Zariyah Allen brings the big hit show to center court. (Julie Wheat photo)
Their bounce-back game is impressive.
Returning to the floor less than 24 hours after absorbing a narrow loss to high-flying Mount Vernon Christian, the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad unleashed holy terror on East Jefferson.
Rattling the visiting Rivals with an assortment of brutal kills and precision tips Saturday, the Wolves stormed to a 25-11, 25-23, 25-18 non-conference win to even their record at 6-6 on the season.
Scout Smith’s spikers have three regular-season bouts left to play, with a trip October 20 to La Conner next up on the schedule.
Saturday the Wolves hit the floor with one mission — destroy, then destroy some more.
Consider it mission accomplished.
CHS junior Tenley Stuurmans, who stuffed the stat sheet, kick-started the good times by peppering the Rivals with a variety of unhittable serves.
Meanwhile fab frosh Zariyah Allen mashed one of the few returns for a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am kill to keep the visitors on their toes.
With Kennedy O’Neill and Arianna Cunningham joining the never-ending hit parade, followed by Stuurmans unleashing a brutal kill which hit like a nuclear bomb going off somewhere in the desert, the Wolves shoved the lead out to 13-3 and never relented.
Tenley Stuurmans unleashes her fury. (Jacob Lujan photo)
Wolf freshman Rhylee Inman, a rodeo star who can also knock the stuffing out of a volleyball in her spare time, socked another applause-worthy kill, with Stuurmans sealing the opening set win with another long, impressive run on her serve.
While sets #2 and #3 were a bit closer, at least in terms of points scored, Coupeville remained in control all afternoon.
Stuurmans (who else?), Willow Leedy-Bonifas, and Haylee Armstrong operated with precision at the service line in the second frame, while Inman collected back-to-back kills, using her long reach to dominate play at the net.
East Jefferson did briefly seize the lead at 17-15, but an Inman kill tied things at 18-18, then a series of tip winners from O’Neill and Stuurmans pushed the Wolves ahead for good.
The Rivals stayed close in the third set until Allen unleashed a spike winner off the back corner to bust a 6-6 tie, with Coupeville’s power advantage eventually becoming impossible for the visitors to overcome.
Down the stretch the Wolves got key plays from Lexis Drake and Capri Anter, while Stuurmans, who notched numbers in all six primary stat categories Saturday, seemingly got stronger as the match played out, delivering some of her most thunderous winners in the waning moments.
In short, Coupeville’s team-wide performance?
Brutal and beautiful all in one, exactly the way their coach drew it up.
Saturday stats:
Zariyah Allen — 4 kills, 7 digs, 2 block assists
Capri Anter — 1 kill, 5 digs, 1 assist
Haylee Armstrong — 4 digs, 16 assists
Arianna Cunningham — 5 kills, 8 digs
Lexis Drake — 2 kills, 2 digs, 1 block assist
Rhylee Inman — 6 kills, 2 digs, 1 block assist
Willow Leedy-Bonifas — 14 digs, 1 assist, 3 aces
Kennedy O’Neill — 5 kills, 3 digs
Tenley Stuurmans — 10 kills, 13 digs, 13 assists, 2 solo blocks, 2 block assists, 9 aces
Shania Kenney (red shoes) hangs out with Wolf spikers (left to right) Capri Anter, Lexis Drake, and Haylee Armstrong. (Jackie Saia photo)
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