age. Overall, I didn't see any surprises tonight, offensively or defensively."

Courneya notched 21 kills and 10 digs; Comer had seven kills and four blocks; Gennie McGuirk contributed nine digs and five blocks; and Ashley DeRemer provided five kills.

"We switched off a bit in our lineup with [Anna] Comer playing opposite tonight," said the 5-foot-7 Courneya. "Ashley [DeRemer] and I hit outside tonight and we both used the same approach."

Game 1 was evenly played to an 11-11 tie as Colonels sophomore middle hitter Hannah Tierney stroked two kills, and junior setter Carly Mullin, outside hitters Heather Armel and Emily Rutherford and sophomore outside hitter Emily Shannon contributed solo kills. While the Pioneers' Courneya stroked two kills, Comer, McGuirk and junior setter Jordan Orndorff provided kills, and DeRemer served an ace. Each squad committed five attack errors.

Millbrook then mounted 3-and-4-point runs to establish a 22-15 lead. A Pioneer net serve and kills by Mullin and Armel narrowed the deficit to 22-18. DeRemer slammed a kill and Shannon and junior Cady Schaffer smacked kills for the Colonels to make it 23-20 before a Courneya kill and a James Wood attack error sealed the win for the Pioneers.

The opening phase of Game 2 was also evenly contested, with the Colonels gaining a 9-7 edge. Then their half of the gym roof caved in on James Wood as the Pioneers ran off a 13-point scoring streak. Courneya led the run with two kills and Comer and McGurik added two blocks and a kill each. DeRemer, whose streak of 12 consecutive serves was ended by a Pioneer attack error, also had an ace during the spurt.

"I was a little disappointed the streak ended," said DeRemer. "I just concentrated on each serve. I blocked out the crowd and concentrated on each serve like coach [McCullough] told me to."

Trailing 20-10, Colonels' junior defensive specialist Sarah Wilson had two blocks and a kill, before the teams traded three-point runs and another Courneya kill gained the 24th point for the Pioneers.

James Wood then showed it that still had some fight, as Armel contributed with a kill and two aces, followed by a Shannon block to close to 24-18, before an attack error gave Millbrook the game-winning point.

Game 3 was closely contested as each team reached deep and traded three-and-four-point streaks as ties were reached at 9-all and 14-all. The Colonels got two aces and a kill from Armel, and two kills and an ace by Shannon, while the Pioneers got five kills by Courneya, two by DeRemer, and one each from Comer and Orndorff.

The teams then traded three-and-four point streaks until a Shannon kill enabled the Colonels to close to 22-19. A controversial call of an attack error on James Wood gave Millbrook its 23rd point, followed by another Colonel attack error and an ace by freshman Blake Parkes for the match winner.

There were several long volleys in each game, with some spectacular defensive saves out of bounds and long hits to keep the action alive, attesting to the skill and motivation of both squads.

James Wood was led by Tierney and Shannon with seven kills and an ace each. Armel added four kills and four aces, and Mullin had three kills and two blocks for the Colonels.