After winning at Chimacum, Kyla Briscoe and the high-flying CHS spikers haven’t dropped a set in seven league matches. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Payton Aparicio (right), here spending quality time with Kayla Rose (left) and Emma Smith, had a school single-game record 18 service aces Tuesday.
By the time the Wolves were done chomping, not a Cowboy was left standing.
Flexing their collective spike-launching muscles, all three Coupeville High School volleyball squads cruised to straight-sets wins Tuesday at Chimacum, keeping their records spotless in conference action.
Take the Wolf varsity, JV and C-Team this season, add them together and they’re a combined 24-3 overall, 17-0 in Olympic League play.
Varsity cruises:
Having clinched a second-straight league title a night earlier, when Klahowya was upset by Port Townsend, Coupeville is playing for perfection.
The Wolves now sit at 7-0 in league play, 10-2 overall after drilling Chimacum (1-6, 1-9) to the tune of 25-13, 25-12, 25-18.
That keeps another streak alive, as well, as CHS has won all 21 sets it has played against league foes this season.
Coupeville returns home Wednesday to face Klahowya (4-3, 6-7) on Senior Night (4:00 varsity/5:15 JV), then wraps the regular season Saturday at Port Townsend (2-5, 4-10).
After that, it’s off to districts in Tacoma Nov. 4.
As the #1 seed from the Olympic League, the Wolves automatically advance to the double elimination portion of the tourney.
Win at least one of two matches and CHS volleyball is state bound for the first time since 2004.
Tuesday night was about getting in the gym, putting a quick and efficient beat-down on the Cowboys and ankling for the last ferry out of town.
But Chimacum, pulling a page out of North Mason’s “stall, stall and stall some more” playbook, stretched things way out, opting to play varsity last even though Coupeville had a set time to leave.
Then, the Cowboys opted to play meaningless third sets in both of the night’s first two matches, hold Senior Night festivities and still take every single minute allotted for the varsity teams to warm up.
Which meant the Wolves were literally racing the clock in the third set, trying to get that 75th and final point on the board before 7:30 PM clicked into view and the CHS bus started spinning its wheels in the parking lot.
They made it, but just barely, with numerous players chipping in to fill up the stat sheet.
“I thought we took care of business well, getting everyone involved in the process and working together,” Coupeville coach Cory Whitmore said. “Our serve was strong, serving to spots and moving the ball around.
“We have to hit with more efficiency come district time, but I thought we came at them from all angles when given the chance.”
Katrina McGranahan led the hit parade, pounding down seven kills, while Payton Aparicio was all over the floor, picking up four kills, six digs and a school single-game record 18 aces on her serve.
“Payton was on fire tonight! Very proud of how hard she has worked on her serve and it has definitely paid off in results,” Whitmore said.
The previous ace record was 13, set in 2010 by Jessica Riddle.
Kyla Briscoe and Mikayla Elfrank added three kills apiece, Hope Lodell went low for eight digs and McGranahan connected on five aces to round out the stat sheet.
JV romps:
The best record for any Coupeville fall sports team belongs to the JV spikers, who raised their record to a sterling 10-1 overall, 7-0 in league play.
Chris Smith’s squad was led by freshman Chelsea Prescott, who scorched the Cowboys with 10 aces during a 25-11, 25-8, 15-12 win.
C-Team rolls:
Coupeville’s third unit capped a 4-0 season with a 25-9, 25-12, 15-13 victory.
The Wolves were powered by the wham-bam serving duo of Heidi Clinkscales, who ripped off 12 aces at the service stripe, and Willow Vick, who pounded away for nine of her own.
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