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Archive for the ‘Volleyball’ Category

Fab frosh light up the gym

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on October 29, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Vivian Farris gets ready to let a serve rip. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Krimson Rector coached Coupeville’s C-Team volleyball squad to an 8-2 record.

Jordyn Rogers unleashes a zinger.

The Lucero twins at work – one is Allie, one is Maya, and they’re both super-talented, even if I can’t always tell them apart. (Brian Vick photo)

They didn’t get an official swan song on court, so we’ll give them one in print.

The high-flying Coupeville High School C-Team volleyball spikers were denied a chance to play Monday when Sultan decided it didn’t have enough players.

So, a match early, the Wolves finish with a 7-2 record in North Sound Conference action, 8-2 overall.

Along the way, the all-freshman squad responded well to the teachings of first-year head coach Krimson Rector, routing most rivals.

The one team they couldn’t quite get past was private school power King’s, which handed them both of their losses.

The Wolves put the fear of God into the Knights, however, pushing both matches to a third and final set.

While Coupeville fought extremely hard when facing off with King’s, its biggest triumph came on the road at South Whidbey late in the season.

Trailing 24-12 in the third set, the Wolves fought off an eye-popping 12 straight match points thanks to pinpoint serving by Vivian Farris, before eventually winning 28-26.

That win captured the fab frosh and their coach at their best, refusing to back down and always on the prowl for a win.

The future for all involved? Pretty dang bright.

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Score tonight (with some photos)

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on October 25, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Volleyball dad Brian Vick gets his own moment in the spotlight. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Energy and giddiness crackles through the CHS varsity starters as they prepare to shower the student section with free candy.

Lisa Toomey and Beth Stout bask in the awesomeness of their children.

Scout Smith flips a note-perfect pass to a waiting hitter.

Soccer stars (l to r) Natalie Hollrigel, Tia Wurzrainer, and Genna Wright spread some love.

Wolf legend Sherry Roberts (left) catches up with Mallory and Heather Kortuem.

Jordyn Rogers flies into action.

Maddie “The Mad Masher” Vondrak arrives, ready to pound the very life out of the volleyball.

Trying to keep up with the camera can be a full-time job.

With tons of stories springing from my typing fingers in the past few days, there was bound to be a million or so pictures, hot off of John Fisken’s camera, which I hadn’t gotten around to using yet.

The eight you see above, a mix of on and off court action from a recent CHS volleyball match against Granite Falls, gets me at least partially caught-up.

For the moment, at least.

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Stay focused, keep truckin’

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on October 24, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Raven Vick and Coupeville volleyball are 12-2 heading into their regular-season finale. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Big hitters like Zoe Trujillo are ready to wreak havoc in the playoffs.

The experts have spoken.

If the Washington State Volleyball Coaches Association knows what it’s talking about, Coupeville is going back to the state tournament this season.

When the first poll of the season was released earlier this week, the Wolves were one of 16 teams (the same number which go to state) to receive votes, landing at #15, between Kiona-Benton and Klahowya.

But, as good as CHS has been this season, winning 36 of 46 sets, they also happen to sit in the same league as King’s, which was ranked #2 in that poll, behind just Chelan.

And the Knights have been the one team the Wolves just haven’t been able to solve … yet.

Thursday night, playing on its home court in Shoreline, King’s held off a scrappy Coupeville squad, winning 25-9, 25-13, 25-15 to claim a second-straight North Sound Conference title.

With one regular-season match left to play, the Knights (9-0 in league play, 13-0 overall) and Wolves (7-2, 12-2) are locked in as the league’s #1 and #2 seeds for the district playoffs.

Cedar Park Christian (5-3, 10-4), South Whidbey (3-5, 4-8), and Sultan (2-7, 6-9) are also headed to the post-season, while Granite Falls (0-9, 3-11) has been eliminated.

To see the bracket for districts, pop over to:

http://www.nscathletics.com/tournament.php?tournament_id=3120&sport=10

Coupeville has mashed everyone not in a King’s uniform this season, only dropping four sets to other schools, but hasn’t been able to match the Knights mix of big hitters and impeccable passers.

But the Wolves did take a step forward from their performance in the first match-up between the schools.

“King’s is a very good team and we needed to access a new level of play and couldn’t quite find that gear,” said CHS coach Cory Whitmore. “We passed much better than our previous meeting with them and handled some real tough serves but couldn’t get the ball to the ground on their side often enough.”

He praised the play of his team, with a special tip of the hat to senior smasher Maya Toomey-Stout.

“Maya had a massive game for us,” Whitmore said. “Very calm on the pass, took a ton of swings and played all-out in the middle back position digging their widespread attack.”

Toomey-Stout finished with four kills, three digs, and two blocks, while Scout Smith (12 assists, two digs), Zoe Trujillo (five kills), and Hannah Davidson (four kills and a block) also sparkled.

Emma Mathusek added three digs, Lucy Tenore and Maddie Vondrak each delivered a spike, and Lucy Sandahl zipped a service ace past the Knights defense.

Coupeville closes the regular season on the road Monday, traveling to Sultan, and a win would match the most victories in a single season by a Whitmore-coached CHS squad.

The 2019 team is just two wins shy of the best mark in program history, the 14 wins thrown down by the immortal 2004 Wolf spikers.

As he and his team prepare for their playoff run, Whitmore has a simple answer to how Coupeville can bounce back from their loss to King’s.

“Back to practice, to focus on our long-term goals.”

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“I was proud of the girls”

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on October 24, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Maya Lucero prepares to unleash sweet death ‘n destruction on her foes. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was a fight to the finish. A back-alley brawl. A royal rumble.

In other words, a very, very close match.

The Coupeville High School C-Team volleyball squad has only lost to one school this season, and both of those defeats have been by just a handful of points.

The Wolf freshmen are 7-2 in North Sound Conference play, 8-2 overall, with the only small dings on their record coming thanks to the big baddie of the region, private school power King’s.

Thursday night’s tango in Shoreline was about as close as possible, with Coupeville winning the first set 25-20, before the Knights bounced back to take sets #2 and #3 by the very same score.

While she was looking for a win, CHS coach Krimson Rector was still in a positive mood while bouncing across the back-roads of America in a school bus on the way home.

“The girls played strong and focused through all three sets,” she said. “It was a good, competitive game that with the right swing of momentum I think we could’ve had.

“Regardless, the girls got a lot of play in with long rallies and big points.”

Facing off with their toughest foe by far, the young Wolves showed their coach they won’t back down.

“I was proud of the girls ability to keep their minds focused while having a strong competitor do the same,” Rector said. “The girls played hard through each point of each set until that last whistle.”

Jordyn Rogers led the Wolf attack, rifling six kills and three service aces, while the Lucero twins combined for a strong evening, with Maya nabbing five kills and an ace, while Allie had four aces and a kill.

Coupeville also got solid work from Ryanne Knoblich (four kills and an ace), Vivian Farris (four aces), Mercedes Kalwies-Anderson (an ace), and spark-plug Gwen Gustafson.

“Gwen played great defense across the net from some strong hitters,” Rector said. “And stayed calm and collected while digging balls left and right.”

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Almost giant killers

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on October 24, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Heidi Meyers fires up a serve. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was there, and then it was gone.

For the second time this season, the Coupeville High School JV volleyball team snatched the opening set from King’s, only to see the Knights slip away in the end with a three-set win.

Thursday, playing in Shoreline, the Wolves ultimately fell 11-25, 25-13, 25-15, dropping to 7-2 in North Sound Conference play, 10-3 overall.

With one match left, next Monday at Sultan, the JV spikers have proven they can stand with anyone.

Their only losses have been to King’s, whose varsity squad is ranked #2 in 1A in the state poll, and 2A Anacortes.

Both of the matches with the Knights were tense, close affairs.

First time around, Coupeville actually won more points, coming out ahead 67-62, while losing 2-1 in sets.

In the rematch, King’s held a slight 61-53 advantage, but the Wolves fought until the final point.

“They played well,” said CHS coach Chris Smith while discussing his squad. “I was very pleased with how they played!”

Kylie Chernikoff led the way for the Wolves, pounding six kills, firing five aces, and scraping seven digs off the floor.

Spreading out the rest of the kills were Taygin Jump (4), Jill Prince (3), Anya Leavell (2), Maddie Georges (2), Ivy Leedy (1), and Alita Blouin (1).

Georges handed out 12 assists, Jump (7) and Blouin (6) were big on digs, and Heidi Meyers fired off four service aces.

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