Emma Leavitt led the Wolves in kills Saturday. (Photo courtesy Leann Leavitt)
The journey begins, one match at a time.
Kicking off a new season Saturday, the Coupeville High School JV volleyball squad, with more than half its roster being freshmen, clashed with a deep, veteran foe.
Mariner, having made the trek over from Mukilteo, is a 4A school, while the Wolves rep a 2B institution, and the visitors had six juniors — and some big thumpers — on their second-team roster.
But while CHS couldn’t quite topple the Marauders, falling 25-12, 25-20, 15-8, the young Cow Town spikers showed flashes of brilliance and a great deal of grit.
Which bodes well for the future.
Coupeville actually roared out to a 6-1 lead in the opening set, riding some sharp serves from Cassandra Powers, but couldn’t hold on to the momentum.
Mariner started chipping away at the lead, while Wolf Emma Leavitt cracked a winner on a ball which sliced off an arm or two to hold off the visitors for a few extra seconds.
Eventually the Marauders overwhelmed the Wolves however, winning 24 of the final 30 points to close out the set.
The second frame stayed closer a lot longer and was tied at 20-20 before Mariner pulled away late to ice the win.
Before then CHS got winners off the fingertips of Leavitt and Powers, while Olivia Martin put together a four-point run on her serve.
Martin also scraped a ball off the floor to keep another point alive, and Scarlett Spencer came up with two big saves during one rally, as the Wolves refused to give away anything for free.
While the third set was for practice and didn’t affect the outcome of the match, Alita Blouin’s squad stayed plucky until the end.
Emily Rains and Addison Jacobson connected on hard-to-return serves, Annabelle Cundiff helped keep rallies alive, and Hannah Roberts and Sabrina Judnich provided strong vocal support to their teammates.
Coupeville returns to action next week, with a road trip to South Whidbey Wednesday followed by a Friday night home rumble with Orcas Island.
Saturday stats:
Addison Jacobson — 2 aces
Emma Leavitt — 3 kills, 1 assist
Olivia Martin — 3 digs, 1 assist, 1 ace
Cassandra Powers — 1 kill, 2 assists, 1 ace
Coupeville Sports 