Lucy Tenore and Coupeville volleyball split a pair of matches Wednesday at districts, falling a win shy of a trip to state. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
There’s one roadblock in their way, but it’s a fairly-imposing one.
Since returning to 2B with the 2020-2021 school year, the Coupeville High School volleyball team has gone 17-9 overall, 16-5 in Northwest 2B/1B League play.
But, standing in the way of the Wolves is La Conner, which is 18-0 this season and rolling to a possible third-straight state crown.
After falling to the Braves Wednesday in the District 1/2 tourney championship match, the Wolves are 0-6 against La Conner the past two seasons, 17-3 against the rest of the world.
Those other three defeats came in non-conference bouts against 1A schools, leaving the Braves as the only 2B team Coupeville has lost to since returning to the classification.
Wednesday night’s district tourney, a three-team affair held at La Conner, opened with Coupeville facing off with Auburn Adventist Academy.
The Wolves controlled things from start to finish against the only 2B school from the 1B Sea-Tac League, winning 25-15, 25-20, 25-13.
But, after a short break, Coupeville, which was playing without setter and team captain Maddie Georges, was unable to slow down La Conner’s roll.
The Braves cruised to a 25-6, 25-13, 25-12 victory to earn the lone ticket to the state tourney, which runs Nov. 11-12 at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
Coupeville finishes 11-6, the fifth time in six seasons the Wolves have won 11 or more matches under coach Cory Whitmore.
The only blip on that record came last season, when Covid allowed CHS to play just nine times.
Wednesday’s opening match came against a foe Coupeville had no familiarity with, but the Wolves adjusted quickly.
“It was a fun win against Auburn Adventist,” Whitmore said. “Our serve receive was very consistent and ahead of the ball the entire match.
“This allowed Katie Marti to deliver some really well-delivered sets to our hitters,” he added. “Katie got better every day this season, and, when her chance came, she was ready, and I’m proud of her patient growth.”
Marti, a freshman, stepped in for Georges, who was ill, and held up extremely well at a high-pressure position.
“Katie got the ball really well to our middles (Jill Prince and Olivia Schaffeld), who hit for a high efficiency,” Whitmore said.
“Lyla Stuurmans (on the outside) had a strong performance hitting edges of the ball really well,” he added. “We controlled a lot of free balls sent our way because of our well-placed and tough serving game.”
Lyla Stuurmans was one of four freshmen to play varsity this season.
The nightcap was largely what the Wolves expected, as they came hard on every ball, but had trouble with the overwhelming power at La Conner’s disposal.
“They make you really earn your points, and while our serving was still strong, they have offensive weapons to send it back,” Whitmore said. “Again, our passing was pretty strong and our energy picked up as the match went on.”
La Conner loses six seniors, though the state’s best 2B player, Ellie Marble, still has a season left to wear a Braves uniform.
By contrast, Coupeville can return its entire roster next year, as the Wolves have no seniors and played four freshmen, two sophomores, and six juniors this season.
Half of the starting lineup Wednesday — Stuurmans, Marti, and Savina Wells — are just 9th graders.
“All-in-all, happy for the girls and this season, getting back to being played in the fall,” Whitmore said.
“We look forward to the fact we don’t have one senior, and will make some aggressive moves in the off-season building upon a strong foundation of experience this season.”
Wednesday stats:
Alita Blouin — 17 digs, 5 aces
Taygin Jump — 5 digs
Ryanne Knoblich — 6 digs
Katie Marti — 3 kills, 11 digs, 36 assists, 2 aces
Madison McMillan — 1 kill
Jill Prince — 11 kills, 1 dig
Olivia Schaffeld — 7 kills, 5 digs, 2 assists, 1 block assist, 1 ace
Lyla Stuurmans — 7 kills, 9 digs, 1 block assist
Lucy Tenore — 8 kills, 3 digs
Savina Wells — 4 kills, 7 digs, 3 aces
Jill Prince led the Wolves in kills during her junior season.
