Coupeville Sports

Kyla Briscoe was a hitting machine Tuesday night. (John Fisken photo)

This one counted.

After two “non-conference” matches against league foes (still confusing…), the Coupeville High School volleyball squad officially kicked off 1A Olympic League play Tuesday night.

They might want a do-over, however.

Despite noticeably improving as the match played out, the Wolves fell 25-17, 25-20, 27-25 to visiting Klahowya, dropping their record to 2-7 overall, 0-1 in league play.

Chimacum swept Port Townsend in straight sets in the other league opener Tuesday, so, for the moment, Coupeville is in the basement with the RedHawks.

That could change quickly, however, as the Wolves get a chance for redemption Thursday, when they pop over to the mainland to face Chimacum.

In one of those two “non-counting” match-ups against league foes, Coupeville savaged the Cowboys in the first two sets, before inexplicably falling apart and dropping the final three sets and the match.

The sometimes schizophrenic nature shown by a young Wolf team was on full display again Tuesday.

When they were clicking, they knocked the Eagles on their heels. And, when they weren’t, their mistakes hurt far more than anything the visitors did.

The opening set was a back-and-forth affair, at first at least.

Kyla Briscoe delivered a crushing second-chance spike for a winner and Katrina McGranahan was electric, both at the service stripe and laying down slicing spikes.

Riding a service winner from Sydney Autio, the Wolves closed within 13-12, only to fall back as quickly as they had risen up.

A string of returns that went wide sent Coupeville tumbling into a hole, as the Eagle lead ballooned out to 24-15.

With their backs to the wall, the Wolves made things interesting with back-to-back winners off of McKenzie Bailey’s fingertips, as the senior stalked the net, claiming it as her own.

But it wasn’t enough, as Klahowya closed out the set with a spike that looked like it was flying out the door, but dove and caught the back line at the very last second.

The second set was virtually a replay of the first one, but a step closer.

Payton Aparicio ripped a winner that lopped off an Eagle arm or two as it zipped through, Tiffany Briscoe brought the thunder, Kyla Briscoe was a hitting machine and McGranahan pulled off a nifty two-in-one play.

Bouncing around with mad glee, the Wolf sophomore went high for a potential winner on a spike, then, when denied, immediately sprang back skyward to stuff Klahowya’s return in the face of a surprised Eagle.

Deciding to shake things up a bit, the two teams broke from the pattern in what would turn out to be the final set.

Coupeville roared out to an 8-1 lead on hot serving from Autio and Aparicio, with McGranahan once again pulling off a perfectly-timed stuff at the net.

Klahowya was not to be denied, however, fighting back to reclaim the lead at 17-16.

From that point on, the Wolves would never again be in the lead, though they did force five ties and stave off two match points before succumbing.

The fight left in Coupeville was evident, as both times it fought off match point, it did so by outright winning the point and not merely popping the ball up and hoping the visitors would commit an error.

The first time Hope Lodell came zipping in from the side, appearing almost as if by magic at the last second, to catch the ball on the very tip of one finger and perfectly plop it in for a winner.

On the next, Ally Roberts got elastic, reaching behind her head while airborne to snag the ball and deliver a knee-quaking spike.

Lauren Rose paced the Wolves at the service stripe, converting 92% of her serves, while also doling out six assists.

Valen Trujillo (11 digs), McGranahan (four kills, three blocks) and Kyla Briscoe (three kills) also lodged their names on the stat sheet.