Lauren Rose, seen here in an earlier match, had a team-high 16 assists Thursday night. (John Fisken photo)
“I’m very happy with our fight tonight.”
Roaring from behind while playing in front of a hostile crowd Thursday, the Coupeville High School volleyball squad almost pulled off a miracle win.
But while the Wolves ran out of gas a point or two from keeping their league record flawless, CHS coach Cory Whitmore was still impressed with the fight he saw from his players.
“Klahowya is a very good team and at their house they play even better,” he said. “We never gave up and got battle-tested going into districts.”
The Eagles escaped with a 27-25, 25-16, 26-28, 19-25, 15-12 win, making up a bit for Coupeville winning a five-set thriller the first time these two schools squared off in Silverdale back in Sept.
In between, the Wolves slammed Klahowya in straight sets during the one time they faced-off on Whidbey, and, if a fourth showdown is coming, it will be on Coupeville’s turf.
CHS, which is 7-1 in 1A Olympic League play, 10-4 overall, has one more regular season match Saturday at Port Townsend (0-8, 2-12).
After that, the Wolves carry a #1 seed into districts Saturday, Nov. 5.
Win two matches (while not losing more than one) that day in their own gym and they punch their ticket to state.
Klahowya (6-3, 7-7) will have to win a loser-out game against Seattle Christian Nov. 3 to make it to the double-elimination round of districts.
To see the bracket, pop over to: http://www.olympicleague.com/tournament.php?tournament_id=2069&sport=10
Thursday, the Eagles opened strongly, but the Wolves responded.
“We lost a tight first set and didn’t let it determine the entire rest of the match,” Whitmore said. “Our defense was scrappy and lit a fire.”
Hope Lodell led the attack, firing off eight aces on her serve while also going low for a team-high 21 digs.
She was joined on the stat sheet by Katrina McGranahan (nine kills, seven aces), Lauren Rose (16 assists), Ashley Menges (11 assists), Valen Trujillo (nine digs) and Mikayla Elfrank (eight kills).
JV stays red-hot:
With the varsity match being a long one, the young guns got the short end of the stick on the road. As the ferry revved its motor in the distance, the two schools played just a single set.
The results? Same old, same old, as Coupeville crushed Klahowya 25-16 to nab its ninth straight win.
The JV squad sits at 8-0 in league play, 11-2 overall and will go for a perfect conference season when it faces Port Townsend.
While the Wolves time on the floor was limited Thursday, they continued to shine brightly.
“We had to play pretty quickly but we did play well,” said Wolf JV coach Kristin Bridges. “We are growing into a really cohesive unit.”
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