“Welcome to the Lucy Tenore Experience. Get ready, folks — I’m about to go be all awesome.” (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Focus on the details.
Do the little things right, and the big things will get easier.
Coupeville High School varsity volleyball coach Cory Whitmore preaches that philosophy, and Tuesday night his players proved they’ve been listening.
Playing a fairly error-free night, the Wolves cruised past visiting Concrete 25-11, 25-18, 25-11.
The win lifts Coupeville to 6-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 6-2 overall, heading into the biggest gut-check of the season.
The Wolves travel to La Conner Wednesday for a first-place showdown with the two-time defending state champs, who haven’t dropped a set while going 6-0 in league, 7-0 overall.
While Coupeville will be an underdog against the Braves, it will be a good test for the young Wolves, to see if they can carry over the strong performance against Concrete while facing a juggernaut.
“It was good to start the week with a win, and a pretty focused one,” Whitmore said. “We’ve made that a priority in everything we do — start to finish, focus in on the details.
“Details will make the difference down the stretch for us, this year and the next, as we try and maintain focus and get the growth we’re looking for.”
Playing on Dig Pink Night Tuesday, while raising money for the fight against breast cancer, Coupeville jumped on Concrete early.
Maddie Georges ripped off five straight points on her serve — with the biggest being delivered via a mighty spike off the dangerous fingertips of an airborne Savina Wells — as CHS built an early 7-2 lead.
The real set-buster was Lucy Tenore, however, who was uncanny at the service stripe, turning a 9-7 lead into an 18-7 advantage.
The Wolf junior pounded out several aces during her run, while Jill Prince and Lyla Stuurmans came swooping in to smash winners which ended brief rallies.
Coupeville libero Alita Blouin was a magician as well, dropping one winner down the middle of the floor while facing the other way, the ball arcing up and away as pretty as a rainbow.
She was equally as deadly from the service stripe, with several Blouin serves setting up Wells, who was swinging the hammer of the gods while patrolling the left side of the floor.
The lanky freshman almost touched the ceiling as she soared into the heavens, her kill arm whipping downward, spraying kills as Concrete players ran for cover beneath her barrage.
The second set, while a little closer in score, was never in doubt, as Coupeville’s superior fire power ruled the evening.
Prince, Tenore, and Wells ended rallies by beating the life out of the ball, with Stuurmans and Olivia Schaffeld dancing through the air to deliver tips which froze the Lions in place.
Concrete’s errors built up as the final set played out, while the Wolves played with ever-more precision.
Tenore was a terror at the net, and she closed the win with a powerhouse put-away which caused the foundation of the CHS gym to rumble like a tsunami was about to make landfall.
Whitmore emerged from the match pleased with how clean his team’s hitting sheet was — “hard work paying off” — and with how the Wolves and their support staff were able to pull off a successful fundraiser.
Money generated by the Dig Pink event will go to pay for mammograms through the WhidbeyHealth Foundation.
“It was a great night for breast cancer awareness, and, on top of that, we were able to focus on local individuals, which is great,” Whitmore said.
“We have a great group of parents who put it all together, with posters, and balls for the girls to throw to the fans, and the money stays local – I love that idea.”
Tuesday stats:
Alita Blouin — 1 kill, 9 digs, 2 assists
Maddie Georges — 4 digs, 18 assists, 8 aces
Taygin Jump — 3 digs
Ryanne Knoblich — 1 dig
Jill Prince — 3 kills
Olivia Schaffeld — 2 kills, 4 aces
Lyla Stuurmans — 5 kills, 5 digs, 3 aces
Lucy Tenore — 6 kills, 1 dig, 7 aces
Savina Wells — 7 kills, 1 dig, 6 aces
Savina Wells had six of Coupeville’s 28 aces in a straight-sets win over Concrete.
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