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Roll on, Wolves, roll on!!

Posted in Volleyball, tagged 1A Olympic League, Chimacum, CHS Wolves, first place, volleyball on October 5, 2016| Leave a Comment »

That moment when you’re undefeated in league. (John Fisken photos)

Maddy Hilkey (left) and the Wolf JV are 6-2 after thrashing Chimacum Tuesday night.

Speed bump? What speed bump?

Adjusting nicely after a brief second-set stumble Tuesday night, the Coupeville High School volleyball squad rallied to down host Chimacum in four sets, staying perfect in league play.

The 25-7, 23-25, 25-19, 25-16 victory lifts the Wolves to 4-0 in 1A Olympic League play, 6-2 overall.

It puts them a game-and-a-half up on Klahowya (2-1) in the standings, while Chimacum (1-3) and Port Townsend (0-3) round out things.

Thanks to a quirk in the schedule, Coupeville will stay flawless in league play for at least two more weeks.

The Wolves play only twice in the next 13 days, facing non-conference foes Port Angeles (Thursday at home, 5:15 varsity only) and Sequim (Oct. 11), before returning to league play Oct. 18.

CHS closes the regular season with five straight league bouts — two apiece against Klahowya and Port Townsend and one against Chimacum — as it seeks its first volleyball league title in 15 seasons.

The last time the Wolf spikers reigned atop the final standings was in 2001.

Back then they resided in the Northwest League and this year’s seniors (Ally Roberts, Tiffany Briscoe and Valen Trujillo) were three years old.

Tuesday night any dreams of championship glory were set firmly on the back burner, as the Wolves focused intently on the matter at hand. For most of the time.

“We came in strong with our serves and got to an early lead,” said CHS coach Cory Whitmore. “We let up on that, they made some adjustments and got momentum.

“Our focus wasn’t all there but we gained it back to finish the game.”

Katrina McGranahan was, as usual, cool as a cucumber in all aspects of the game, and piled up some sweet stats as she kept the young Wolf squad centered.

The junior middle blocker pounded home a team-high nine kills, was remarkably consistent on her hitting and fired off five service aces.

“Katrina had a great game serving but especially attacking,” Whitmore said.

Hope Lodell (five kills, nine digs, five aces), Payton Aparicio (five kills, eight aces) and Ashley Menges (nine assists, five aces) all filled up the stat sheet, while Lauren Rose chipped in with 19 assists and Roberts went low for eight digs.

JV aces another foe:

Kristin Bridges‘ young guns continue to match the varsity, also rolling to their fourth straight victory.

Shredding Chimacum 25-8, 25-8, the Wolf JV also improved to 4-0 in league, 6-2 overall.

The key, as always, was Coupeville’s ability to fire darts from the service line, where the Wolf spikers cranked out 29 aces.

“Our serving really helped us control the game from the start,” Bridges said.

Scout Smith led the way, ripping off 16 winners on her serve, while also finding time to slide forward and hand out five assists.

Hannah Davidson (9), Maddy Hilkey (2) and Zoe Trujillo (2) all nabbed aces as well, with Trujillo’s three kills topping the team.

Nicole Lester and Davidson both recorded a pair of kills, Jillian Mayne added another and Raven Vick rounded out the stat sheet with an assist and a dig.

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Spikers kill it at tourney!!

Posted in Volleyball, tagged CHS Wolves, Hannah Davidson, Kristin Bridges, tournament, volleyball on October 3, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Hannah Davidson controlled play at the net during a weekend tourney in Sequim. (John Fisken photo)

Bundled up for an early-morning ferry ride. (Photo courtesy Cory Whitmore)

Improvement, always improvement.

That’s what JV coaches are looking for first, last and always, and it’s exactly what Kristin Bridges witnessed Saturday.

Having taken her Coupeville High School volleyball squad to Sequim for a weekend tournament, the Wolves responded with some of their best play of the season.

A team that sits at 5-2 in regular-season play sparkled in a multi-school environment.

“The tournament was exactly what the JV team needed,” Bridges said. “They learned a lot and really began to own the court with a bit more confidence.

“Honestly, every player demonstrated such great improvement from the beginning of the season, which is what I really wanted to see as a coach.”

Competing strongly against everyone they faced, the Wolves drew big praise from their coach.

“Emma (Mathusek) was our libero, playing incredible defense,” Bridges said. “At one point I referred to her as a spider monkey because she was just everywhere on the court, covering the pass, covering the block, and digging.

“Her serving was on point as well, often bringing Coupeville back in the game or gaining us a bigger lead.”

Numerous other Wolves also stepped forward and captured their moment in the spotlight.

“Hannah (Davidson) had a very aggressive day on the net. She was killing it even from the 10-foot line,” Bridges said. “Her ability to adjust to the set is really quite impressive.

“Lucy (Sandahl) and Scout (Smith) had beautiful assists to Hannah, Allison (Wenzel), Zoe (Trujillo), Maya (Toomey-Stout), Peytin (Vondrak) and Nicole (Lester).”

With the team having focused on passing in practice, seeing her players respond in pressure situations brought a smile to the coach’s face.

“Our passing was extremely reliable and consistent,” Bridges said. “To see those practices pay off was encouraging. Now we can shift our focus and really fine-tune different areas of our game.

“Personally, it was a very emotional day as a coach,” she added. “I am just really proud of the improvement, team work, and leadership.

“We will always have something to work on, but it’s a good day when you are able to shift your focus because they really “have it” now.”

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Queens of the court, always!!

Posted in Volleyball, tagged Ally Roberts, bull sharks, CHS Wolves, John Fisken photos, Tiffany Briscoe, volleyball on September 30, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Emma Smith gets diabolical. “Pardon me, ‘scuse me, I’m just going to drop this tip right behind your back all sneaky like. We good?” (John Fisken photos)

Tiffany Briscoe: “We good!”

Ally Roberts gets vertical and dials up another ace.

Wolf super-fan Aiden Crimmins demonstrates his skill with markers.

Allison Wenzel uncorks “The Slicer.”

Even Joey Lippo (right) seems confused by the sign Ariah Bepler is holding. Nick Etzell (left), however, is just here for the free candy.

Sarah Wright gets medieval on some fools.

Life on the bench (and one very eagle-eyed, camera-lovin’ Roberts doin’ what she does.)

The Wolves are flying high these days.

Three wins in three league matches have placed the Coupeville High School spikers firmly atop the 1A Olympic League standings a third of the way through the conference season.

But, while they’re busy smokin’ foes with killer spikes and vicious serves, the Wolves still find time to appear in glossy photos guaranteed to make grandmas everywhere very, very happy.

The pics above come to us courtesy John Fisken.

To see more of his work from Thursday night’s CHS win against Port Townsend (purchases fund college scholarships for CHS student/athletes!), pop over to:

http://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/VB-20160929-Coupeville-vs-Pt-T/

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“I hope to inspire them!!”

Posted in Volleyball, tagged Ashley Herndon, CHS Wolves, CrossFit, Dirty Dancing, Patrick Swayze, volleyball on September 30, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Ashley Herndon (right), seen last year with fellow coaches Heidi Wyman (left) and Breanne Smedley. (John Fisken photo)

Ashley Herndon (right), seen last year with fellow CHS coaches Heidi Wyman (left) and Breanne Smedley. (John Fisken photo)

Joy flows out of Ashley Herndon when she’s in a gym.

Whether she’s pulling duty as an assistant coach with the Coupeville High School volleyball squad or doing her own intense CrossFit workouts, her smile is unmistakable.

It’s the grin of a woman who seizes the day, every day.

Now in her second year of working with the Wolf spikers — she has the program’s longest current tenure, with head coach Cory Whitmore and JV Coach Kristin Bridges in their first season at CHS — Herndon leads by example.

“I think I’m still finding out about who I am and what my strengths are as a coach,” she said. “Most of the time I don’t really feel like I’m doing or saying all the right things but when I see the smiles on their faces when I walk in the gym then I know I’m doing something right.

“I hope to bring more than just improving their skills in the sport; I hope to inspire them, guide them and be a good mentor.”

Her best moment just happened, when she was a part of Coupeville knocking off Klahowya in Silverdale, ending the Eagles 14-match unbeaten streak in 1A Olympic League play.

“The highlight of coaching came Tuesday night, watching them battle their way to a victory over Klahowya,” Herndon said. “Their growth individually and as a team was inspiring to watch.

“I had a very proud momma bear moment.”

A former college player herself, Herndon, who’s currently in the Navy, has had a long-term love affair with the sport.

“I love volleyball! Love watching it, love playing it,” she said.

“The thing I love most about the sport is that you bring your own talent to the floor but you need the five other players around you to be successful,” Herndon added. “It’s never about an individual, it’s about the team as a unit, a family.”

Away from the court, she’s a “huge music lover; it moves my soul to dance,” swears by Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing and is always ready to get her workout on.

“When I’m not coaching I can be found in the gym trying to lift all the weights,” Herndon said. “A couple of years ago I tried out CrossFit and fell in love.

“Every workout just absolutely destroys me, but it makes me want to work harder everyday.”

When she needs inspiration and support, it’s never far away, as Herndon’s family has done a strong job crafting their winner of a daughter.

“My mom and my dad are the culprits responsible for the woman known as Ashley!! They have always and continue to be my biggest fans,” she said. “They support me unconditionally and have taught me how to be a strong independent woman that can take on the world.”

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JV spikers serve up another win!!

Posted in Volleyball, tagged JV, Lucy Sandahl, Peytin Vondrak, service run, volleyball, Zoe Trujillo on September 29, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Lucy Sandahl’s service game Thursday, when she had seven winners, drew praise from her coaches. (John Fisken photo)

It started with a bang, and ended with an even bigger one.

From the opening point, a gorgeous drop shot for a winner from Hannah Davidson, to the final big statement, a sizzling ace delivered with gusto by Peytin Vondrak, the Coupeville High School JV spikers were electric Thursday night.

Crushing visiting Port Townsend 25-10, 25-17, 15-5, the Wolf young guns rolled to a flawless 3-0 in 1A Olympic League play, 5-2 overall.

CHS coach Kristin Bridges and her squad have won three straight, and made it look easy all the way.

Nothing was different Thursday, as the Wolves used a note-perfect service game to completely take the air out of the RedHawks.

Zoe Trujillo and Scout Smith led the way, each lashing 17 winners on their serves, combining for more than half of the 65 points won by Coupeville.

While long runs at the service stripe by both Wolf snipers naturally limited the opportunities for anyone else, when she had the ball in her hand, Lucy Sandahl was just as efficient.

The CHS frosh won seven points on her serve, pulling off back-to-back aces at one point and launching another missile that got “VICIOUS” spelled all in caps in my notebook.

After the match, Sandahl also earned public praise from varsity coach Cory Whitmore, which probably matters more than me writing all in caps.

Probably.

When the ball was in play, which wasn’t often, the Wolves made quick work of things.

Jillian Mayne pulled off her best play of the season, going low to save a ball and then spinning it back over the net for a winner, while Maya Toomey-Stout bounced around as the Mad Tipper, and the Vick sisters, Raven and Willow, chased down everything in sight.

The calm at the center of the hurricane, as always, was ever-dependable Maddy Hilkey, a veteran leader whose presence under pressure keeps her younger teammates focused.

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