Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Volleyball’ Category

Haylee Armstrong flexes on the world. (Danica Strong photo)

The stats speak for themselves.

While Coupeville High School volleyball players wait for Thursday’s home finale, we offer up-to-the-moment numbers for varsity and JV, allowing fans to measure where the Wolves sit 80% of the way through the regular season.

Now, we could write more words here, but didn’t someone say something about letting the stats do the talking?

 

Through Oct. 20:

 

Varsity
(12 matches):

 

Kills:

Teagan Calkins – 137
Haylee Armstrong – 69
Dakota Strong – 36
Tenley Stuurmans – 29
Ari Cunningham – 26
Lexis Drake – 12
Capri Anter – 2
Adeline Maynes – 2

 

Digs:

Calkins – 126
Armstrong – 103
Stuurmans – 71
Anter – 38
Drake – 36
Cunningham – 25
Maynes – 24
Strong – 5
Sydney Van Dyke – 4

 

Assists:

Stuurmans – 233
Maynes – 23
Armstrong – 12
Cunningham – 9
Calkins – 7
Drake – 6
Strong – 3
Kennedy O’Neill – 1

 

Solo Blocks:

Stuurmans – 4
Drake – 2
Cunningham – 1

 

Block Assists:

Cunningham – 6
Drake – 5
Armstrong – 3
Calkins – 3
Strong – 2
Stuurmans – 2
Maynes – 1

 

Service Aces:

Stuurmans – 54
Calkins – 31
Armstrong – 16
Cunningham – 14
Drake – 14
Maynes – 8
Anter – 7
O’Neill – 2
Van Dyke – 2
Strong – 1

 

JV
(10 matches):

 

Kills:

Sydney Van Dyke – 35
Kennedy O’Neill – 25
Isa Mc Fetridge – 22
Chelsi Stevens – 19
Cassandra Powers – 10
Emma Leavitt – 8
Adeline Maynes – 4
Olivia Martin – 3
Hailey Grijalva – 2
Willow Leedy-Bonifas – 2

 

Digs:

Mc Fetridge – 34
O’Neill – 34
Leedy-Bonifas – 31
Stevens – 15
Maynes – 11
Van Dyke – 11
Martin – 6
Powers – 5
Grijalva – 4
Leavitt – 2
Kee’Arya Brown – 1
Mary Western – 1

 

Assists:

Maynes – 50
Leavitt – 26
Powers – 11
Van Dyke – 8
Grijalva – 4
Stevens – 3
Mc Fetridge – 2
O’Neill – 2
Leedy-Bonifas – 1

 

Solo Blocks:

Leedy-Bonifas – 1
Van Dyke – 1

 

Service Aces:

Van Dyke – 25
Powers – 19
Leavitt – 18
Mc Fetridge – 17
O’Neill – 16
Stevens – 16
Maynes – 14
Leedy-Bonifas – 5
Martin – 4
Grijalva – 3

Read Full Post »

Arley Bosler and Coupeville’s C-Team won its match Thursday afternoon. (Julie Wheat photo)

The home finale was a barnburner.

Defending their home court for the last time this season, the Coupeville Middle School volleyball squads clashed with visiting Sultan Thursday, nabbing a win and a pair of close losses.

The day was supposed to start with the C-Team playing first, but things got flipped at the last second, with varsity going first.

That change made for an extended warmup period.

Add it to an intense first match, filled to the brim with multiple time-outs and long rallies, and the clock ran out on me after just two sets, as the high school spikers were about to begin their clash with La Conner across the hallway.

Before I left, the varsity squads split the first two sets, with Sultan taking the opener 25-16, before Coupeville rebounded to snatch frame #2 by a 25-23 score.

Without my rear being abused by the rock-hard bleachers in the middle school gym, the Turks pulled out a 15-12 victory in the deciding set.

Zariyah Allen and Rhylee Inman came up big for the Wolves in the early going, with the former slicing off Sultan arms with wicked kills and the latter soaring into the air to establish a no-fly zone for the Turks at the net.

Toss in a sweet lil’ tip from Cameron Van Dyke, sending a rival sprawling to the floor, and winners from Reagan Green and Jade Peabody, and CMS was on point.

Unfortunately, an 11-6 lead evaporated as Sultan, powered by a mighty masher in the middle of its offense, closed the set on a 19-5 tear.

The second set featured nine ties before the Wolves pulled away for the win.

Inman, to the delight of a large personal fan section, was on fire at the net (and on her serve), while Allen and Faith Rivers also peppered the Turk defense while firing off serves.

The Wolves built a 19-14 lead, Sultan got back to 20-20, then CMS put the hammer down.

The Turks fought off two set points, but Coupeville sent me out of the smaller gym surrounded by the victorious screaming of teen girls by holding on to eke out the set win.

Without me in the middle school gym, the Wolf JV fell 21-25, 26-24, 15-8, while the C-Team nabbed its first win of the season, bouncing the Turks 25-22, 25-21, 10-15.

“The girls were resilient,” said CMS coach Shaloma Allen.

“I’m proud of how far they have come this season,” she added. “The energy stayed high, and I was proud of each one of them.”

Coupeville ends its season with back-to-back road trips to Lakewood and South Whidbey Oct. 21-22.

Read Full Post »

Teagan Calkins unleashes her full fury. (Jackie Saia photo)

Teagan Calkins may need a nap.

The lone senior on the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad was involved in seemingly every play Thursday night, stuffing the stat sheet and doing everything humanly possible to push her team to a win.

Unfortunately for “The Red Dragon,” not even her heroics could save the Wolves on this night, as a balanced La Conner unit led by sister snipers Maeve and Nora McCormick proved to be too much for their hosts.

Falling 25-22, 25-23, 25-19 on their home floor, the rebuilding Wolves slip to 1-7 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 3-8-1 overall, with three regular season matches left to play.

Coupeville has a week off, not playing again until it hosts Concrete Oct. 23 on what will be Senior Night for Calkins.

After playing a key role on last year’s Wolf squad, which went 18-2 and finished 4th at state, she is the lone veteran this time around, providing steady leadership for a very-young team still trying to find night-in, night-out consistency.

At times Thursday, Scout Smith’s spikers looked very strong, pushing the Braves to the limit.

At others, one error snowballed into a string of mistakes, hurting Coupeville’s ability to keep a more-seasoned La Conner team at bay.

The night got off to a splendid start, with Calkins connecting on back-to-back winners and sophomore setter Tenley Stuurmans scorching the Braves from the service stripe.

But a 4-0 lead evaporated quickly, with the two teams swapping one-point leads most of the way through the frame.

Coupeville’s final lead in the set came at 12-11, and the final tie at 15-15, and once La Conner edged ahead, the visitors held on to the advantage all the way until the end of the set.

The Wolves went down swinging, however, with Haylee Armstrong roaring in on the left side to deliver a thunderous spike and Calkins constantly making the defense guess (usually wrongly) which direction her shots were headed.

Ari Cunningham is part of a talented group of young spikers who show great promise. (Danica Strong photo)

Set #2 featured Ari Cunningham bounding high to deliver several tip winners, and a whole lot more of Calkins mashing the air out of the ball, as the Wolves clung to a 13-11 lead at the midway point.

But just as the Wolves seemed to be making their move, they got derailed, with La Conner using an 11-1 surge to reclaim control.

Adeline Maynes stopped the bleeding with a four-point run on her serve — with Stuurmans catching the Braves by surprise twice with artful flip winners — and CHS later held off four straight set points.

Enter the McCormick sisters however and exit Coupeville’s chances of finding a complete answer.

Down two sets to none, the Wolves fell behind 20-9 in the third but refused to go away easy.

CHS closed the night on a 10-5 surge, with Calkins and Armstrong elevating and thumping, but the lead was too much to fully erase.

 

Thursday stats:

Haylee Armstrong — 7 kills, 18 digs, 4 assists
Teagan Calkins — 16 kills, 32 digs, 1 assist, 2 block assists, 2 aces
Ari Cunningham — 4 kills, 3 digs
Lexis Drake — 7 digs, 1 solo block, 1 block assist
Adeline Maynes — 9 digs, 2 assists, 1 ace
Kennedy O’Neill — 1 assist
Dakota Strong — 2 kills, 1 dig
Tenley Stuurmans — 4 kills, 11 digs, 25 assists, 4 aces
Sydney Van Dyke — 1 ace

Read Full Post »

Kennedy O’Neill prepares to fire off a winner. (Bella Karr photo)

In the end, the Wolves just wanted it more.

Bucking all the odds, the Coupeville High School JV volleyball team pulled off a stunning last-second comeback Thursday, toppling visiting La Conner in three taut sets.

CHS actually trailed for 98.2% of the third and deciding set, before sending their fan base into a tizzy by pulling out a 25-21, 18-25, 15-13 victory to earn a home-and-away season sweep of the always-strong Braves.

The win lifts the young Wolves to 5-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 7-3 overall, as they continue to be the most successful fall sports team in Cow Town this season.

Having dropped the second set, Coupeville seemed to be in trouble as the final frame played out, falling behind 6-1 to start things.

A service ace off the fingertips of Cassandra Powers and a ferocious spike winner from Sydney Van Dyke provided a brief glimmer of hope for the Wolves, but La Conner was relentless, methodically pushing towards the win.

Until one eye-popper of a play seemed to change everything.

Playing a ball on the carom off the basketball hoop which loomed overhead, Willow Leedy-Bonifas flicked a winner over her shoulder and the Braves crumbled.

That pulled CHS to within 13-12, and with Van Dyke striding to the service stripe, the Wolves promptly ripped off three straight points to tie, take the lead, and clinch the win.

Isa Mc Fetridge (left) and Willow Leedy-Bonifas are key players on Coupeville’s most successful fall sports team. (Jackie Saia photo)

The furious finale capped a night in which Coupeville sparkled in the first set and survived in the second.

Chelsi Stevens and Kennedy O’Neill controlled the action at the net in the early going, while Van Dyke was a whirlwind, peppering La Conner with unhittable serves, then sliding across the floor to make last-second saves.

Coupeville claimed the first set lead at 4-3 and never relented, with Isa Mc Fetridge sealing things with a four-point run on her serve.

The second set went in waves and surges, as La Conner roared out to an 11-4 lead, the Wolves mounted a comeback to get back within 17-16, then the Braves pulled away.

Powers had one of the best plays of the match with a one-armed save, throwing out her limb at the last second to redirect the ball through a forest of rival players, while Stevens, Mc Fetridge, and Van Dyke racked up a variety of winners on spikes and tips.

In the aftermath of the win, Coupeville coaches praised the grit of their team, while sending some special praise to sparkplug Olivia Martin for her “willingness to play every position we ask her to, and tackle every challenge.”

 

Thursday stats:

Willow Leedy-Bonifas — 1 kill, 7 digs, 1 solo block
Olivia Martin — 1 kill, 1 dig
Isa Mc Fetridge — 1 kill, 1 dig, 3 aces
Kennedy O’Neill — 1 kill, 2 digs
Cassandra Powers — 1 kill, 6 assists, 1 ace
Chelsi Stevens — 5 digs, 2 assists, 3 aces
Sydney Van Dyke — 4 kills, 3 digs, 1 solo block, 4 aces

Read Full Post »

The Wolves stand tall in the battle against breast cancer. (Frankie Tenore photo)

The Wolves want your help to spike cancer.

Coupeville High School’s volleyball teams host La Conner Thursday (JV 5:00 PM, varsity 6:30), and the net crew are putting together a Dig Pink Cancer Awareness event at the same time.

The spikers are asking fans to wear pink if possible and donate to help fund cancer research through WhidbeyHealth.

You can donate in person or by using the QR code in this photo:

There will also be a goody table at the event, featuring beaded necklaces, bracelets, pins, and rubber ducks, while players will be lobbing candy into the stands.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »