Coupeville Sports

Raven Vick and Coupeville volleyball are 12-2 heading into their regular-season finale. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Big hitters like Zoe Trujillo are ready to wreak havoc in the playoffs.

The experts have spoken.

If the Washington State Volleyball Coaches Association knows what it’s talking about, Coupeville is going back to the state tournament this season.

When the first poll of the season was released earlier this week, the Wolves were one of 16 teams (the same number which go to state) to receive votes, landing at #15, between Kiona-Benton and Klahowya.

But, as good as CHS has been this season, winning 36 of 46 sets, they also happen to sit in the same league as King’s, which was ranked #2 in that poll, behind just Chelan.

And the Knights have been the one team the Wolves just haven’t been able to solve … yet.

Thursday night, playing on its home court in Shoreline, King’s held off a scrappy Coupeville squad, winning 25-9, 25-13, 25-15 to claim a second-straight North Sound Conference title.

With one regular-season match left to play, the Knights (9-0 in league play, 13-0 overall) and Wolves (7-2, 12-2) are locked in as the league’s #1 and #2 seeds for the district playoffs.

Cedar Park Christian (5-3, 10-4), South Whidbey (3-5, 4-8), and Sultan (2-7, 6-9) are also headed to the post-season, while Granite Falls (0-9, 3-11) has been eliminated.

To see the bracket for districts, pop over to:

http://www.nscathletics.com/tournament.php?tournament_id=3120&sport=10

Coupeville has mashed everyone not in a King’s uniform this season, only dropping four sets to other schools, but hasn’t been able to match the Knights mix of big hitters and impeccable passers.

But the Wolves did take a step forward from their performance in the first match-up between the schools.

“King’s is a very good team and we needed to access a new level of play and couldn’t quite find that gear,” said CHS coach Cory Whitmore. “We passed much better than our previous meeting with them and handled some real tough serves but couldn’t get the ball to the ground on their side often enough.”

He praised the play of his team, with a special tip of the hat to senior smasher Maya Toomey-Stout.

“Maya had a massive game for us,” Whitmore said. “Very calm on the pass, took a ton of swings and played all-out in the middle back position digging their widespread attack.”

Toomey-Stout finished with four kills, three digs, and two blocks, while Scout Smith (12 assists, two digs), Zoe Trujillo (five kills), and Hannah Davidson (four kills and a block) also sparkled.

Emma Mathusek added three digs, Lucy Tenore and Maddie Vondrak each delivered a spike, and Lucy Sandahl zipped a service ace past the Knights defense.

Coupeville closes the regular season on the road Monday, traveling to Sultan, and a win would match the most victories in a single season by a Whitmore-coached CHS squad.

The 2019 team is just two wins shy of the best mark in program history, the 14 wins thrown down by the immortal 2004 Wolf spikers.

As he and his team prepare for their playoff run, Whitmore has a simple answer to how Coupeville can bounce back from their loss to King’s.

“Back to practice, to focus on our long-term goals.”