Kylie Chernikoff (28), Savannah Smith (10), Catherine Lhamon (5) and Genna Wright (grey hoodie) all had big performances Wednesday. (John Fisken photo)
First they rallied, then they struck with a vengeance.
Bouncing back from a lackluster middle set Wednesday, the Coupeville Middle School 8th grade varsity volleyball squad scorched visiting Forks with precision serving down the backstretch and rolled to an impressive win.
The 25-23, 13-25, 15-5 victory came in the Wolves final home match and offered a preview of what these spikers may offer the high school program in the coming years.
It might have been easy to break after surrendering eight unanswered points at the end to drop the second set.
Apparently, these Wolves are made of strong stuff, however, as they never blinked.
Instead, they rode the hot serving hands of Savannah Smith, Kylie Chernikoff and Catherine Lhamon in the third set and crushed the Spartans in decisive fashion.
Smith, the fast-rising lil’ sister of CHS sophomore sensation Emma Smith, got things kicked off with four straight points off her serve as Coupeville built an insurmountable 5-0 lead.
Three of her points were straight-up winners, as Forks couldn’t get a handle on Smith’s serves all match, while one point came off a daring play by teammate Genna Wright.
Dancing dangerously close to the net, Wright dropped a gorgeous tip between two Spartans.
As the ball found pay dirt and skidded away, the irrepressible Wolf stole a look over her shoulder, and the look on her face told the tale — she expected the ref to wave off the winner.
When he didn’t, a huge smile burst across her face and she subtly pumped a fist.
Once CMS had the final-set lead, the Wolves jammed the gas pedal down and put Forks out of its misery fast.
Chernikoff, who was en fuego all match, ripped an ace that caused two Spartans to collide as they went for (and missed) the ball, then Lhamon got creative.
Dropping little daggers over the net with a variety of soft, and very effective serves, she pushed the lead all the way out to 13-3 and you could hear the Forks bus driver firing up their vehicle in the parking lot.
The final set rally capped an afternoon in which Coupeville was consistently on-point on serve.
Smith, Chernikoff and Chelsea Prescott all had runs at the stripe in the opening set, with Chernikoff also blasting a pair of winners off of Spartan players who found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Prescott, made famous earlier in the season when one of her spikes blew up an opponents face and decorated the gym with blood, didn’t physically hurt anyone this time.
But she did wreck the Spartans psyches, with her lasers causing them to progressively edge further and further away from her cannon shots.
The prettiest play of the match came on the final point the Wolves got in the second set, as Prescott set up Wright, who then popped a perfect set right back at her, allowing Prescott to finish things off with a resounding put-away.
Coral Caveness, Maddie Vondrak and Jaimee Masters also saw floor time and each provided a spark to the CMS attack.
JV sweeps:
The second unit was even more brutally efficient, as the 8th grade JV rolled Forks 25-14, 25-17.
Jaelyn Crebbin, playing in the high school gym her mom Toni once ruled as CHS volleyball coach, was everywhere, picking up a tip for a winner, then firing an ace that ricocheted off of two opponents before punching a service return that split the defense for another point.
Caveness and Vondrak picked up service aces of their own while Lacy McCraw twisted her body into a pretzel in midair while dropping in a winner.
Eryn Wood was straight-up money at the stripe, picking up eight points on her serve in the first set alone, while Emily Fiedler and Amanda Thomas chipped in with hustle and strong effort during their shifts on the floor.
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