Madison McMillan (left) and Brionna Blouin, seen here during softball season, played strongly Monday for CMS volleyball. (Photo by Jackie Saia)
You come for Brionna Blouin, you better not miss. Cause she certainly won’t.
The four-sport standout stared down half the Coupeville Middle School gym Monday – the half occupied by a pack of very-loud Northshore Christian Academy volleyball players – then turned around, smiled, and ripped out their collective hearts.
Capping an afternoon of brilliant serving, the CMS 8th grader ripped off back-to-back aces to close out a Wolf win, then was bum-rushed by all her teammates, including the ones camped in the stands, providing the biggest moment in a long afternoon of sets and spikes.
How the day played out for all three Wolf squads:
Level 1:
They may not use the word “varsity” to describe the top level in middle school, but this Northshore squad was heads and shoulders above everyone else.
Featuring two girls who were proficient jump servers and a setter who was flicking the ball around like a seasoned high school ace, the visitors cruised to a 25-11, 25-13 win.
The loss drops the top CMS squad to 0-3 on the season.
It wasn’t that the still-developing Wolves, who feature six 7th graders on an eight-player Level 1 roster, played badly. Cause they didn’t.
From strong serving from Mia Farris and Savina Wells, to scrambling defensive work from spark-plug Lyla Stuurmans, Coupeville looked very good at times, and even led for awhile in the second set.
But Northshore moved as one, struck like a rattlesnake when (briefly) cornered, and had enough strengths to gloss over a few weaknesses.
First and foremost, the visiting Gators could rip the serve, and they did so with wild abandon.
One could argue they benefited from playing in front of middle school-aged lines-women who didn’t carefully monitor foot faults on their serves, but that would just be sour grapes.
Northshore’s players are talented. Give them credit for having put in the work, and hope they end up playing for high schools Coupeville doesn’t face on a regular basis.
The Gators broke out to an early lead in the opening set and never looked back, though the Wolves did have a moment or two of top-notch play.
Katie Marti had a nice lil’ run at the service stripe late in the set, while Grey Peabody was a one-woman wrecking crew.
She went airborne for a tip winner, and dropped a wicked little slicer of a service return for another point, but her best moment came in between.
With Northshore on the attack, Peabody made a crowd-pleasing, one-handed save on a hard-hit ball, keeping the play alive and setting up Wells, who lashed a kill to bring a quick end to the rally.
The second set started off much more to Coupeville’s liking, as Farris dropped a couple of aces while sending the Wolves out to a quick 4-0 lead.
While Northshore clawed their way back into things, CMS stayed close, leading as late as 6-5, still tied at 7-7, and not falling far behind until midway through the set.
Taylor Brotemarkle, tip-toeing around the net, dropped in a perfectly-placed bump for a winner, while Olivia Schaffeld and Chloe Marzocca chipped in with big hustle plays, bouncing off the floor in pursuit of balls.
Level 2:
The best match of the day was actually the first one played, and while the end result ultimately delighted Coupeville fans more than the Northshore players, it was also the most-competitive and hottest-contested bout of the afternoon.
It was also the one which caused the CMS gym to most resemble a mosh pit, as both sets of fans got loud ‘n proud, rocking the joint while camped out on the rock-hard bleachers.
In the end, thanks to Blouin and others, the Wolves exited with a 25-19, 29-27 win, lifting their season mark to a crisp 2-1.
Both sets followed a similar pattern, as Coupeville jumped out to a big lead, weathered a late Northshore rally, then sealed the deal with strong play in crunch time.
Blouin fired off a five-serve run o’ success to stake the Wolves to an early 6-0 lead, then Madison McMillan stepped into the spotlight, delivering at both the service stripe and on the floor.
One of her service aces was an alley-oop special, as the ball sailed for about two miles, only to suddenly drop and shock the Northshore players to their very core by catching the last piece of paint on the back line.
If that caused the Gators to lean backwards, McMillan soon made them regret the decision, smoking another serve off of a rival player’s chest with enough fury that it knocked her to the ground.
Toss in a low, screaming zinger of a service ace from Aby Wood, some more big-hitting from the duo of McMillan and Blouin, and set one was safely in the books.
Set two took a bit longer to be completed, but came out OK in the end.
With their “big two” thumping the ball, the Wolves built a 10-4 lead, only to give it all back, not only falling behind, but twice facing set-point.
Coupeville fought back from the edge, however, escaping from down 26-25 and 27-26.
When a Northshore spike found the bottom of the net, the ball went back to CMS with the set knotted at 27, and who should stroll to the line but Blouin.
The Gators in the bleachers thumped the wood with their feet, screamed their lungs out, wailed, and wailed some more, all in an effort to fluster the Wolf assassin.
If she noticed, Blouin never gave Northshore a reaction.
Instead, she rolled the volleyball on her hand, thunked it against the floor, eyeballed the ref, then swung the hammer of the gods and lashed an ace that bit a chunk out of the back corner.
Northshore’s players sagged, and Blouin did it all again, closing out the sound around her, arm swinging up, then swinging down and launching a bolt of liquid fire.
The ball smashed floor, the Gators swung and missed, the ball hit the back wall, and then the Wolves came pouring onto the floor from the bleachers.
Led by Wells, the team massed around Blouin, who, huge smile on her face, happily melted into a wave of hugs and hand-slaps.
The celebration capped a win in which the Wolves got solid contributions from everyone on the roster, from Kaitlyn Leavell to Allison Nastali, Jada Heaton to Ava Mitten, Skylar Parker to Laila Wenzel and Issabel Johnson.
Level 3:
The Wolves fell 25-18, 25-18, but impressed their coaches with big-time improvement.
Now 1-2 on the season, Coupeville’s third squad saw Bryley Gilbert deliver her first service ace of the season, which brought CMS coach Sarah Lyngra to her feet.
The Wolves also got quality work from Oktober Frost, who has the best name in the volleyball biz, and a rapidly-developing game to go with her moniker.
Frost went on a serving rampage midway through the second set, popping off five straight winners before middle school rules forced her to give up the ball to a teammate.
Back in the flow of things, Oktober capped September by bringing a sudden end to a later Northshore run, angling a return which skidded past a swinging foe for a winner.
Also coming up big for the Wolves was Hayley Thomas, who nailed two aces, including one which dipped at the last second and slid under the outstretched arms of a Northshore player.
Gabriella Becktell poked a winner through a forest of arms to kick off the second set, as the Wolves spread the offensive love around.
Coupeville also got quality floor time from Emma Garcia, Jackie Contreras, Maryah Love, Jones Walther, Kaylee Clark, Bailey Thule, Samantha Webb, and Kassidy Upchurch.
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