Coupeville Sports

  Allie Hanigan (left) and Breeanna Messner team up to stuff a shot at the net. (John Fisken photos)

Hailey Hammer drops the boom.

It wasn’t perfect. But it was a decent start.

Officially kicking off Kirsty Croghan’s first season as coach of the Coupeville High School volleyball squad she once starred for, the Wolves fought hard before bowing to big school rival Cedarcrest at home Thursday.

With a new mix of players and a new playing style to adapt to, the Wolves roared out to a strong start, then stumbled a bit once the big-hitting visitors got revved up, eventually falling 25-19, 25-9, 25-13.

The first set was a fiercely-fought affair. Hailey Hammer and Allie Hanigan provided the early spark at the net, with Hammer’s raw power mixing with Hanigan’s precision tips to carry Coupeville to an early 6-4 lead.

After that, it was big play versus big play, with Wolf junior Madeline Strasburg freezing everyone with a beautifully-placed tip that dropped between multiple defenders to knot the score at 17.

Then things fell apart for just a bit, but that was a hair too long.

A couple of moments of miscommunication between teammates allowed key balls to drop in, and a Cedarcrest spike that ricocheted off of a Wolf player’s head doomed Coupeville’s hopes.

After a rough second set, notable only for a laser shot by senior Haley Sherman that shredded a few knee caps, the Wolves rallied several times in the third set, but were unable to get all the way back.

Hammer pulled off a pair of stuffs at the net and the tall, graceful Hanigan notched another artfully-placed tip for a winner, but Cedarcrest, one of the biggest of the 2A schools in the Cascade Conference, proved too much.

Still, even after a loss, Croghan has come away impressed with the potential she sees in her new team. After working as an assistant at La Conner the past several seasons, she’s glad to be back home.

“This is a great group of girls, very hard workers,” Croghan said. “They’re adapting well to a new system. I couldn’t be prouder of how they’re coming along.”

Hammer (three kills, three blocks) and Hanigan (five blocks) paced the Wolves at the net, while sophomore Sydney Autio was 50 of 57 with sets, racking up eight assists.

Amanda Fabrizi (16 of 19) and Kacie Kiel (15 of 17) led Coupeville in receiving serve, while Hammer (10 of 11) and Strasburg (7 of 7) were tops at the service stripe.

JV loses in three: Despite strong play from Tiffany Briscoe, Miranda Engle and McKenzie Bailey, the Wolves fell 25-11, 25-12, 25-13.

The biggest cheer of the night came midway through the third set, when foreign exchange student Merle Fitzenhagen, who has never played the sport before, executed a gorgeous tip that dropped in the middle of a pack of Cedarcrest players for a Wolf point.