Capital One Bank Washington, D.C. Coach of the Week: Jenica Brown

Volleyball truly is a family affair at Loudoun County (Leesburg, Va.) where Jenica Brown is the head coach, her brother Jarod is a key assistant and her father John does scouting of key future opponents.

That combination clicked big-time this year while leading the Raiders to a 31-0 record and 49-game winning streak. The pinnacle came on Saturday in Richmond, Va., when they notched their sixth state championship in the last seven years with a 25-20, 23-25, 25-12, 25-23 victory over Jamestown (27-2) during the Class 4A finals.

For her efforts, Jenica has been named the Capital One Bank Washington, D.C. Coach of the Week.

Perhaps, the most amazing feat was winning 88 of 90 sets — the best mark in her 12 years as head coach — and establishing the current squad as arguably the best in school history.

National volleyball expert John Tawa told MaxPreps, "This is a very, very good team. Lots of size and power. Since Jarod joined his sister on staff eight years ago, they are 222-11."

Olivia Aycock, a 5-foot-10 junior, paced the Raiders with 13 kills in the title game, followed closely by 6-3 sophomore Taylor Borup with 12. Six-foot senior Maggie Phillips had nine. Mandy Powers, a 5-10 senior, was the assist leader with 33 and 6-2 senior Jane Feddersen made six blocks.

The coaching honor caught Brown by surprise.

"I'm kind of in shock," she said. "I just have the satisfaction of giving my girls 100 percent of what I have."

Brown is a 1997 graduate of Jefferson (Shenandoah Junction, W.Va.), where she played two years of volleyball and was captain as a senior; and a 2001 graduate of Shepherd College, where she played four more years of volleyball.

Her father, a former golf coach at Loudoun County, has been a major influence on her career. His scouting alone gives the team an edge that many others do not have.

"My dad convinced me to take the freshman position (at Loudoun) to help me get my foot in the door for a teaching position," she said. "It had to do with my knowledge of the game."

After one year as freshman coach, however, she took over the varsity and accepted a major challenge because the program was down at the time.

"It was a good way to build, because we had to start at the bottom," she said.

Her first year the Raiders finished around .500, and even that was a big step. Her second year they reached the state semifinals. In 2006 they were second in the state, but that left a bad taste in everyone's mouth because by then they had a winning mentality.

"These girls were devastated and took it to heart as a huge challenge," said Brown. "They came back and dominated."

The result was a Class AA state title in 2007 and the team's first undefeated season.

The Raiders will lose five seniors, and four of them will be playing college volleyball in the fall. Five others return and — with her dynasty fully established — coach Brown believes they have potential to again return to the state finals in 2014.