Aby Wood “played her best volleyball all season” Saturday in Oak Harbor. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
“I am a very happy coach, and we all had a blast today!”
Coupeville High School JV volleyball guru Ashley Menges got to witness her team play four matches at a tournament in Oak Harbor Saturday — all against schools with much-larger student bodies — and came away thrilled with much of what she saw.
“Oh man, today was crazy!,” she said. “The girls had a great morning!
“Honestly, every girl played so well all day that it’s hard to highlight just one.”
Coupeville, a 2B school, opened pool play against 4A Kamiak and split sets, winning the second one while “making little errors both sets.”
From there, the Wolves battled 1A powerhouse Lynden Christian and 2A Squalicum.
“They played so clean and really forced them to make the errors,” Menges said.
“They made them earn their points, that’s for sure.”
Whether they were winning or losing sets in pool play, the Wolves battled their big-city foes with ferocity.
“Overall, a very strong pool play,” Menges said. “The girls played some of their best volleyball all season.
“Serving was spot on, our serve receive was amazing, and we were just finding the court, letting the other teams make the mistakes.”
Minor injuries and lineup changes hurt Coupeville a bit in its tournament play opener, as the Wolves fell in straight-sets to 2A Anacortes, ending their day.
Mia Farris and the Wolf JV sparkled against big-school competition.
“The girls came into it with tons of energy, clean ball again, and really turned it around; even the ref was impressed!,” Menges said.
She praised Issabel Johnson for “some great serve receive passes, great serves, and even a handful of kills (yes, even as a libero…),” while noting Mia Farris and Jada Heaton “were clean on the net and got some great touches on the ball.
“Madison (McMillan) and Gwen (Gustafson) were great both on the outside and in the back row today,” Menges added. “Katie (Marti) and Taylor (Brotemarkle) both delivered great sets all day, and Aby (Wood) played her best volleyball all season today.”
Coupeville returns to action this Monday, Sept. 27, when it hosts South Whidbey in a non-conference rumble.
JV starts at 4:30, varsity at 6:00.
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