Ally Roberts, takin’ names and “ballin’ hard.” (John Fisken photo)
Only the clock could stop this one.
Racing against time to make sure the varsity started play at 7 PM, the Coupeville High School JV volleyball spikers pulled off a thrilling three-set victory at Sultan Thursday.
The 25-21, 23-25, 15-9 win was, like the varsity victory that followed it, a true team win, with nearly every player on the roster chipping in with a contribution.
But the biggest play at the end came from one of the team’s smallest girls, the eternally bubbly freshman who rules the horse show world in her spare time, one Ally Roberts.
Continuing the decades of CHS sports excellence laid down by her grandfather, dad, aunt and uncle and older sister, Roberts was a terror at the service stripe in the deciding set, then performed a one-woman show her coach refers to as the “Ally Rally.”
“It’s so much fun to watch,” said CHS volleyball guru Amy King. “Our front row is at the net for a block and the other team hits over it, which Ally is there and puts it right back over the net. They hit it again, and Ally returns it again – they return it one more time and she overhand nails the ball to an un-returnable location. Boom – Point!
“Ally really shined, stepping in and setting for us in the first game, but then her serves just put the nails on the coffin and all done with a smile on her face and a gleam in her eye!”
With her team flying all over the court (“We had more hits than in most games”), King’s marauders came out on fire and never cooled off.
The first set belonged to McKenzie Bailey, with an assist from Roberts, Miranda Engle and Monica Vidoni.
Bailey was a serving machine, slamming two aces in a run of nine successful serves, then delivered a knee-quaking kill to send all the Turks running for the bleachers. Roberts had three aces, Engle three kills and Vidoni rose up to contribute “one great block.”
The second set was a tense back-and-forth affair, with Sultan escaping only when Coupeville misfired on a couple of serves. They certainly didn’t come from Bailey, who zipped six more aces past the flailing defenders.
Engle and Vidoni were the wham-bam twins all night, delivering wicked kill after kill, while Jae LeVine, who competes with Roberts for the title of Mightiest Mighty Mite on the Wolf squad, shined as a libero.
It was the kind of night, and the sort of win, that makes a coach almost enjoy the long bus trip back from Sultan.
“I was very happy with the outcome. We moved well, covered well and talked a lot,” King said.
“Valen (Trujillo) and Tiffany (Briscoe) played steady; we had a lot of nice ups and energy from Emily Coulter and Lauren (Grove) contributed at the net playing front row,” she added. “McKenzie and Miranda showed their leadership throughout the match, encouraging their teammates and playing solid offense and defense the entire night.”
Read Full Post »
Coupeville Sports 