Playing in front of aunt Joli, a first-ballot Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Famer, Emma Smith helped lead Coupeville to a huge win in Bothell Tuesday night. (Konni Smith photo)
The louder you get, the better we play.
When the Coupeville High School volleyball squad strode onto the court in Bothell for its North Sound Conference opener Tuesday night, it faced numerous challenges.
The dangerous team across the net, Cedar Park Christian, was a solid 4-1 in non-conference play.
Toss in a rabid student section, and things might have seemed daunting for the Wolves.
If, and only if, you didn’t know the young women wearing the black uniforms don’t bend. They don’t break. And they will snap you in half.
Their mothers saw it coming. From now on, so might their private school rivals.
“The crowd of (CPC) boys were animals,” said one Coupeville mom. “And they fueled our girls fire as they heckled the crap out of us.
“I wanted to warn them that our kids live for the screams.”
By the time they were done, the Wolves had turned any razzing into screams of pure anguish, thrashing the host Eagles 25-20, 25-18, 25-23.
The win propels Coupeville to a pristine 3-0 on the season.
At 1-0 in league play, they sit in a tie atop the new conference, and have a full week before they travel to Langley for an epic clash with arch-rival South Whidbey.
While he’ll start planning for that rumble when his team returns to practice Wednesday, the bus ride home Tuesday was all about enjoying that first conference win for CHS coach Cory Whitmore.
“We’re very excited, of course,” he said. “Any time you can go on the road in this league and come back with the win is an accomplishment.
“We played with a lot of focus and very clean from the service line and then gradually put the pressure on, taking them out of rhythm.”
Not every facet of their play was flawless, but the Wolves made up for any small weaknesses by excelling in other areas.
“Our hitting was shaky at times, but the passing was pretty consistent, so our hitters could then settle in themselves,” Whitmore said. “Chelsea (Prescott) and Ashley (Menges) had great all-around games passing, serving and digging.
“Emma Mathusek did a great job passing and digging as well and Emma Smith had a powerful six kills with no errors,” he added. “A skill that we’ve been pushing has been smart and strong blocking, and we showcased that well tonight.”
Coupeville picked up 10 blocks, with Emma Smith soaring above the net to collect six stuffs to match her six kills.
The stat sheet was nicely balanced, with Scout Smith doling out 23 assists and Mathusek going low to scrape 11 digs off the floor.
Ashley Menges (five kills, four aces), Hannah Davidson (four kills), Chelsea Prescott (three kills, four aces), Maya Toomey-Stout (seven kills, three digs, two aces) and Zoe Trujillo (one kill) all chipped in as well.
“Plenty to work on in practice,” Whitmore said. “But we’re of course excited about a big win.”
JV strolls to win:
Coupeville’s young guns crushed the Eagles 25-12, 25-8 in their league opener.
The win lifts the JV to 2-1 overall, 1-0 in conference action.
“Good team effort across the board,” said CHS coach Chris Smith.
The Wolves got big play from a number of players, something their leader always likes to see.
“Lucy (Sandahl) flew all over the floor setting and feeding her hitters,” Smith said. “The Vick sisters (Willow and Raven) were very composed at the service line and swinging well in the front row.
“Maddie (Vondrak) is playing all six rotations and has made significant improvements in serving and passing,” he added. “Zoe (Trujillo), as usual, gave us a lot of power swinging from the outside.”
