Coupeville Sports

Wolf coach Cris Matochi was a busy man Wednesday afternoon. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was a long day, and they’ll do it all again in less than 24 hours.

Playing the first of back-to-back road trips Wednesday, the Coupeville Middle School volleyball squads held their own against feisty Sultan.

Jump forward to Thursday, and the bus wheels will be turning once again, with the Wolves headed off to Granite Falls as the end of the season approaches.

The finale arrives Monday, Oct. 21, when CMS hosts South Whidbey in a clash of next-door neighbors.

How Wednesday unfolded:

Level 1:

A loss, but an extremely close one which hinged on a play or two and a ref’s somewhat questionable interpretation of the rules at a key moment.

Sultan escaped with a 25-17, 25-23, 11-15 victory, aided by the official ruling in favor of the hometown Turks on a disputed substitution at 23-23 in the middle set.

That doesn’t take away from the Wolves ability to rally, as CMS nearly closed the gap in the opening set after falling behind by 10 points early.

Set two was a fierce back-and-forth affair, with Coupeville requesting a sub with things knotted late.

While the Wolves tried to swap players, Sultan jumped the gun and served for the go-ahead point, before fast-talking the ref into ruling in their favor.

Instead of stewing, the Wolves rebounded to take the third set, putting a nice punctuation point on the day, coach Cris Matochi said.

“Although we didn’t win that match, that tie break felt like the Olympics – it felt soooo good!” he said.

“And if the players had a chance to replay that match, we had the energy of an entire army!”

Level 2 and 3:

With fellow coach Kristina Hooks having the day off so she could welcome her Navy husband home from deployment, Matochi guided all three Wolf squads into Turk territory.

What he saw from the second two units brought a smile to his face.

“This was by far the best that teams two and three have played so far,” Matochi said.

“They were doing so much better with moving their feet to the ball, and some players were able to serve overhand for the first time!”

Level two lost 25-17, 25-12, 15-7, while Level three fell 25-12, 25-21, 15-9, but Matochi is a firm believer that solid improvement often means more than the won/loss record.

“The kids are much more competitive, and it is exciting to see them fight hard,” he said. “We even got to see some players diving today!”