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Posts Tagged ‘Emma Mathusek’

“It was a great starting point!!”

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on September 2, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville spikers prepare to take the floor Saturday at the Oak Harbor jamboree. (Charlotte Young photo)

“It was a good first outing, finally playing against someone other than ourselves in scrimmages.”

With the regular-season opener coming up fast, Coupeville High School volleyball coach Cory Whitmore was thrilled to unleash his spikers Saturday at the Oak Harbor jamboree.

Facing a pair of big schools, the small 1A Wolves held their own, sweeping three sets from 4A Cascade and dropping three close sets to their 3A hosts.

“It was a great starting point to learn from, especially in our losses to Oak Harbor,” Whitmore said. “We were much more confident stepping on the court versus Cascade and played loose and ahead of their offense, working within our own identity, while with OH we struggled to play to our strengths and remain on the attack.

“As the morning and afternoon progressed, I was happy to see us make small improvements in various areas that will help us to shape our identity and stay strong to a game-plan,” he added.

“This group expects a lot of themselves and are cohesive, quick-learners – I’m excited to get back to practice for a couple days and then take on Friday Harbor at home.”

Coupeville, which went to the state tourney last season, jumps in to the new North Sound Conference while dealing with the loss of a talented group of seniors.

The Wolves return four varsity players — Emma Smith, Ashley Menges, Scout Smith and Maya Toomey-Stout — while also getting back Hannah Davidson after a brief detour to Cali.

As he meshes newcomers with veterans, Whitmore came away impressed with what the first-time varsity regulars are bringing to the floor.

“Emma Mathusek played very well as our libero,” he said. “She played a combination of relaxed and active and I was very impressed with her as she settled comfortably into her role and will be a fun player to watch.

“Zoe Trujillo was very adaptable today, playing both outside and right side hitter at various points during the day,” Whitmore added. “Chelsea Prescott did a fantastic job in her first venture playing back row at the varsity level.

“She remained poised, learning as the day went on and got more and more aggressive attacking the dig forward. I particularly enjoyed learning that her range of serving varies not only deep but placed short-court as well.”

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Dominate today, dominate tomorrow!!

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on October 19, 2017| 1 Comment »

   Freshman spiker Maddie Vondrak (back) and big sis Peytin had plenty to celebrate Thursday as Coupeville’s JV romped to another win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Hide the children, cause things are about to get nasty!

Or, better yet, make sure the youngsters are watching, cause they can learn a lot watching the Coupeville High School JV spikers terrorize anyone foolish enough to step to them.

The Wolf young guns, a pack of kill-happy young women who have soared to the best record of any CHS fall sports team, would make great role models.

For more than one reason.

First, of course, is their ability to dissect an opponent, as they did to visiting Port Townsend Thursday night.

But, beyond their athletic skills, the 15 warriors who suit up for Wolf JV coach Chris Smith are a band of sisters who play with a “one for all and all for one” mentality which bodes well for the future.

The squad has stars, sure, but everyone contributes, and every night offers someone new the chance to grab a slice of the spotlight.

Thursday, during a 25-13, 25-4, 25-19 romp which raised their record to 6-0 in league play, 9-1 overall, the Wolves proved they could play from in front or behind.

In the second set, Coupeville cruised behind a hot streak of epic proportions from libero Emma Mathusek, who ripped off 15 consecutive points on her serve.

A set later, with their second-string carrying much of the load, the Wolves fought back from a late deficit.

From down 16-12 to finishing on a 13-3 tear, they refused to let a point die early and would not bend even under great duress.

While the RedHawks made things interesting for a bit in the third set, this was a match which was decided early. Very early.

I mean very, very early.

Meet Raven Vick, the “closer” who puts an exclamation point on things before the conversation has even begun.

The Wolf sophomore elevated on the far left side of the net on the very first play of the game, lashing a winner that went cross-court, bit the corner of the court and exploded in the general direction of the locker room.

As a RedHawk went down the hallway to retrieve the ball after Vick’s laser show ended the play, you could predict the outcome of the match with amazing ease.

On one side of the net, Port Townsend’s players looked like nervous deer who were suddenly realizing standing in front of those oncoming headlights might not have been the best career choice.

Jump the net and Mathusek and Maya Toomey-Stout were exchanging fist bumps, Vick was reloading her arm cannon and Lucy Sandahl was bouncing in place, smile on her face as she nodded in approval at her teammate’s display of awesomeness.

Game, set, match, Wolves, one point in.

But, you have to play the match for real, so the Wolves quickly went to work making the whispered predictions in my brain come true.

Vick went on a rampage at the service stripe, ripping increasingly nasty serves, Savannah Smith put on a tipping clinic at the net and the duo of Zoe Trujillo and Chelsea Prescott pasted the ball with wild abandon.

Trujillo’s kill was set up by a phenomenal running save from Mathusek, who ran all the way to the back wall in pursuit of a careening ball, then had the presence of mind to flick it backwards over her head before bouncing off the bricks.

That type of effort wasn’t much needed in the night’s middle set, as Mathusek and Jaimee Masters accounted for virtually all the points off of their nonreturnable service attacks.

But jump forward to the third set and hustle was back on the menu.

The pride of Germany, Charlotte Nölle, had a sweet tip for a winner, while Maddie Vondrak, Catherine Lhamon, Willow Vick, Megan Behan and Heidi Clinkscales all chipped in to capture the win.

Ending the match on as much of a bang as it started, Coupeville turned to Kylie Chernikoff to turn the lights out.

The Wolf frosh, who was dropping bombs all match, closed with back-to-back winners off of points set up by Lhamon’s serves.

First Chernikoff crunched a huge spike, then, on the final point of the night, she went one better, reaching backwards over her head to corral the ball, before launching it forward with substantial force.

The boom of the ball hitting the court on the other side of the net was the sound of victory, the roar of a young team which is dominating today, and plans to dominate tomorrow.

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Send ’em home in a body bag!!

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on October 11, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Emma Mathusek, seen here before a recent match, was one of many Wolf JV spikers to have a standout match Tuesday. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

When “The Gazelle” is ready to graze, just pray you don’t get chewed up and spit out.

Off the volleyball court, Coupeville High School sophomore Maya Toomey-Stout is a walkin’, talkin’ slice of friendliness.

On the court, however, she will go Mafia hit man on your posterior and smile as you bleed out.

And that’s a wonderful thing.

Mixing kills that carved chunks of flesh off of rival player’s bodies as they skidded by, with serves which sucked the life out of anyone tasked with trying to return them, Toomey-Stout and Co. were unstoppable Tuesday afternoon.

Crushing visiting Sequim 25-7, 27-25, 25-11, the Wolf JV spikers smartly rebounded from their only loss of the season, improving to 7-1 under first-year coach Chris Smith.

Coupeville’s young guns are a flawless 3-0 on their home floor now, and they looked like a squad anxious to make a good impression on their fan base.

With Lucy Sandahl, Raven Vick and Emma Mathusek throwing down quality runs at the service stripe to kick things off, the Wolves roared out to a 14-3 lead in the first set and the rout was on.

Savannah Smith recorded the match’s first point, soaring above the net to stuff a Sequim player. Three points later she was back, this time burying a spike off the back corner in a manner reminiscent of big sis Emma.

With the exception of one point, a long rally on which both teams came up with miracle saves, Coupeville shut down any long back-and-forths in the opening set.

Chelsea Prescott, who knocked down a winner on a tip she launched over her head like a basketball hook shot, closed out the opening set with a couple of smokin’ aces and everything was one-sided.

Until it wasn’t.

Sequim crawled off the mat in the second set, riding a suddenly-aggressive service game to a surprise 11-3 lead.

Enter “The Gazelle” and exit any hopes of a true comeback for the visitors.

Toomey-Stout stopped the bleeding with a service ace which shot across the net, then dipped and exploded, all but tearing off a Sequim player’s foot as it impacted.

From there, it became a wild mix of Wolf aces (Vick ritually abused Sequim all night while on serve) and big hits.

In one stretch of five straight winners, Toomey-Stout, Zoe Trujillo and Maddie Vondrak took turns crushing the air out of the volleyball, each spike landing with a slightly bigger bang than the one before it.

Vondrak’s shot was a thing of rare beauty, launched at an awkward angle as she scrambled to save the ball, but landing with utter precision in the deepest, darkest corner of the court for a surprise winner.

Having battled back from a large deficit, CHS fought off two set points, with Vick dropping a bomb for a winner while trapped in the middle of the court, followed by Toomey-Stout (who else?) crunching another ace.

Whatever fight Sequim had in the second set evaporated quickly after that.

The final set was an I-see-your-spike-and-raise-you-a-bigger-spike duel between Wolf teammates Prescott, Smith, Trujillo, Vick and, especially, an exuberant (and frequently air-borne) Toomey-Stout.

On Sequim’s side of the court? Shell shock and thousand-yard stares as they prayed to make it back to the bus in one piece.

Beautiful.

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Walk this way!!

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , , on April 21, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Emma Mathusek had two hits and a walk Friday, as the Wolf JV rolled to a 15-2 win. (John Fisken photo)

Patience pays off.

Drawing an astounding 17 walks in just three innings Friday, the Coupeville High School JV softball squad crushed host Klahowya 15-2.

The win lifts the Wolf young guns to 2-0 on the season.

All nine CHS players reached base at least once, with freshman Emma Mathusek leading the way.

Batting lead-off, she collected two of Coupeville’s three hits, rapping out a pair of singles sandwiched around a walk.

Nicole Lester had the other Wolf hit, crushing a third-inning double.

Scout Smith, Kyla Briscoe and Mackenzie Davis drew three walks apiece, while Melia Welling and Robin Cedillo each nabbed two free passes.

Tamika Nastali and Hope Lodell settled for just a solo base on balls, as the Wolves scored in every inning.

After putting up a six spot in the first, CHS added five in the second and four in the third, before the call of the ferry ended the game early.

While Klahowya’s young hurlers had issues, Wolf pitcher Scout Smith was on point.

The fab frosh scattered two hits.

“Scout pitched very well and the defense played very well behind her,” said Coupeville coach Kevin McGranahan. “Great way to gain experience for both squads.”

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Rollin’ right along!!

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 24, 2016| 1 Comment »

Emma Mathusek knocked in three runs Tuesday in a 13-10 win. (John Fisken photo)

   Emma Mathusek knocked in three runs (and played stellar defense) Tuesday in a 14-10 win. (John Fisken photo)

Official or not, a win is a win.

South Whidbey has had trouble all season fielding a full lineup for little league Juniors softball play, and Tuesday was no different.

After skipping last week’s game against Central Whidbey, the Southenders at least took the field this time, even though they were a player down.

By the time the game was called early, stopped in the fifth due to the dark, Coupeville’s sluggers had snatched another W, edging their hosts 14-10 in an oddly-called, oddly-played game.

Unofficially, the Venom improved to 8-3 on the season (maybe 9-3 if the no-show is considered a forfeit) and move on to face North Whidbey at the CHS softball field Thursday (6 PM).

After that, Central Whidbey will close the regular season with two games against their top rival, Anacortes.

Facing off with a depleted South Whidbey squad, the Venom came out a bit slowly before recovering.

Down 4-0, Central Whidbey rallied in the top of the second, sparked by superb base-running from Hannah Davidson.

Venom third baseman Emma Mathusek swung a big bat, collecting three RBI, while Willow Vick alertly beat out a throw to first to keep a rally going.

Davidson and Chelsea Prescott pulled off snappy plays on defense, with Prescott making a diving catch in the pitcher’s circle to deny South Whidbey a hit.

The perfect symbol for a game that was a little bit off all night came when Cynthia Rachal was at the plate in the top of the fourth with two runners on.

With a 1-2 count, the umpire called a ball, but Rachal, perhaps caught up in the moment, took off for first.

Both Venom runners broke at the same time, and South Whidbey, with little clue what to do, threw the ball around like crazy as Central Whidbey plated both runners on “accidental” steals.

Reinstalled at the plate, now with a 2-2 count, Rachal promptly lashed a single back up the middle to plop the cherry on top of the wacky sundae.

Hey, whatever works.

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