Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Volleyball’ Category

The Wolves get some last-minute advice from their coaches. (Leann Leavitt photos)

Learn under fire, build for the future.

Charging into the lion’s den Saturday, the Coupeville High School JV volleyball squad squared off with opponents from much-larger schools at a tournament in Bellingham hosted by Meridian.

Playing big-timers like Nooksack Valley, Sedro-Woolley, and Lynden, the young Wolves picked up valuable lessons and saw plenty of floor time.

“I’m really proud of the way they played,” said CHS coach Alita Blouin.

“Effort never took a dip, and they persevered through this week. They kept at it even when the score wasn’t in our favor and kept on fighting.”

Olivia Martin launches a laser.

The tourney capped a busy week for the Wolves, who had played three times in the previous five days, with regular-season matches against Cedar Park Christian-Bothell, Friday Harbor, and Concrete.

The middle one of those bouts was a road trip, as well, meaning Coupeville’s spikers are probably looking forward to resting Sunday.

Before immediately jumping back into things Monday when La Conner comes to Cow Town.

Having the chance to endure an all-day tourney will pay benefits in the future, however, Blouin said.

“It was all tough competition, but I think it was a positive experience to see bigger competitors. And also a good confidence boost to see that we can hang with them.”

Battle tested and ready for more.

Read Full Post »

Lyla Stuurmans hangs out with mom and boyfriend Nick Guay. (Photo courtesy Sarah Stuurmans)

Friday nights are made for sets and spikes.

Playing in two different towns, Coupeville grads Lyla Stuurmans and Mia Farris, key members on the most successful Wolf volleyball team in program history, both racked up stats on the collegiate scene.

Stuurmans picked up three kills and a dig as Skagit Valley College rolled past visiting Edmonds 25-19, 25-23, 25-21 to get to 10-7 on the season.

Meanwhile, Farris collected a team-high 21 digs to go with two assists and a service ace as Whatcom College lost a five-set thriller at Everett.

The Orcas, now 7-12, rallied from two sets down before falling just short, with their hosts escaping with a 25-20, 25-9, 21-25, 15-25, 15-10 victory.

On the season, Stuurmans sits with 98 kills, six assists, 15 service aces, 148 digs, five solo blocks, 25 block assists, and 130.5 points

Farris has piled up 36 kills, 22 assists, 36 aces, 224 digs, two solo blocks, a block assist, and 74.5 points.

The next match for the former CHS Athlete of the Year winners features a reunion, as Skagit travels to Whatcom Wednesday, October 7 for the first of two rumbles between the schools.

Battle #2 goes down in Mount Vernon October 30.

Mia Farris (left) enjoys team photo day. (Photo courtesy Susan Farris)

Read Full Post »

Spikes mixed with compassion.

Wolf volleyball and WhidbeyHealth are gearing up for their annual joint fundraiser, Coupeville vs. Cancer, set for October 16.

The CHS net crew hosts Mount Vernon Christian that night, with JV playing at 5:00 PM and varsity at 6:30.

Money raised will go to help support WhidbeyHealth Cancer Care.

If you’re not able to be there in person, you can still chip in with a donation, and the photo above shows you where to do that.

Read Full Post »

Lexis Drake (5) and Isa Mc Fetridge both delivered strong performances in a win Thursday against Concrete. (Leann Leavitt photo)

Rack ’em up and knock ’em down.

Winning for the second time in less than 24 hours, the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad swept visiting Concrete off the floor in style Thursday night.

Rolling to a neat ‘n tidy 25-15, 25-17, 25-15 victory, the Wolves get to 3-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 3-4 overall.

Looking fresh and fancy free even after traveling back and forth to Friday Harbor a day earlier, then attending school before hitting the court again, the CHS spikers were in control from start to finish.

The first few moments Thursday were a virtual highlight reel, with Tenley Stuurmans launching lasers from the service stripe, while freshmen Rhylee Inman and Zariyah Allen crunched winners at the net.

Coupeville remained hot on its serve, with Capri Anter, Willow Leedy-Bonifas, Haylee Armstrong, and Isa Mc Fetridge all putting together positive scoring streaks with the volleyball in their hands.

A crosscourt smash for a winner from Kennedy O’Neill kept the Lion defenders fidgety, while a resounding block from Lexis Drake denied Concrete a chance to fire up its own offense.

Point by point, Coupeville steadily built a substantial lead, and never let the visitors get into a rhythm, with Inman, Arianna Cunningham, and Drake closing out the first set with dramatic putaway shots.

Set #2 was more of the same positive vibes for the Wolves, with the student section starting to ramp up the noise in support.

Leedy-Bonifas put together a long, successful run on her serve, with Cunningham providing able support with a variety of shots which baffled and bedazzled the Lions, before Mc Fetridge slammed the door shut with her own stellar serves.

The entire match could be summed up in one late point, as the teams scrapped through a sustained rally, players on both sides coming up with saves to keep suspense in the air.

Until Cunningham elevated and smashed the crud out of the volleyball, scattering Lions in both directions with a wicked kill to bring an end to all that nonsense.

Capri Anter dreams of aces. (Bettie Sifuentes-Hart photo)

Concrete made a last-ditch stand in the third set, jumping out to its only lead of the night at 4-0 and holding on to the advantage until Anter strolled to the service line.

Firing off missiles on her grandpa Sean’s birthday, the Wolf senior turned a 6-4 deficit into a 9-6 lead, and Coupeville never looked back.

Armstrong followed her cousin’s lead shortly afterwards, ripping off her own five-point service run, before Cunningham pounded in the last nail on Concrete’s coffin with four more points.

Well, next-to-last nail.

The final exclamation point came courtesy Stuurmans, who hit the ball like a woman who wants to see if she can make the orb explode, delivering one last kill to haunt the Lions as they try and go to sleep tonight.

 

Thursday stats:

Zariyah Allen — 2 kills, 1 dig
Capri Anter — 6 digs, 4 aces
Haylee Armstrong — 4 digs, 4 assists, 3 aces
Arianna Cunningham — 10 kills, 5 digs, 2 aces
Lexis Drake — 2 kills, 1 solo block
Rhylee Inman — 3 kills
Willow Leedy-Bonifas — 11 digs, 4 aces
Isa Mc Fetridge — 5 digs, 2 aces
Kennedy O’Neill — 1 kill
Tenley Stuurmans — 4 kills, 3 digs, 15 assists, 2 solo blocks, 5 aces

Read Full Post »

Annabelle Cundiff was lethal at the service stripe Thursday against Concrete. (Leann Leavitt photo)

They finished the night on a high point. Or a lot of high points.

While the Coupeville High School JV volleyball squad dropped the first two sets Thursday to visiting Concrete by a 25-17, 25-19 score, the Wolves roared back to claim set #3 impressively, winning 25-7.

The strong finish bodes well for a young squad which is now 1-3 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 1-6 overall.

Alita Blouin’s band of scrappy spikers gets a chance to get a lot of court time this weekend, with the JV slated to travel to Bellingham Saturday for a tourney hosted by Meridian.

The Wolves will enter play there coming off of one of their best sets of the season, as everything, and everyone, clicked in the finale against Concrete.

Cassandra Powers kicked things off with a five-point run on her serve, with Addison Jacobson, Emma Leavitt, and Annabelle Cundiff all popping aces as well as CHS led from start to finish.

The first two sets were a bit bumpier, though Coupeville put together positive plays in both.

Leavitt and Powers delivered a strong one-two combo, smashing a variety of winners at the net, but the Wolves had trouble putting together any scoring streaks in the opening frame.

Playing from behind, CHS got a sweet save on a runaway ball from never-say-die Olivia Martin and a crowd-pleasing tip winner off the fingers of Scarlett Spencer, but ultimately couldn’t reel the Lions in.

The second set was much more of a back-and-forth affair, at least in the beginning, with seven ties culminating in a 10-10 stalemate.

Then a Concrete server got hot, reeling off six consecutive points and the visitors threatened to pull away.

Coupeville put a stop to that, however, getting back to within 18-16 after Leavitt sparked a mini comeback by cranking a spike winner which slid the length of the net, then flipped over and dropped between Lion defenders.

Martin crushed an ace to get CHS within two, but the offense sputtered out after that, allowing Concrete to seal the win.

While the third set was for practice and didn’t change who won or lost, Coupeville’s ability to bounce back in a matter of minutes is something Blouin and her proteges can build upon.

The match also gave the Wolves a chance to give floor time to all 10 girls on the roster, with Sabrina Judnich, Hannah Roberts, Amira Anunciado, and Emily Rains also involved in the action.

 

Thursday stats:

Annabelle Cundiff — 2 aces
Addison Jacobson — 2 digs, 1 assist
Emma Leavitt — 8 kills, 3 digs, 3 assists, 2 aces
Olivia Martin — 16 digs, 2 aces
Cassandra Powers — 6 kills, 4 digs, 8 assists, 7 aces
Scarlett Spencer — 3 digs

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »