Madison McMillan rises up to deliver a winner. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Cory Whitmore took the advice of Letterkenney.
“I suggest you let that one marinate.”
Now, whether the Coupeville High School volleyball coach has ever seen the cult Canadian comedy about small town folks with unbelievably intricate vocabularies is not known.
But the Wolf spiker guru has smartly taken a few moments to let the state tournament experience wash over him.
Even several days after the bright lights of the Yakima SunDome have faded into the rear-view mirror, the buzz remains.
“I have struggled to find the right words to describe just how proud I am of this team, these families, community and coaching staff, for what we accomplished this past Wednesday/Thursday,” Whitmore said.
“Bringing home a 4th place trophy is very special and something the girls should be so incredibly proud of forever.
“But I know it will be the memories of how we did that, how together the group remained through all the challenges throughout, the fight they showed against very tough teams that will mean the most to me and this group for a long time to come.”
Jada Heaton mashes the volleyball.
The 2024 edition of the Wolves were undefeated until the final day of the season, went a program-best 18-2, won league and bi-district titles, and shone brightly in the spotlight of the big dance.
Capturing two wins for the first time in a single state tourney, the Wolves outplayed their #5 seed while toppling #12 Tonasket and #4 Mossyrock.
It was the first victory for a CHS volleyball team at state since 2004.
Looking back, Whitmore reflects on how it all played out from his perspective.
Day One:
The experience of being in the Dome last year was crucial to our success this year – it was an immediate and noticeable difference from last year to this year in our program’s comfortability in being in the environment, navigating the schedule, travel, hotels, all the details that go into tournament play and it felt significantly more smooth.
It was great to be on the exact same court to start as last year (Court 5) but this time the five seed against a #12, instead of the other way around.
Tonasket did not back down but our experience and senior-led group really took over to take care of business.
Against Mossyrock, it was this group’s ability to adjust that made the difference.
We were very strong from the service line, keeping us ahead on defense, but we had to find our way on offense and really adapt where we typically would run routes.
We had practiced this some, but the group really had to do this on the fly, taking quick and effective instructions from the bench.
We made a great push in the second set and almost made the comeback, but I believe that late-push was huge for our confidence to then take the next two sets and get the 3-1 win.
Although we did not see ourselves as the “underdogs”, it was fun to be the first lower-ranked team to beat a higher-ranked team in the tournament.
Day Two:
If things aren’t tight by the quarterfinals, they certainly are in the semis, and although we faced the #1 ranked team in the state (Adna), I was so proud of how this group never once showed fear or hesitation.
We took a bit to adjust to their faster style offense and locate their points of weakness; the girls should be so proud of how we fought and really pushed them, an experienced group of seniors as well.
Freeman had just lost a tough match to the eventual state champs (Manson), and we could feel their frustration – they came out swinging and again, we were a bit out-matched offense-for-offense.
But as with Adna, I am so incredibly proud of how we continued to fight and find our way.
As a coach, I was especially proud of how much the girls trusted our gameplan and just stuck with it.
They believed in where we were telling them to serve, they believed in where we were telling them to hit and how to defend against, and we had our strongest set to close out the match but came up a bit short.
We played to the very last day they would allow. This team did something our program has not done.
And through the wins, stats, accolades, records, success, this group (above all) was a pleasure to be around day-in and day-out.
It really is all about who you spend your time with and this team (and their families) made the ride so incredibly fulfilling.
This team may not be aware of how they have inspired future generations of Wolves to pick up the torch.
I’m very grateful to be able to coach in this community and will treasure this season for a long time to come.
Hear the Wolves roar.
State stats:
Taylor Brotemarkle — 13 digs
Teagan Calkins — 24 kills, 5 digs, 4 aces, 5 block assists
Mia Farris — 35 kills, 41 digs, 1 assist, 8 aces, 1 block assist
Jada Heaton — 2 kills, 1 dig, 1 assist, 1 solo block, 3 block assists
Katie Marti — 5 kills, 31 digs, 96 assists, 8 aces, 1 block assist
Madison McMillan — 9 kills, 35 digs, 5 assists, 4 aces
Lyla Stuurmans — 35 kills, 24 digs, 3 assists, 4 aces, 4 solo blocks, 4 block assists
Tenley Stuurmans — 15 digs, 1 assist, 11 aces
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