Freshman Lucy Tenore had two kills and a block off the bench for Coupeville High School’s varsity volleyball squad Monday, as the Wolves fell to King’s in a first-place showdown. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
The bigger loss was an ankle injury which removed Chelsea Prescott from the lineup midway through the first set. (Cory Prescott photo)
One loss does not undo an outstanding season.
The Coupeville High School varsity volleyball team has been sailing along, winning its first seven matches by a wide margin.
That ended Monday.
Facing a King’s squad which looks like a state title contender, the Wolves were overpowered on their home court, falling 25-10, 25-7, 25-14.
The loss drops Coupeville to 3-1 in North Sound Conference play, 7-1 overall, while King’s (4-0, 7-0) takes sole possession of first place in the six-team conference.
But, as much as the defeat hurts in the moment — and the biggest pain comes from the loss of standout junior Chelsea Prescott, who suffered a vicious ankle injury — there is still half a season to play.
CHS has seven matches remaining, six in league play, including a rematch with King’s Oct. 24 in Shoreline, and plenty of time to respond to this gut-check.
First up is a home match Wednesday with Sultan, when the Wolves will also honor those who have fought against cancer.
They will be without Prescott, who crashed hard to the floor midway through the first set.
Early reports from the ER indicate a severe sprain, but no sign of a fracture.
Without one of their biggest hitters, and a player who plays all six rotations, the Wolves will need other players to step up and fill the big hole Prescott’s absence creates.
Monday night junior Kylie Chernikoff and freshman Lucy Tenore were called on for sub duty, and both played well under duress.
Tenore recorded two kills and a block while playing most of the third set, showing great promise for the future.
But it was hard for Coupeville to get anything going against King’s, which attacked from all sides, made few errors, and hit with tremendous power and precision.
The Knights are a tall, talented team, and with the exception of a couple of missed serves, they dictated play and gave the Wolves little to work with.
CHS came up with scattered big kills, such as in the first set, when Maya Toomey-Stout slammed a winner off the back corner, and Maddie Vondrak mashed another ball off an unlucky foe’s chest.
But too many times, the Wolves thought they had a winner, only to see King’s scrape the ball off the floor or chase it down in a faraway, dusty corner of the gym.
Once they had it back in play, the Knights were brutally-efficient in ending rallies, lashing winners which curved and exploded.
Coupeville’s best stand came in the third set, when it hung around until midway through the frame.
Wolf libero Emma Mathusek came up with her team’s best play on the night, flying in from the side to loft a perfectly-placed drop shot which landed into the smallest of gaps and skipped away for a winner.
Zoe Trujillo also delivered an especially-impressive service ace as her team fought off its fate.
Crunching the ball, she launched it down the left side of the court, dropping it right on the back-line as two King’s players watched in disbelief as it found pay-dirt.
Coupeville’s stats were muted in the loss, but Scout Smith led the way with nine assists and three digs.
Toomey-Stout and Hannah Davidson collected three kills to go with Tenore’s two, Vondrak had a block, and Mathusek scraped four digs off the floor.
