Coupeville Sports

Eight of 10 Wolves who went to camp in Bellingham pose with WWU player Caroline Hansen. (Cory Whitmore photos)

“I am so proud of the growth we experienced by the end of camp.”

Coupeville High School volleyball coach Cory Whitmore hit the road to Bellingham last week, taking along 10 Wolves to an annual summer camp put on by Western Washington University.

With the future wide open — CHS lost five seniors to graduation but has a rock-solid core of girls who played varsity last year as sophomores — the Wolves are looking to jell with their new lineup.

Four-time defending state champ La Conner, the big bad in the Northwest 2B/1B League, lost longtime coach Suzanne Marble to retirement, while the region’s best player, Ellie Marble, graduated.

Volleyball supremacy in the NWL truly feels like it’s up for grabs for the first time since Coupeville returned to the league.

With two tickets to state available for District 1/2 teams this coming season, instead of one as in the past, a relatively young, but talented Wolf squad is looking to make a major move.

Where better to start than WWU?

“Like always, the Western Washington University volleyball program put on such a great team camp this year,” Whitmore said.

“We are so fortunate to be just down the road from their campus and we’ve worked to build up our strong connection and feel so supported by their staff, not just during team camp.

“We look forward to visiting them sometime this fall season to watch them play.”

Coupeville’s 10-pack at camp included two seniors-to-be — Issabel Johnson and Grey Peabody — as well as juniors Mia Farris, Taylor Brotemarkle, Madison McMillan, Jada Heaton, Lyla Stuurmans, and Katie Marti.

Sophomore Carly Burt and 8th grader Tenley Stuurmans rounded out the roster.

While Coupeville will miss its former leaders, a new year brings new challenges for those returning.

“Any time you lose seniors, the identity of a team drastically changes,” Whitmore said. “But losing five experienced seniors really opens up that opportunity (and need) for growth.

“And so, team camp is incredibly important to help shape and test the new identity of a team,” he added. “This year’s camp was very productive toward those goals.”

While at WWU, the Wolves “engaged in really productive team talks centering around culture building, leadership development and team bonding,” while shuffling their lineup.

CHS mixed and matched players, with Whitmore and his assistants looking for lineups which click.

“This group is pretty versatile and so “adaptability” is already a strength of this team,” Whitmore said.

“Leadership was a strong characteristic of the out-going five seniors and so we went into camp knowing that this would be an area of development.

“Team camp is a terrific time for the leaders to find their voices, and I’m very proud of where we finished in this aspect.”

A huge part of camp is seeing which spikers step up into new leadership roles.

“It was fun to guide and then watch certain players really bloom in this area,” Whitmore said. “Completely leader-led, the group discussed the need to be able to hold each other accountable.

“I can confidently say, I have never seen a group so quickly adapt to that new standard with an impressive amount of maturity.”

The team camp offers high intensity work, and the Wolves responded strongly, even when down two players after Brotemarkle and McMillan left midway through, heading to Canada with their travel softball squad.

“Another area that impressed me while team camp unfolded was seeing just how the group did not let imminent fatigue creep into relationships, communication and performance,” Whitmore said.

“Team camp is meant to stress teams’/players’ endurance and experience adversity in a controlled environment.

“I’m very excited that a part of this group’s identity would include the ability to hold the standards despite fatigue. This group should be proud of how they handled a challenging test.”

Summer work equals fall success.

While Whitmore came away pleased with the effort and growth of all 10 Wolves, he pointed to Mia Farris and Lyla Stuurmans as players who shined.

“With eight players on the last two days, these two held down the outside attacking positions and did a phenomenal job,” Whitmore said.

“This particular position requires they will take a majority of the first contacts from the serve and then transition to the third contact.

“Outside attackers need to handle five of the six skills on a regular basis, and without a sub to provide them any kind of a break, I was just so impressed with their effort, focus and results throughout.”

Farris earned a camp award and was highly praised by camp coach, and current WWU player, Caroline Hansen, who played her high school ball at Columbia River for former Coupeville coach Breanne Smedley.

“Caroline pointed out that she was very impressed with Mia’s strong leadership with the team while handling a taxing workload,” Whitmore said.

“Something that is so exciting about this is that Caroline was unaware that this was the first time Mia ever handled a full six rotations.

“We are so very proud of her!”