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Volleyball or horses, Menges a rising star!!

Posted in Horse sports, Middle School, Volleyball, tagged Ashley Menges, bareback horse riding, CMS Wolves, Do the Puyallup, volleyball on October 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Ashley Menges prepares to unleash a laser serve. (John Fisken photo)

Menges is also an accomplished horse rider.

Volleyball is fun, but riding has her heart.

Coupeville Middle School 8th grader Ashley Menges, who played for the Wolves this season, is first and foremost an accomplished horse rider.

A veteran of the Island County Fair, she qualified for this year’s state fair in Puyallup, where she finished fifth in bareback riding.

“After volleyball season I mainly do horses,” Menges said. “Riding horses is practically half my life; it takes a lot of time and is mainly year round, so I keep pretty busy.”

Which is not to say she doesn’t enjoy her time on the court.

Having wrapped her second season in the sport, she enjoys the chance it gives to compete along side friends who may not share her passion for her other sport.

“I started in seventh grade because I knew I wanted to do a sport and I also wanted to do something with my friends,” Menges said. “I really enjoy being on a team.

“I kinda have this connection with them since I’ve grown up with most of them,” she added. “The feeling of winning with a team that feels like family is the best part, because we get to share the win with each other and be proud of each other.”

Sharing is a big part of her game, as she generally plays as a setter, delegated with setting up her teammates.

Menges is pleased with where her game currently is (“I’m really good at setting. I also like serving, diving and digging.”), but knows there are always ways to improve as she goes forward.

“My goals for the coming seasons are to be just an all-around good player,” she said. “I want to work more on perfecting things that I mainly do, but also work on becoming better in new things like jump serving and back setting.”

A big reader who likes to spend time with friends and enjoys being creative by writing, Menges picks gym and language arts as her favorite classes.

On or off the court, she draws inspiration from those closest to her.

“Obviously my parents have been a huge part of who I am,” Menges said. “Also my friends have been a big part of my life. I wouldn’t be who I am without them.”

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Early start, awesome finish!!

Posted in Volleyball, tagged 1A Olympic League, Breanne Smedley, Chimacum, CHS Wolves, Hailey Hammer, volleyball on October 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Lauren Rose, seen here in an earlier match, played with the same wild abandon in Thursday’s win over Chimacum. (John Fisken photos)

When spirited, vocal team leader Madeline Strasburg (20) is done playing, she might make a very good coach.

When the match started, there were about two fans in the stands. When it ended, it sounded like there were two hundred.

With an early 4 PM start catching a lot of Coupeville High School’s cheering section seemingly by surprise (visiting Chimacum didn’t have a single fan show up and only one extra player on its ultra-thin bench), Thursday afternoon’s Olympic League volleyball match-up kicked off in front of a nearly empty gym.

At the end, with fans having straggled in bit by bit, the joint was a little more rockin’, never more so than when the Wolves closed out a 25-20, 15-25, 25-23, 25-18 victory, their first ever under coach Breanne Smedley.

The win lifted Coupeville to 1-7 under the first-year head coach, 1-1 in league play. That’s the more important stat, as it means CHS jumped into second place in its four-team league.

Klahowya was 1-0 entering a Thursday night showdown with Port Townsend (0-1), while the Wolves and Chimacum now sit at 1-1.

The top three teams advance to the postseason and three of the Wolves’ final four league matches will be against Port Townsend and Chimacum.

Only a Oct. 27 rematch with unbeaten Klahowya (9-0), the #8 team in 1A polls, looms as a major stumbling block.

With Port Townsend up next Tuesday, Oct. 21 (it’s a home match with CHS putting on a cancer awareness night), Smedley is confident her team took a positive turn with the victory.

“This is a win they should feel really good about,” she said. “They competed well with this team and it should give some confidence and show them that they can win, that they’re capable.”

Other than a brief dry spell in the second set, the Wolves came out on fire, delivering big hits and big emotion.

At a key moment in the first set, with Coupeville clinging to a 21-20 lead, senior captain Madeline Strasburg came bounding out of a timeout, grabbing each of her teammates for a moment.

“We can do better, ladies! We can do better!!,” she said in a crisp, firm voice.

Then Strasburg proved it, winning the next point for the Wolves on a thunderous spike that shook the floor, the bleachers and, possibly, half the town.

Spurred on by her words, and her actions, Coupeville quickly put the set away on serves from Valen Trujillo that exploded with a zing, and another, just as brutal, spike off of Strasburg’s patented Arm ‘o Death.

The Wolves were the clear aggressor all match, with Strasburg, Hailey Hammer and Kacie Kiel launching laser shots.

Hammer drilled a Chimacum player in the body, but it was Strasburg (who else?) who lashed one winner off of a hapless Cowboy’s face (sort of by accident).

When it wasn’t putting the ball to the floor hard on spikes, Coupeville found myriad other ways to thwart Chimacum’s best efforts.

McKenzie Bailey and Lauren Rose dropped picture-perfect tips into open space repeatedly, while Trujillo chased down every last ball, cartwheeling end over end frequently.

The perfect punctuation came from Wolf senior Monica Vidoni, the team’s tallest player.

Timing her jump perfectly, Vidoni virtually scraped the ceiling on a play midway through the fourth set, catching the ball on her fingertips at its highest point and flicking it downwards.

Her tip knifed through a wall of Chimacum players, none of whom could catch up to it, and Vidoni was left to jump, scream and dance her way back to her teammates, who mobbed her in joy.

A complete team effort, the win had contributions from everyone, whether it was a nice, slicing winner from Kyla Briscoe, dependable work from Tiffany Briscoe or inspired late-match serving from Ally Roberts.

Springing off the bench, the irrepressible Roberts combined with Kiel to provide a one-two punch that knocked Chimacum out cold.

First Kiel smoked a winner off the back line — allowing her dad Steve, calling lines, to about jump out of his skin calling the point for CHS — then Roberts twirled an ace that caught the very farthest corner of the court.

Hammer (11 kills), Strasburg (8) and Kiel (7) shared the power display, while Trujillo went low for 26 digs and Rose dealt out 22 assists.

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Loud ‘n proud? It’s back!!

Posted in Fashionable Fans, Volleyball, tagged CHS Wolves, Hailey Hammer, John Fisken photos, student spirit, volleyball on October 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Freshman Kyla Briscoe keeps the point alive. (John Fisken photos)

The CHS student section brought back their costumes and paint jobs for the first time since midway through last season.

Lauren Rose: “Did you see that up there? That’s school spirit, reborn!”

Wolf super fan Steve Kiel approves. The student section has returned.

Allison Wenzel tracks down a runaway ball.

The bright lights and big cheers are captured in CHS hoops star Wynter Thorne’s sunglasses.

Multi-talented Hailey Hammer does Rose’s hair before the match.

Lauren Grove (left) delivers the Punch ‘O Death to the ball, as Katrina McGranahan (11) moves in to help out.

Wolf QB Joel Walstad gets his game face on.

Celebrate, good times, come on!

The noise hath returned.

Bringing back costumes and face paint for the first time since midway through last season (when a dust-up with school administration put a damper on things), the student cheering section for CHS volleyball matches was at its loudest ‘n proudest Wednesday night.

Whether the section will one day return to being fully crammed — as in years past — is still an open question.

But it was a huge step in the right direction, one spurred on by Wolf football players such as Joel Walstad, Matt Shank, Josh Bayne, Isaac Vargas, Ryan Griggs and Gabe Wynn.

Also on hand, because it wouldn’t be the same without him, the man, the myth, the legend — Coupeville tennis god Kyle Bodamer.

Patrolling the gym snapping pics of both the revived student section and the action on the court was John Fisken.

To see more of his photos (and possibly purchase some, thereby supporting scholarships for Wolf student/athletes), pop over to:

Varsity — http://www.olympicleague.com/index.php?act=view_gallery&gallery=6989&league=21&page=1&page_name=photo_store&school=24&sport=0

JV — http://www.olympicleague.com/index.php?act=view_gallery&gallery=6988&league=21&page=1&page_name=photo_store&school=24&sport=0

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“My goal is to always challenge myself!!”

Posted in Middle School, Volleyball, tagged 5 Seconds of Summer, CMS Wolves, Emrie McCauslin, Maddy Hilkey, volleyball, Whidbey Fury on October 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Maddy Hilkey

Hilkey goes low for a bump, while Veronica Crownover watches. (John Fisken photo)

Hilkey goes low for a bump, while Wolf teammate Veronica Crownover watches. (John Fisken photo)

Having a bad day? Head to the volleyball court.

That’s the perfect cure for Coupeville Middle School 8th grader Maddy Hilkey, who finds being on the court blissful.

“The adrenaline rush that you get when you get a good serve, or make a nice pass, is really what I love the most,” Hilkey said. “Volleyball is a really big stress reliever for me.”

The daughter of former Wolf Emrie McCauslin, a star at CHS in multiple sports, Hilkey has run track and played volleyball during her middle school days.

She first started spiking and setting when she was still in elementary school.

“I started playing volleyball about three years ago. There was a group led by Amy Briscoe that I went to once a week,” Hilkey said. “After that I played for the school and then followed with a season in a club called Whidbey Fury.”

Hilkey is primarily a setter for the Wolves, but has played a little bit at outside hitter for her club team.

Regardless of where her coach has her line up, she comes full tilt, with an eye on constantly improving.

“I would say setting is definitely my strong suit. My serves are not always consistent and I’m currently working on getting better,” Hilkey said. “My goal for this upcoming season and for the rest of my career is to always challenge myself.

“I want to be the best that I can be to my abilities.”

A big fan of the band 5 Seconds of Summer (who she plans to see in concert next summer), Hilkey enjoys her English class (“I love writing and Mr. (Ken) Stange is a very good teacher”) and would like to join the yearbook staff when she hits high school.

Whether playing volleyball or in everyday life, her mom is her #1 fan and a big inspiration (“My mom is always there to help me out and give me tips.”)

Additional support comes from her teammates, many of whom are also her companions off the court, and her coaches.

“My best friends, Emma Smith, Ashlie Shank, Lindsey Roberts and Ashley Menges, are all very encouraging and we help each other out a lot,” Hilkey said. “Also, my coach this last season, Sadi Foltz, taught me a lot this year and I’m glad I got to work with her.”

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Young Wolves roar!!

Posted in Volleyball, tagged Amy King, CHS Wolves, Katrina McGranahan, Kraken, Payton Aparicio, volleyball on October 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Mackenzi Valko (right) and Katrina McGranahan celebrate a successful point. (John Fisken photos)

Jae LeVine (in red) gets a hug from Lauren Grove. Looking on are Payton Aparicio (far left), Hope Lodell (8), McGranahan and Valko.

For the first time this season, my schedule at my “real” job prevented me from attending a home Coupeville High School volleyball match.

I will never hear the end of it.

“Well, you chose the wrong night to work because even though we didn’t win the match, there was a lot of exciting volleyball going on,” said Wolf JV coach Amy King.

She then went on to point out I also missed the loud ‘n proud return of the CHS student section in full costumes for the first time since the midpoint of last year.

“The boys were back louder than ever for the varsity games,” King said. “It was great!”

And I had fun washing dishes…

Anyway, facing off with a hard-hitting Darrington squad, the Wolf JV squad pushed the Loggers to the limit before falling 25-20, 19-25, 25-19 in a magnificent rumble.

The loss dropped Coupeville to 2-4 on the season. With Chimacum in town tonight (and me back in the bleachers), the JV will have the night off, as the Cowboys have a thin roster.

Facing off with Darrington, the Wolves got off to a cold start (Perhaps eying the exit hoping the press would still show up? Yes? No … OK), falling behind 20-10.

Then, sparked by the pinpoint serving of Payton Aparicio, Coupeville staged a rally and almost made it all the way back before running out of points to play with.

Aparicio, who tossed in a couple of aces to keep the Loggers jumping, was supported during the rally by stellar play from the quartet of Katrina McGranahan, Hope Lodell, Kameryn St Onge and Lauren Grove.

All four flew around the court, providing a dazzling blend of tips, hits and kills, with McGranahan and Lodell also being lights-out at the service stripe.

The second set was a “constant battle at the net, just good defense and offense all around.”

Trailing by seven, the Wolves unleashed their version of the Kraken, the laser-blasting McGranahan.

The freshman phenom went wild on her serve, while Sofia Hassapis had a sparkling tip and Mackenzi Valko “placed a kill just on the inside corner of the opposite side of the net.”

“Katrina just hit and hit, Kameryn threw in some tips and with every ball over the net the girls just got more intense and refused to let the game slide,” King said. “This one ended with a nice set from Lauren to Hope, who put the ball away from the back-row.

“Yes, the gym erupted.”

So that’s what I heard way down the street at Christopher’s on Whidbey.

With the varsity squads getting restless as the start of their match approached, the two JV teams continued to wage war in an ultra-tight third set, with the Loggers holding on for the narrow victory.

“Everyone played their hearts out but we just couldn’t hold on, despite Katrina’s kills,” King said.

McGranahan (18 successful serves including seven aces, three kills, two tips, six hits and one save) filled up most of the stat sheet by herself, while Aparicio (13 successful serves, three aces) and Lodell (8 serves, one ace, one hit, one kill and one save) provided invaluable backup.

Grove added five kills and two saves, Maggie Crimmins knocked in five successful serves (with one ace) and St Onge had two tips, two kills and a crowd-pleasing block.

Top to bottom the Wolves came out swinging, with everyone chipping in.

Valko had a pair of kills, Kayla Rose hit on four serves at a crucial part of the match, Allison Wenzel “played a very well-rounded game” and Jae LeVine “covered well behind our blockers, getting a lot of great passes to our setters.”

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