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Posts Tagged ‘Mount Vernon Christian’

Wolf net crew chases history

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on October 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »

When she’s not clicking away, Wolf spiker Madison McMillan enjoys filling up the stat sheet. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

One step closer to a league title, one step closer to history.

Surviving and thriving Tuesday, the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad slipped past host Mount Vernon Christian in three action-packed sets.

Winning 25-20, 25-19, 25-23, the Wolves complete a season sweep of the Hurricanes, while moving to 7-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 9-0 overall.

It’s the second-best start in program history, behind just the Toni Crebbin-coached 2004 squad, which began 10-0 on its way to winning 14 matches.

Up next is a Thursday showdown in Cow Town with La Conner (5-1, 7-4) as Coupeville also holds its annual Dig Pink night to honor those fighting cancer.

Beat the Braves for a second time this season and the Wolves essentially clinch a league crown.

Coupeville’s seniors are enjoying their final run.

The tangle with La Conner is also Coupeville’s next-to-last regular season home match.

The Wolves play three straight on the road, with trips to Concrete, Neah Bay, and Orcas Island, before closing at home Nov. 5 against non-conference rival Sultan.

Tuesday’s trip to MVC featured a closer match-up than the first time the two teams tangled, but the ultimate result was the same — a straight-sets sweep for the spikers in red and black.

“It wasn’t always our cleanest gameplay we’ve had this season, but the girls got the job done,” said Coupeville coach Cory Whitmore.

“Hats off to MVC – they are much-improved and really pushed us to earn points and defend their attack a lot more.”

The Wolves were especially ferocious at the service stripe, with six players combining to notch 11 aces.

“We will need to smooth out our attack, but I thought our serving was very clean tonight, as well as tough for them to handle,” Whitmore said.

“That was definitely a takeaway from last Saturday’s tournament, so it was good to see us improve in that category.

“We also blocked pretty well and that was a new thing for us to be able to count on.”

A pack of Wolves make an appearance at an Oak Harbor match on a night off.

 

Tuesday stats:

Taylor Brotemarkle — 2 digs, 1 assist
Teagan Calkins — 5 kills, 5 digs, 1 solo block, 2 block assists, 3 aces
Mia Farris — 4 kills, 4 digs, 1 ace
Jada Heaton — 2 kills, 3 digs, 2 block assists, 1 ace
Katie Marti — 2 kills, 3 digs, 28 assists, 1 block assist, 4 aces
Madison McMillan — 6 kills, 9 digs, 1 assist, 2 block assists, 1 ace
Lyla Stuurmans — 12 kills, 7 digs, 1 assist, 1 solo block, 3 block assists, 1 ace
Tenley Stuurmans — 1 kill, 3 digs

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JV spikers deliver the big payback

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on October 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Lexis Drake brings the heat. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

In the words of one James Brown …

Hey! Gotta, gotta payback!
(The big payback)
Revenge! I’m mad!
(The big payback)
Got to get back!

I need some get-back!
Payback!
Payback! (The big payback)
That’s it! Payback!

Whether they cued up some 1973 funk or not, the Coupeville High School JV volleyball squad got that sweet, sweet payback Tuesday night.

Avenging their only loss of the season, the Wolves rallied to beat host Mount Vernon Christian 15-25, 25-16, 16-14, just the way coach Ashley Menges likes it.

The victory lifts the JV spikers to 6-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 7-1 overall heading into a home showdown Thursday with La Conner.

It also pushes Menges career winning percentage to an even .700, as the fifth-year coach is 42-18 since taking the reins of the second squad.

The Wolves watch the action unfold.

The first time the teams faced off, in mid-September, Coupeville actually won more points (62-61), but MVC escaped, nailing down two of three sets.

This time out, it was the Wolves taking both the moral victory and the victory-victory.

“It was a slow start to the night, and we definitely weren’t all there to begin the day, but it’s good to see they can turn it around,” Menges said.

“Something we always want to emphasize is that we get better with every set, which is what they did tonight and I’m very glad to see.

“They also took what I said pregame and started with that first point.

“As always, there’s more to work on, but for now I’m glad to see them pull out a win.”

 

Tuesday stats:

Capri Anter — 4 kills, 2 aces
Haylee Armstrong — 7 digs, 1 assist
Lexis Drake — 4 kills, 1 ace
Adeline Maynes — 3 digs, 11 assists, 5 aces
Isa Mc Fetridge — 3 digs, 2 aces
Chelsi Stevens — 1 kill
Dakota Strong — 3 kills
Tenley Stuurmans — 3 kills, 2 digs, 2 assists
Sydney Van Dyke — 1 kill, 5 digs

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Canes nip Wolves in pitch thriller

Posted in soccer, tagged , , , , , on September 24, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Wolf booters fuel up after a strong effort on the pitch. (Kimberly Kisch photo)

They held their own, which is saying a lot.

Facing off with an undefeated Mount Vernon Christian boys’ soccer team on its home field Tuesday, the Coupeville High School co-ed squad narrowly lost a 1-0 nail-biter.

The non-conference loss to a league rival drops the Wolves to 1-3-1 on the season, while the Hurricanes get to 4-0-1.

The two teams will tangle again later this season, when MVC comes to Coupeville Oct. 18 for a rematch. That tilt will count in the conference standings.

The Wolves, who were playing down several players, still came with a strong performance on the rival pitch, said CHS coach Robert Wood.

“We played a really good game considering our injuries,” he said. “Mostly defensive, but really good counter attacking strategies.

“Defense was great; everyone we played back there did a great job.”

MVC, which has outscored its foes 12-3 in the early going of the 2024 campaign, netted the game’s lone score on a well-executed shot which found its way through a small gap in the defense.

“Their goal was from 20 yards outside the box, well hit, to the upper corner of the goal,” Wood said. “Impressive.”

Hurlee Bronec and his compadres will play at home under Friday Night Lights. (Jackie Saia photo)

Coupeville returns to action this Friday, Sept. 27, when it hosts La Conner in a game set to kick off at 6:00 PM at Mickey Clark Field. Admission is free.

That clash will be another non-conference game against a league foe, as Northwest 2B/1B League soccer teams fill out their early schedule with such affairs.

CHS begins actual league play Oct. 11, with the final eight games of the season determining playoff slots.

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With great power comes great wins

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on September 19, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Wolf seniors (l to r) Lyla Stuurmans, Jada Heaton, and Taylor Brotemarkle are off to a great start. (Jennifer Heaton photo)

The gym was different, the result the same.

Playing at home for the first time this season Thursday, the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad kept its perfect streak going.

Sweeping visiting Mount Vernon Christian 25-17, 25-15, 25-7 on Madison McMillan’s cake day, the Wolves get to 2-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 3-0 overall.

They haven’t dropped a set in regular season play, and certainly weren’t about to start against the Hurricanes.

Other than brief burps at the start of the first two sets, CHS led start to finish, with spry setter Katie Marti flying around, feeding a variety of big hitters who hammered winners upon winners.

MVC did lead 3-2 in the opening set, but then the Wolves promptly roared to life.

Bounding all around the court, Lyla Stuurmans and Teagan Calkins took turns delivering crisp winners which sliced off kneecaps and left the Hurricanes to wonder if their life insurance policies were paid up.

When the duo wasn’t banging away, they also delivered savage barbs with a poke here, a tip there, always keeping the ball just out of range of their rival hitters.

Add in some titanic mashes exploding off of the deadly fingers of Mia Farris as she swooped in from the side, and Jada Heaton up on her toes, ready to dominate at the net, and Coupeville was in full-on kill mode.

The ever-calm (even on her birthday) McMillan and the indispensable Taylor Brotemarkle dug deep to pull balls off the floor, with Marti cavorting from side to side, taking their setups and lofting the ball to her snipers.

Birthday girl Madison McMillan contemplates how hard she would have to hit the volleyball to make it explode. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Flush from the success of the first set, the second frame went down much the same.

Coupeville dominated, the Hurricanes fought back with a never-say-die spirit, and then the Wolves beat the air right out of the ball.

Farris, in full-on Mia the Magnificent mode, lashed a huge spike that tore off a chunk of the floor.

To which Stuurmans responded, “I can do that too,” as she bounded skyward and sent a missile screaming past a Hurricane defender who wisely decided that no, she didn’t really want to try and return that one.

Enter “The Red Dragon,” AKA Teagan Calkins, who, perhaps channeling Austin Powers, stated that she too liked to live dangerously.

And by live dangerously, she meant “hit the volleyball so hard it goes blind.”

Teagan Calkins drops a winner. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

If MVC thought the explosion at the power factory was done after the second set, it was sadly mistaken, since set three was nothing but non-stop bicep-poppin’, big-hittin’ fun for the Wolves.

McMillan punctuated her day of birth by firing a bullet which caught the corner of the court for a point, and a look at this reporter’s notebook reveals the following from set #3:

“Lyla bomb.”

“Mia laser.”

“Lyla mash.”

“Mia freakin’ massacred the ball.”

At the end of the fireworks show, the night’s final point was maybe the most impressive, while featuring artistry over pure firepower.

Scrambling madly towards the CHS bench (with a 24-7 lead), Marti stretched out to her full length and caught an out-of-control ball before it could get away.

Spinning it back over her head, she (somehow) sent it on a dime to Stuurmans, who sliced the ball across the top of the net.

Startled that the ball was coming back in her direction after the play seemed all but dead, a Hurricane hitter punched at the ball and sent it sailing far away into the night, ending things and sending the Wolves into a celebration.

In a match in which 10 girls hit the floor — Tenley Stuurmans, Aby Wood, and Dakota Strong also got floor time late — Coupeville got the nod of approval from coach Cory Whitmore.

“It was good to work through a couple of things,” he said. “We looked pretty sharp and controlled the first ball pretty well.

“What’s exciting about this group is they find the hitter with the hot hand, even if that changes from set to set and night to night.”

 

Milestone moments:

Both Calkins and Marti hit round numbers recently, Whitmore said.

Marti, a senior, nailed her 100th career ace at the service stripe during last weekend’s SunDome Volleyball Festival, and sits at 105 and counting.

Meanwhile, Calkins, a junior, reached 100 career kills during the last regular season match against Friday Harbor. With six more Thursday against MVC, she’s up to 112 for her prep career.

 

Thursday stats:

Taylor Brotemarkle — 6 digs
Teagan Calkins — 6 kills, 4 digs, 3 aces
Mia Farris — 4 kills, 9 digs, 2 aces
Jada Heaton— 1 kill, 1 dig
Katie Marti — 2 kills, 8 digs, 19 assists, 1 block assist, 2 aces
Madison McMillan — 4 kills, 12 digs, 2 aces
Lyla Stuurmans — 10 kills, 7 digs, 1 solo block, 1 block assist, 1 ace
Tenley Stuurmans — 1 ace

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Hurricanes nip Wolf JV spikers

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on September 19, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Haylee Armstrong (left) and Ari Cunningham discuss strategy. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

They won the battle and lost the war.

Playing from behind in every set Thursday, the Coupeville High School JV volleyball squad held off four match points and actually won one more point than visiting Mount Vernon Christian.

But the game of spikes and digs is decided by capturing sets, and not total points, so a 62-61 advantage couldn’t net the Wolves a win, as they fell 20-25, 26-24, 15-13.

The loss, coming in Coupeville’s home opener, drops the JV spikers to 1-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 2-1 overall.

The young Wolves proved to be a scrappy bunch but did most of their best work Thursday after digging a big hole for themselves.

CHS trailed 12-4 in the opening set, before sophomore Dakota Strong lashed a winner at the net to key the turnaround.

Bit by bit the Wolves got back into the match, picking up points on serves from Tenley Stuurmans, Ari Cunningham, and Haylee Armstrong, but were still down 18-14 when Capri Anter stepped to the line.

Dropping bombs on the Hurricanes, and getting some help from Stuurmans, who netted a sweet runner that dropped over the heads of a pack of defenders, Anter shoved Coupeville back into the lead.

Six straight points on serve gave the Wolves a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, with Cunningham and Stuurmans coming up big at crunch time.

The set-winning point was a note-perfect shot from fab frosh Stuurmans, who drew the defense in, flicked a winner between Hurricane players, then calmly strolled away, small smile on her face.

Tenley Stuurmans is here to deliver winners.

Unfortunately for Coupeville, as soon as it had the advantage, it gave it right back to MVC.

A couple of slow stretches offensively left the Wolves in another hole, this time at 13-7, before the hometown hitters once again rallied.

Adeline Maynes cranked back-to-back aces, coming right after Lexis Drake stuffed the visitors on a play set up by a great dive from Cunningham to keep the action alive.

Coupeville finally reclaimed the lead at 23-22, courtesy a strong run at the service stripe from Armstrong, only for MVC to escape and knot things up at a set apiece.

There were two ties in the final set, at 1-1 and 4-4, before the ‘Canes pulled away seemingly for good.

With things going to 15, and not 25, Mount Vernon staked itself to a 14-9 lead, only to see the Wolves mount a comeback that almost made it all the way.

With Anter peppering the visitors from the line, Coupeville held off four match points and had a chance to force a tie at 14-14, only to be denied by a ball which missed the endline by a whisker.

While the loss stings, the Wolf JV spikers, who celebrated Isa Mc Fetridge’s birthday Thursday, will get back at it.

Next up is a road trip to La Conner Tuesday, Sept. 24, then a home tilt with Darrington two days later.

 

Thursday stats:

Capri Anter — 4 kills, 8 digs, 5 aces
Haylee Armstrong — 8 digs, 1 ace
Ari Cunningham — 3 kills, 1 dig, 1 ace
Lexis Drake — 1 solo block, 2 aces
Adeline Maynes — 5 digs, 4 assists, 3 aces
Dakota Strong — 2 kills
Tenley Stuurmans — 6 kills, 1 dig, 5 assists, 2 aces

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