Coupeville Sports

Eryn Wood played strongly Monday as the Coupeville JV spikers battled South Whidbey through three torrid sets. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Second match, same as the first.

The JV volleyball squads from Coupeville and South Whidbey played twice this season, and the result was identical – the Wolves roll early, the Falcons swoop in at the end.

Monday, CHS roared to a lopsided win in the opening set, crushing the visitors 25-15, but then came up short in the final two frames, falling 25-19, 25-13.

The loss drops Coupeville’s young guns to 3-4 in North Sound Conference play, 5-5 overall.

Just like the first time these two JV teams faced off, back in late Sept. in Langley, the Wolves came out all guns firing.

Monday, Zoe Trujillo elevated and ripped a rival’s knee cap off with a ferocious spike to open the match, and that was just the beginning.

A nasty ace off the fingertips of Lucy Sandahl, followed by a block from Abby Mulholland and a kill from Izzy Wells, and Coupeville had a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

Raven Vick and Sandahl each ripped off stellar runs at the service line to pad the lead, with Trujillo providing the snappiest point when she slipped in from the left side at the last second to drop a running tip which had the Falcons swinging at nothing but air.

Once again, Coupeville looked like it would put the match away in the second set, jumping out to a lead.

But once again, that lead slipped away, never to be regained.

Maddie Vondrak unleashed like a coiled spring exploding, driving a ball between two defenders for a kill, then immediately struck again, this time dancing in air while using just the tips of her fingers to reach up and snuff out a would-be-Falcon point.

That followed a sensational smash off the back line from Kylie Van Velkinburgh, and things were sailing along nicely. Until they weren’t.

The Wolves didn’t trail until 17-16, but once they found themselves on the short end of the score, they couldn’t get back in front.

Trujillo made a spectacular running save on one point, however, popping the ball back into play.

That gave Vondrak a chance to arc a high, looping shot over her shoulder, with the ball splashing down deep on the other side of the net for an unexpected, and thrilling, point.

With their swing players (Sandahl, Vondrak, Vick and Trujillo) unavailable in the third set, CHS coach Chris Smith went to his freshmen in the final frame, and they put up a strong effort against more seasoned foes.

Eryn Wood and Noelle Daigneault caught the spotlight, with the former dropping in several winners with a variety of sweet hits, while the latter lashed a booming ace on her very first serve.