Coupeville Sports

 Valen Trujillo (left) and Emily Coulter team up to kick-start the offense in an earlier season match. (John Fisken photo)

Even in a loss, the Coupeville High School JV volleyball squad is entertaining.

A pack of rarely-say-die players, the Wolves have taken great strides as the season has played out. And now, with one final home match against King’s next Tuesday, they continue to show signs of what they will hopefully bring to the varsity team in years to come.

“Our team is fun to watch, and during games last night, I saw sparks of the drills we do in practice coming to life,” said CHS coach Amy King. “Sometimes they wonder why we do certain drills and they are finding out that these situations I put them in are really used in games.

“The JV team has come so far from the first practice of the season – every one of them has grown with their skill levels and competitiveness,” she added. “I love the excitement on their faces when they do something on the court that they have never done before. Win or Lose, it is REALLY how you play the game.”

Playing at Granite Falls Thursday, the Wolves showed that spark, fighting hard before being nipped at the end 25-12, 17-25, 25-18.

Winning the second set, Coupeville used powerful serving from Miranda Engle and McKenzie Bailey to set things up, and floor-shaking kills from Monica Vidoni to finish them off.

Engle and Bailey were mirror images, each nailing seven good serves and slapping three aces past the Tigers. Once the ball was in play, Vidoni patrolled the net ruthlessly, smashing home four kills, while collecting a sweet tip for good measure.

“We had a lot of rallies which were fun to watch,” King said. “Getting help from everyone – great ups by Emily (Coulter), Ally (Roberts), Lauren (Grove), Tiffany (Briscoe) and Valen (Trujillo).”

In the deciding set, Granite roared out to a 12-point lead, but Bailey went to work and made things close at the end. Reeling off power serves like a machine, she delivered six winners, including two aces.

The play of the set came from Grove, as she came through with “a really nice tip that messed with the other team.”

The opening set was a mixed bag, as a strong start and finish couldn’t overcome a bout of “moving in slow motion” in the middle.

Briscoe and Bailey each thumped three kills during the set while Jae LeVine “took care of the back row while in the libero with a lot of nice ups.”