Coupeville Sports

CMS spiker Emma Leavitt is ready to flex on some fools. (Leann Leavitt photo)

And so it begins.

The Coupeville Middle School volleyball teams kicked off their eight-game schedule with a road trip to South Whidbey Thursday, picking up valuable experience.

While the Wolves fell to the Falcons, they went down swinging, and showed great promise.

“The girls had great energy, and I think anyone in the gym could see that,” said CMS coach Cris Matochi.

“Our team chemistry started great, so I’m hoping that this amazing synergy will help us make the fixes that we need to make and get where we need to be.”

The young Wolves get a chance to work on things in front of their home fans, with their next three matches in their own gym.

Coupeville hosts Lakewood (Sept. 30), Sultan (Oct. 2), and King’s (Oct. 7) as part of a homestand.

How the season openers played out:

Team A:

Coupeville dropped the first two sets 25-14 and 25-17, before rebounding to take the finale 15-12.

“We are learning a new rotational system, so things were a little chaotic today,” Matochi said.

“However, I have faith that once the girls are comfortable with it, our game is going to flow so much better.”

Cami Van Dyke peppered South Whidbey with five service aces, while Zariyah Allen picked up three.

When the ball was in play, Coupeville’s biggest hitter was Rhylee Inman, who pounded a team-high three kills.

Rounding out the varsity roster in the opener were Cassie Powers, KeeAyra Brown, Sage Stavros, Kennedy O’Neill, Jade Peabody, Laurel Crowder, and Emma Leavitt.

Team B:

South Whidbey claimed the first two sets 25-11 and 25-13, with Coupeville dominating the third set to a 15-6 tune.

“This team was able to improve every set and was able to win in the third set,” said Wolf coach Kristina Hooks.

“We had a lot of newcomers on the team, but they played well and had some great serves.”

Hooks was also pleased to see the growth of her veterans.

“We had a lot of great passing from some returning players, which I was happy to see their improvement since last season,” she said.

As the Wolves move forward, they plan to work on their skill sets, and the players themselves are contributing to the assessment process.

“Something they brought up after the game and even during the game was that the other team had a lot tougher serves than they were used to,” Hooks said.

“So, practicing serve receive with tougher serves is something that we will definitely be practicing more.”

Team C:

The Wolves put up a good fight but were swept in three sets.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done with the C team,” Hooks said.

“But I am impressed with how they played considering it was the first volleyball game for a lot of them.”