Chelsea Prescott, half of “The Killer P’s” (with fellow big hitter Morgan Pease), had a big opening-day performance Wednesday. (John Fisken photo)
You can’t stop Morgan Pease, and you certainly can’t contain her.
Sequim found that out the hard way Wednesday, as the Coupeville Middle School 8th grader blistered them with nasty spikes and ferocious serves one on top of another, sparking the Wolves to a come-from-behind-win.
Led by Pease and fellow big-hitter Chelsea Prescott (aka “The Killer P’s”), CMS volleyball roared back to claim a 23-25, 25-21, 15-12 win in its season opener, thwarting a much-larger school.
At the high school level, Sequim is a solid 2A school, while Coupeville lingers near the bottom of 1A in terms of student body size.
It carries over to middle school, as evidenced by the nonstop flow of Sequim players who poured out of an overfilled bus to start off the afternoon.
But, while Coupeville didn’t have as many bodies, the ones who were wearing black and red played with heart and passion.
While the Wolves fell in the opening set, they earned a few appreciative thumbs-ups from high school coach Cory Whitmore, who kept one eye on the match and one eye on his own work while camped in the bleachers.
At one point Prescott ripped a spike for a winner which drew an appreciative eyebrow raise from high school stars Hope Lodell and Mikayla Elfrank, who were helping ref.
Meanwhile, irrepressible Wolf spark plug Genna Wright was busy flying everywhere, dropping tips for winners and firing aces at the service stripe.
She and Emily Fieldler had a hot hand on serves in the early going, while Pease picked up several aces in the late going.
The turning point of the match came early in the second set, with Coupeville trailing 3-2.
Pease, using every inch of her superior height, exploded off the court and demolished the ball, blasting it off of a Sequim rival’s elbow.
The sound on impact was not unlike that of a gunshot going off, and Elfrank waved her flag excitedly and pointed it at Whitmore, as both chuckled in unison.
From that moment on, Sequim got a little jumpy, visibly backing away every time Pease wound up, and the Wolves took advantage.
Prescott pulled off the play of the night late in the second set, going airborne, then reaching back over her head to snag a wayward ball and spin it over the net for a winner a moment before she went to her knees.
While “The Killer P’s” were en fuego, CMS got big games from everyone on the floor, with Savannah Smith pulling off a gorgeous drop shot in front of grandpa (and Coupeville football legend) Steve Smith.
Heidi Clinkscales and Kylie Chernikoff also chipped in with strong play.
JV nabs big win:
While the varsity had to stage a comeback, the 8th grade JV rolled from start to finish, claiming a 25-12, 25-17, 15-10 victory.
Catherine Lhamon busted things open early in the first set with a run of six straight points at the service stripe, while Lacy McCraw and Madelyn Vondrak led the Wolf hitting with several winners apiece.
Coupeville’s serving was a major difference at the JV level, with Lhamon, McCraw, Vondrak and Jaimee Masters all collecting aces, while Sequim had considerable trouble merely getting its serves in play.
Coral Caveness had a strong return of service that split two defenders and landed for a winner as well.
Coupeville Sports 