Kirsty Croghan
Wolves (l to r) Haley Sherman, Amanda Fabrizi and Sydney Aparicio are part of a strong group of seniors. (Shelli Trumbull photo)
Everything is changing. Sort of.
There’s a completely new coaching staff in place for the Coupeville High School volleyball squad, but many of last year’s starters are back for another crack at the best the Cascade Conference has to offer.
Former Wolf star Kirsty Croghan has made the jump from being an assistant at La Conner to inheriting the head coaching job from her former coach, Toni Crebbin, who retired after two decades in the game. Croghan’s assistant will be Amy King, who is moving up from the middle school ranks to run the Wolf JV squad.
The team they inherited is ripe with talent, however, as Coupeville only lost three players, including Second-Team All-League pick Bessie Walstad, to graduation.
Fellow All-League pick Hailey Hammer is back as a junior, while a strong senior group will be led by Breeanna Messner, Amanda Fabrizi and Allie Hanigan.
The fight for roster spots has been an intense one so far, with Croghan running her charges through a series of epic practices. Among the early standouts have been a pair of freshmen who live, eat and breathe the gym.
“I have an awesome group of incoming freshmen this year,” Croghan said. “The ones to watch for are Valen Trujillo and Tiffany Briscoe.”
Regardless of which players are on the court at a given time, they will need to adapt to a different attack than in years past.
“A lot will be gradually changing throughout the season, yet some will stay the same or be similar to when Creb was coaching,” Croghan said. “The biggest change for the teams will be a faster-paced offense.
“Our goal this season is to work hard and be able to compete with teams both in and outside of our league,” she added.
Croghan, who will turn 26 during the season, has been busy helping run a very successful volleyball program in La Conner, which prevented her from paying close attention to her old league. That will change now.
Asked to name the teams to beat in the conference, she responds, “I have no idea, haven’t kept up with the conference since I graduated. You would know better than I.”
So, we’ll start with traditional powers Archbishop Thomas Murphy and King’s and their private school privileges when it comes to “recruiting” and figure everyone is chasing the dastardly duo as usual.
Croghan’s squad may not enter the season as a favorite, but they will come out swinging hard, just like in previous seasons. Plenty of emphasis on skill-building now will hopefully lead to success, in the present and future.
“We are going to cover it all,” Croghan said. “The team this year is full of hard workers, that are extremely motivated to improve their skills and game.”
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