Haylee Armstrong arrives to deliver a savage kill. (Julie Wheat photo)
Defend the crown.
Coming out sharp and focused Tuesday, the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad opened defense of its Northwest 2B/1B League title in style.
Rolling to a 25-15, 25-14, 25-21 win over visiting Friday Harbor, the Wolves improved to 2-1 overall, 1-0 in conference action.
While Coupeville went undefeated in league play a year ago, CHS has a new head coach and an almost all-new starting lineup this time around.
But while the names may change, the flow continues.
“We hustled and scrambled really well,” said Wolf coach Scout Smith. “We played with a lot of excitement, but also a lot of composure.”
Everyone chipped in to the effort, with senior Teagan Calkins leading the way on the day she celebrated her 17th birthday.
“The Red Dragon” launched lasers instead of cupcakes, slicing ‘n dicing the Wolverine defense.
“Teagan had a great night,” Smith said. “The opposition didn’t have an answer for her once she got rolling.”
Calkins got plenty of help, with junior slammer Haylee Armstrong peppering Friday Harbor at the net, and sophomore Tenley Stuurmans doing a little bit of everything.
“Haylee also had a great night,” Smith said. “We have been preaching a lot lately that we need to take care of the ball and she absolutely did that.
“She placed the ball really well and chose great spots to take advantage of the opposition’s defense.”
Stuurmans, who nuked Friday Harbor at the service stripe, ripping off winner after winner, also went cartwheeling into the bench to make a one-handed save, spinning the ball back over the net to catch her rivals flat-footed.
Tuesday’s win kicked off a busy week of action for the Wolves, who will play three days in a row.
Coupeville is headed to Forks at the crack of dawn Wednesday for a non-conference tilt rescheduled from Friday, then hosts Mount Vernon Christian in a key NWL rumble Thursday night.
As she prepared for a day of bouncing on the bus, Smith marinated for a moment in the win, while already looking ahead to the next challenge.
“Overall a good night for our first league matchup,” she said. “Lots of positives and lots of areas we can continue to improve.
“Excited to get back on the court today.”
No JV Tuesday:
With Friday Harbor having to catch a ferry, the varsity played first Tuesday, with the JV match eventually called off.
Tuesday stats:
Capri Anter — 2 digs, 1 ace
Haylee Armstrong — 7 kills, 3 digs
Ari Cunningham — 3 kills, 4 aces
Teagan Calkins — 11 kills, 1 dig, 1 ace
Lexis Drake — 1 ace
Dakota Strong — 2 kills
Tenley Stuurmans — 2 kills, 21 assists, 10 aces
Coupeville Sports 