Coupeville’s varsity spikers played strongly Tuesday night but were nipped at Bothell. (Delanie Lewis photo)
They left it all on the floor.
Playing their second road match in as many nights, the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad opened like champs.
Unfortunately, the Wolves couldn’t hold off a late charge by host Cedar Park Christian-Bothell, eventually falling just short in a torrid five-set thriller.
The 20-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-12, 15-11 non-conference loss drops Coupeville to 1-2.
The Wolves continue their road trip, but with a twist, as they head to Yakima for Friday’s SunDome Volleyball Festival.
Tuesday’s titanic tilt against a former league rival from back when Coupeville was a 1A school was a tale of two halves.
The Wolves, now a 2B franchise, were torrid early, only to lose the spark before being able to put the match on ice.
“Pretty tough one tonight, being on the other side of a reverse sweep,” said Coupeville coach Cory Whitmore.
“We played lights out in the first two sets, serving tough and attacking really well,” he added.
“In the third our errors began to fuel their fire and we got tentative on the attack which then allowed their offense to get rolling.”
Up two sets and leading 20-16 in the third, the Wolves were on the cusp of a major win.
But then the Eagles soared, and Coupeville, while not buckling, also could not put the finishing touches on a win.
“Our girls never gave in and battled, but having given them the momentum, we couldn’t put the ball down,” Whitmore said.
Maddie Georges flicks a pass to hard-hitting Jill Prince. (Jackie Saia photo)
As he bumped across the darkened back roads of America in a school bus on the long trek home, Coupeville’s spiker guru was able to pick out highlights which bode well for the future.
“Alita (Blouin) was something else tonight – defensively she was all over the place and covered so much area in serve receive,” Whitmore said. “A lot of fun to watch.
“Grey (Peabody) got up on so many attacks tonight, always available on Maddie’s (Georges) sets,” he added.
“And Ryanne (Knoblich) had a great all-around game; she had a ton of receptions, strings of serves, kills and only one error, all the while racking in 17 digs.”
Tuesday stats:
Alita Blouin — 1 kill, 30 digs, 1 assist, 1 ace
Mia Farris — 4 kills, 3 digs, 2 aces
Maddie Georges — 1 kill, 14 digs, 22 assists, 10 aces
Taygin Jump — 7 digs
Ryanne Knoblich — 6 kills, 17 digs, 4 aces, 1 block assist
Grey Peabody — 9 kills, 1 dig
Jill Prince — 7 kills, 2 digs, 1 block assist
Lyla Stuurmans — 2 kills, 8 digs, 1 ace
Coupeville Sports 