Coupeville Sports

Kirsty Croghan

Coupeville High School will have its third varsity volleyball coach in as many seasons next year.

Kirsty Croghan, a former standout Wolf player who returned to the school last season to replace Toni Crebbin, who retired after 20 seasons, has resigned after just one season at the helm.

Croghan lives and works in La Conner and the commute got to be too much, said CHS Athletic Director Lori Stolee.

Croghan had been an assistant volleyball coach for the Braves  — a perennial state title contender — before her return to Coupeville and continues to work in the La Conner schools system.

There had been hope a similar job might come available in Coupeville, but none had opened during her first year of coaching.

The Wolves went 3-12 under Croghan, and were at their best in the second half of the season, coming extremely close to upsetting several top teams, including Archbishop Thomas Murphy.

CHS beat Cascade Conference rivals Sultan and Granite Falls and non-conference foe Port Townsend, which will join Coupeville in the newly-structured 1A Olympic League in 2014-2015.

Wolf JV coach Amy King confirmed that she will be among those tossing their name into the hunt for a new head coach.

“I plan to apply for it,” she said. “I will have to go through the same process as everyone else who wants the position. I need to fill out an application and go through the interview process.”

Whomever the new coach is, they should have four returning letter winners next season — Hailey Hammer, Kacie Kiel and Madeline Strasburg, who would be seniors, and Sydney Autio, who would be a junior.

The JV team that King coached was also successful, with younger players such as Valen Trujillo, Tiffany Briscoe, Miranda Engle and McKenzie Bailey ready to compete for varsity slots.