Coupeville Sports

Wolf fans got a little excited…

The long national nightmare is over.

Two weeks and 12 events (four volleyball matches, four girls’ soccer matches, three football games and one boys’ tennis tussle) into a new school year, a Coupeville High School varsity team has finally corralled what was beginning to seem like that most elusive of prizes — a big, fat, shiny W.

The Wolf spikers answered the call of duty and became the team to break the curse, pounding host Port Townsend 21-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-20 Saturday afternoon in a non-conference tilt. Meanwhile, having taken the same ferry across the water, the Coupeville girls’ soccer squad almost made it a perfect afternoon, narrowly falling 2-1 to the Redskins in a game that went down to the final whistle, despite the Wolves playing without four starters.

The booters may not have won, but they did break a season-long scoring drought, as Makana Stone popped the ball into the back of the net for her first varsity goal. The Wolves, who were playing without star Amanda d’ Almeida — away on a college recruiting trip — and three others, kept the tie intact until the final two minutes of the game.

On the volleyball court, it was vintage Hammer Time, as sophomore sensation Hailey Hammer drilled 18 kills, served three aces and collected two stuff blocks. Madeline Strasburg nimbly backed her up, delivering seven kills, while Bessie Walstad (five kills, two stuff blocks, 30 digs) and Megan Oakes (30 assists and three aces) both chipped in with splendid all-around play.

Both teams return to action this coming Tuesday, Sept. 18, with the spikers heading off to Sultan and the booters hosting South Whidbey in an Island grudge match set to kick-off at 6 p.m.