Coupeville Sports

“Welcome to the Lucy Tenore Experience. Get ready, folks — I’m about to go be all awesome.” (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Focus on the details.

Do the little things right, and the big things will get easier.

Coupeville High School varsity volleyball coach Cory Whitmore preaches that philosophy, and Tuesday night his players proved they’ve been listening.

Playing a fairly error-free night, the Wolves cruised past visiting Concrete 25-11, 25-18, 25-11.

The win lifts Coupeville to 6-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 6-2 overall, heading into the biggest gut-check of the season.

The Wolves travel to La Conner Wednesday for a first-place showdown with the two-time defending state champs, who haven’t dropped a set while going 6-0 in league, 7-0 overall.

While Coupeville will be an underdog against the Braves, it will be a good test for the young Wolves, to see if they can carry over the strong performance against Concrete while facing a juggernaut.

“It was good to start the week with a win, and a pretty focused one,” Whitmore said. “We’ve made that a priority in everything we do — start to finish, focus in on the details.

“Details will make the difference down the stretch for us, this year and the next, as we try and maintain focus and get the growth we’re looking for.”

Playing on Dig Pink Night Tuesday, while raising money for the fight against breast cancer, Coupeville jumped on Concrete early.

Maddie Georges ripped off five straight points on her serve — with the biggest being delivered via a mighty spike off the dangerous fingertips of an airborne Savina Wells — as CHS built an early 7-2 lead.

The real set-buster was Lucy Tenore, however, who was uncanny at the service stripe, turning a 9-7 lead into an 18-7 advantage.

The Wolf junior pounded out several aces during her run, while Jill Prince and Lyla Stuurmans came swooping in to smash winners which ended brief rallies.

Coupeville libero Alita Blouin was a magician as well, dropping one winner down the middle of the floor while facing the other way, the ball arcing up and away as pretty as a rainbow.

She was equally as deadly from the service stripe, with several Blouin serves setting up Wells, who was swinging the hammer of the gods while patrolling the left side of the floor.

The lanky freshman almost touched the ceiling as she soared into the heavens, her kill arm whipping downward, spraying kills as Concrete players ran for cover beneath her barrage.

The second set, while a little closer in score, was never in doubt, as Coupeville’s superior fire power ruled the evening.

Prince, Tenore, and Wells ended rallies by beating the life out of the ball, with Stuurmans and Olivia Schaffeld dancing through the air to deliver tips which froze the Lions in place.

Concrete’s errors built up as the final set played out, while the Wolves played with ever-more precision.

Tenore was a terror at the net, and she closed the win with a powerhouse put-away which caused the foundation of the CHS gym to rumble like a tsunami was about to make landfall.

Whitmore emerged from the match pleased with how clean his team’s hitting sheet was — “hard work paying off” — and with how the Wolves and their support staff were able to pull off a successful fundraiser.

Money generated by the Dig Pink event will go to pay for mammograms through the WhidbeyHealth Foundation.

“It was a great night for breast cancer awareness, and, on top of that, we were able to focus on local individuals, which is great,” Whitmore said.

“We have a great group of parents who put it all together, with posters, and balls for the girls to throw to the fans, and the money stays local – I love that idea.”

Tuesday stats:

Alita Blouin — 1 kill, 9 digs, 2 assists
Maddie Georges — 4 digs, 18 assists, 8 aces
Taygin Jump — 3 digs
Ryanne Knoblich — 1 dig
Jill Prince — 3 kills
Olivia Schaffeld — 2 kills, 4 aces
Lyla Stuurmans — 5 kills, 5 digs, 3 aces
Lucy Tenore — 6 kills, 1 dig, 7 aces
Savina Wells — 7 kills, 1 dig, 6 aces

Savina Wells had six of Coupeville’s 28 aces in a straight-sets win over Concrete.

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Lucy Tenore smashed 16 kills Thursday as Coupeville’s varsity volleyball team won its season opener on the road. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

You find a way.

Opening the season on the road, in a conference clash, missing four players, the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad proved incredibly resilient.

Getting big contributions from all seven players in uniform Thursday night, the Wolves found their groove, knocking off host Concrete 27-25, 25-12, 25-27, 25-19.

“It wasn’t always pretty, but we played just well enough to come out on the road with a win,” said CHS coach Cory Whitmore.

“It’s tough to go on the road for your first match and have it be league competition, but it’s made especially difficult being down a few starters,” he added.

“I’m really proud of how this group responded to direction, and we just relied on a full group effort.”

Concrete came out on fire, jumping ahead 18-8 in the first set, then Coupeville found its missing spark.

“Our first set was quickly slipping away from us, and so we changed our serving strategy to be more aggressive,” Whitmore said. “And Taygin Jump got that going.

“We climbed out by serving tough and swinging away on the attack,” he added. “Taygin did a great job of changing that mentality by pushing her serve tougher and tougher.”

After cruising through the second set, the Wolves let up a bit in the third frame, and paid for it.

But Coupeville responded to the momentary setback, earning a nod of approval from their coach, who kicked off his sixth season at CHS in style.

Now boasting a 56-24 mark in his time on the Wolf bench, Whitmore brought his winning percentage to a sizzlin’ .700.

“Sometimes it’s a win, sometimes it’s a lesson. And on lucky occasions, it’s both,” he said. “I’m excited for these girls and the experience we gained. Good way to start the season.”

Coupeville’s seven active players combined to rack up some impressive numbers, with freshman Katie Marti leading the way.

Subbing for team captain Maddie Georges at setter, Marti doled out 28 assists to go with nine digs, four aces, and three kills.

Freshman Katie Marti played like a veteran in her varsity debut.

Coupeville’s big hitters combined for 36 kills, with Lucy Tenore pounding home 16, while Grey Peabody smashed 11 in her varsity debut, and Jill Prince collected nine.

“Grey did such a great job, being pulled up from JV as needed and looked very comfortable out there,” Whitmore said. “Very happy for her.

“Lucy was phenomenal in this opener with just three errors on 28 swings on the right side, hitting .464. She played with control AND aggression.”

Olivia Schaffeld, who joined Peabody, Jump, and Marti in making their varsity debuts, went low for 10 digs and drew praise from Whitmore.

“Very proud of Olivia adjusting her position to play outside, a difficult move,” he said.

Jump chipped in with 13 digs and six aces, tying her for top team honors with Alita Blouin, who “really stepped up as a leader” and was hyper-efficient with 20 digs, four assists, and six aces.

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