Taylor Brotemarkle and the Coupeville JV fear no player, and no team. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
They won the battle, but lost the war.
The best volleyball match of the season went down Tuesday in the Coupeville High School gym, a JV battle royal which came within a whisker of giving La Conner’s second unit its first league loss in 20+ seasons.
The fans were engaged, the players were rowdy and rambunctious, and every point mattered in a thriller in which, in one way, the Wolves came out on top.
Coupeville actually won more games than visiting La Conner — 62-59 — but ultimately fell 26-24, 18-25, 15-13 in three titanic sets.
The loss drops CHS to 8-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 10-3 overall, but serves as a warning to the Braves.
The young Wolf crew fears no one, and no team, no matter how vaunted their reputation may be.
Led by CHS player-turned-coach Ashley Menges, the Wolf JV is winning, it is fighting for every single point, and it is preparing its players for the eventual jump to varsity.
And, once they get there, these spikers will enter each gym, their own or ones on the road, expecting to be competitive every single night, regardless of the name on the other jerseys.
Tuesday’s tilt was proof of that, as the Wolves proved they could roar from behind, run in front, or stand in the middle of the floor and swap haymakers.
After falling behind 7-4 in the opening set, Coupeville fought back to force four ties, the final one at 22-22.
The play of the match came when hard-charging freshman Katie Marti made a miracle save while on the floor.
Staring at the other player’s shoes, she still managed to get several fingers on the volleyball, converting it from a runaway to a suddenly perfectly-placed winner, all with the flick of her wrist while still prone.
That helped spark a nice run at the service stripe from teammate Gwen Gustafson, while Marti came back around to deliver the ace which staked Coupeville to a 23-22 lead, its first advantage since 1-0.
Katie Marti was a whirlwind Tuesday, pulling off big play after big play, as usual.
La Conner’s JV, which doesn’t hit as hard as its varsity counterparts, but does take after them in terms of committing few errors, found a way to wriggle out of the first frame, but set two belonged to the Wolves.
Madison McMillan broke things open with a run of six straight points on her serve, aided by two big winners off of the deadly fingertips of Grey Peabody, and CHS never trailed in the middle set.
Each time a play went Coupeville’s way, the girls on the floor, and the girls on the bench, roared loud enough to be heard up in Oak Harbor, and the fans in attendance backed them.
Issabel Johnson’s mom, in particular, was a standout, raising the roof for both her daughter and every one of her daughter’s teammates, from Jada Heaton to Mia Farris and beyond.
It was Aby Wood who punctuated things, crunching a spike which went right to left and caught the very last flake of paint on the line for a crucial point.
La Conner got back to within 19-17, but the Wolves closed things out like cold-blooded killers, with Marti smacking a nasty ace, and Gustafson unleashing her full fury on a shot which sliced ‘n diced anyone foolhardy enough to get in its way.
With the match riding on the line, the final set — a mad dash to 15 points — featured eight different ties, while neither team led by more than two points at any time.
Coupeville’s final advantage was at 12-11, coming after Farris and McMillan pasted back-to-back winners, but La Conner found a way to wiggle away one final time.
The Wolves held off one match point, even with two players colliding while both were going for the third, and final, hit on a rally.
To the surprise of all involved, the ball not only still went over the net, but skipped away from the defense once it did, pulling CHS within 14-13.
While they couldn’t pull out what would have been a landmark win, the JV did make a huge statement to their rivals, their fans, and, ultimately themselves.
These Wolves are hungry, and they’re planning to chomp everyone in their way.
Tuesday stats:
Taylor Brotemarkle — 1 kill, 2 digs, 7 assists, 4 aces
Mia Farris — 2 kills, 1 assist, 1 solo block
Gwen Gustafson — 5 kills, 10 digs, 2 aces
Isabel Johnson — 5 digs, 1 ace
Katie Marti — 2 kills, 3 digs, 7 assists, 2 aces
Madison McMillan — 3 kills, 10 digs, 2 assists, 2 aces
Grey Peabody — 5 kills
Aby Wood — 1 kill
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