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Posts Tagged ‘North Sound Conference’

Every win a milestone

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on October 15, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Scout Smith was a flawless passer Tuesday, handing out 35 assists as Coupeville volleyball drilled host Cedar Park Christian. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

At a spiffy 10-1, the 2019 Wolf squad has tied the 2004 team for best start in program history. (Photo by Lisa Toomey)

You know, Cory Whitmore is doing pretty OK.

The Coupeville High School volleyball coach is in his fourth season at the school, and he’s now produced double-digit win totals in every campaign.

After rolling up 11, 13, and 11 wins over the past three seasons, Whitmore’s spike-happy assassins sit at 10-1 after a huge win in Bothell Tuesday night.

Bouncing host Cedar Park Christian 25-18, 26-24, 16-25, 25-18, the Wolves rise to 5-1 in North Sound Conference play, which leaves them a game off of King’s (6-0, 10-0) in the race for a league title.

The 10-1 start matches the best record at this point of the season since the 2004 CHS team, which eventually peaked at 14-1 before finishing 14-3.

Coupeville’s 2019 squad still has four regular season matches left on the schedule, starting with a trip Thursday to Langley to face South Whidbey.

Squaring off with Cedar Park, the Wolves were looking for their second win against the Eagles, while trying to improve on last year, when they split regular season matches before knocking CPC out of the district playoffs in meeting #3.

Tuesday’s tilt was, in some ways, a mirror image of the first match-up between the two squads, as Coupeville swept the first two sets, had a brief stumble in set three, then righted the ship.

“We definitely had our big ups and downs,” Whitmore said. “Had to work through some moments where we weren’t controlling the tempo, but ultimately our players came up big in the fourth to seal the win.”

Coupeville was playing its third match without big hitter Chelsea Prescott, as she recovers from an ankle injury, but the Wolves compensated by getting production across the board.

Maya Toomey-Stout matched her season-high with 19 kills, while Zoe Trujillo (12), Hannah Davidson (9), Maddie Vondrak (5), and Scout Smith (2) picked up the rest of Coupeville’s put-aways.

Toss in solid work controlling the floor, with Smith (12), Emma Mathusek (10), Lucy Sandahl (9), Toomey-Stout (8), Trujillo (6), Raven Vick (1), and Davidson (1) combining for 47 digs, and few CPC shots got away from the Wolves.

Coupeville also had four players — Lucy Tenore, Vondrak, Davidson, and Smith — collect blocks at the net, while Sandahl and Davidson served two aces apiece, and Smith handed out 35 assists.

Getting something from everyone on the floor is one of Whitmore’s goals, and the Wolves accomplished the task in style.

“Lucy Sandahl had great clean play with long service runs, solid defense and one spectacular diving play to keep a rally alive and turn into offense and a big point to swing things in our favor,” Whitmore said.

“I thought Scout and Maya found their connection,” he added. “And Hannah went on two serving runs that scrambled CPC and gave us control of the fourth set.”

As he headed back to the bus, enjoying the victory while already looking ahead to the next match, Whitmore knew which stat he enjoyed the most, and it starts with a W.

“Overall, happy to win on the road,” he said.

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Wolf booters back in playoff hunt

Posted in Girls Soccer, tagged , , , , on October 15, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville goaltender Mollie Bailey recorded a shutout Tuesday, lifting the Wolves to a crucial 1-0 win at home against Sultan. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Sultan tried to get rough, but Coupeville is too tough.

Avalon Renninger bled for her team, Nezi Keiper made a rival lose her cool, and Mallory Kortuem proved stronger than the prairie wind, and now the Wolf girls soccer squad is back in the playoff hunt.

Pulling out a 1-0 win against visiting Sultan Tuesday, Coupeville finally broke into the win column after several close calls.

Buffeted by injuries to key players, the Wolves have been better than their 1-9-2 record might indicate.

And now, with the shutout victory against the Turks, Coupeville moves into a tie with Sultan at 1-6 in North Sound Conference play.

With three games left in the regular season, South Whidbey (7-0, 11-0-1) and King’s (6-1, 9-4) are chasing a league title, while Cedar Park Christian (3-4, 6-5) and Granite Falls (3-4, 6-6) are holding steady in the middle of the six-team league.

Five teams make the playoffs, and Coupeville has a slightly easier schedule than Sultan, which plays South Whidbey, King’s, and CPC to wrap up things.

The Wolves travel to CPC Thursday, make a short trip to South Whidbey next Monday, then close at home Wednesday, Oct. 23 against Granite Falls.

If CHS and Sultan remain deadlocked eight days from now, the teams will play a tiebreaker game Oct. 24, and it will be at Coupeville’s Mickey Clark Field.

The #5 seed from the NSC hosts a district play-in game Oct. 26 against the #4 seed from the Northwest Conference, which is currently an 0-12 Mount Baker team.

For their part, the Wolf players would prefer to punch their playoff ticket without having to go through Sultan again, which took the first meeting by a similar 1-0 score.

“I don’t really want to see them anymore,” said freshman Nezi Keiper. “I’m fine if we don’t have to play them again.”

Having already witnessed Renninger bleed on the field after taking an elbow to the nose Tuesday, Keiper, fellow defender Carolyn Lhamon, and goaltender Mollie Bailey shared a laugh about something else late in the game.

At which point a frustrated Turk glared at Keiper and blurted, “It’ll be funny when I punch you in the face.”

To which I say, you picked the wrong Wolf to try and buffalo.

Keiper is a former football lineman, who bench presses 700 pounds and eats nails for breakfast.

Well, at least the first of those three things is true, but she’s also not a player likely to get pushed around on the field anytime soon, under any conditions.

With Keiper and Lhamon, and senior captain Tia Wurzrainer anchoring the defense, the Wolves kept the Turks from mounting much of an attack.

Playing with the wind in the second half, Sultan finally pushed the ball onto the other side of the field, but Bailey was there to meet them with open arms (which collected all their shots).

Sultan’s best scoring opportunity came late in stoppage time, that magical slice of the clock where only the lead ref knows how many ticks of the clock are truly left in the game.

Desperate to get a tying score, the Turks were handed a golden opportunity, awarded a free kick at the 40-yard line.

The ball was mashed on a line, with the wind flowing behind the wobbly orb, but Bailey laughed one final time, stepping in front of the shot, bouncing slightly off the ground, and snaring the incoming missile.

That closed a battle of wills, a donnybrook where the Wolves proved to be the better team on almost every play.

Coupeville had 1,001 shots on goal in the first half, but Sultan net-minder Amanda McKay played inspired ball, deflecting each Wolf attack with precision.

Renninger had a great scoring opportunity, as did Lhamon, as did Sophia Martin, as did Anna Dion, as did Lhamon again, as did Kortuem several times, as did Wurzrainer, unloading a laser from midfield.

Each time McKay was exactly where she needed to be at the very last second, and, even playing with the Whidbey wind gunning for her face, she carried Sultan into the locker room with a scoreless tie intact.

One of her teammates wasn’t quite as lucky, as she dodged the wind only to take a soccer ball to the face from three paces.

Staggered but unbowed, the Turk wobbled, weaved, then kept on playing.

Much like Renninger, the pluckiest of plucky players, the calm, cool, and eternally serene captain who got crunched in the face (fairly accidentally it seemed), and added her blood to the mix of fluids to decorate the Coupeville pitch over the years.

“I thought it was snot,” she told her dad after the game, as she moved her nose gingerly. “It was NOT!!”

Still, Renninger proved why she is among the most-revered of all Wolf athletes, anchoring her squad through the facial pain.

Afterwards, as she headed for the parking lot, her voice a mix of tiredness, pain, and pride, she remarked, “Yep, going home and doing some homework and getting some sleep. Maybe just some sleep … sleep sounds good.”

Making sure Renninger’s dreams will be pleasant, Kortuem went toe-to-toe with the breeze which kept the fans in the stands bouncing around to stay warm.

Slashing through defenders, the ball on her foot, Coupeville’s speed demon cranked a wicked shot through the wind, narrowly slipping it past the outstretched fingers of McKay and into the back of the net.

Her first goal of the season, and fifth of her career, Kortuem’s crowd-pleaser came with 24 minutes to play in the game, and would be all the Wolf defense needed to secure the win.

Afterwards, as his players bounced around, awash in their celebration (and not being punched in the face), CHS coach Kyle Nelson surveyed the scene and smiled.

“A well-deserved victory,” he said. “The defense did a nice job and adjusted with the wind, doing all the right things we talked about.”

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As temps drop, action heats up

Posted in standings, tagged , , , , , , , on October 13, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Gavin Straub celebrated his birthday Friday by helping Coupeville win its third straight football game. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The Wolf volleyball spikers are 9-1, second-best start in program history.

Things are ramping up.

As we sail towards the middle of October, the race for league titles and postseason berths heats up in the North Sound Conference.

Coupeville High School volleyball is still in contention for a crown, trailing King’s by a game, with five matches to play, while Wolf soccer is fighting for a playoff berth.

Tennis and cross country go their own way, with individual success largely trumping team glory, while football is prevented from being a playoff team since it’s taking a one-year break from league play.

Which doesn’t mean they can’t win, as the Wolf gridiron squad is the second most-successful CHS program this fall.

The week ahead will start to shake things out, with Coupeville soccer hosting Sultan Tuesday in a must-win game, followed by a road trip Thursday to Cedar Park Christian.

Football is at home Friday, hosting South Whidbey on Homecoming.

Ownership of The Bucket for the next year is at stake, and the Wolves sit one win away from posting their first winning season in 13 years.

Also on tap are a pair of road matches for CHS volleyball, Tuesday at CPC and Thursday at South Whidbey, a cross country trip to Granite Falls Thursday, and what could be the final week of tennis action.

The Wolf netters travel to Seattle Academy Monday, host The Bush School Tuesday, then play Saturday in the Emerald City League championships.

As we prepare for the action-packed week ahead, a look at where we are at the moment.

 

North Sound Conference volleyball:

School League Overall
King’s 5-0 8-0
Coupeville 4-1 9-1
CPC-Bothell 3-2 8-3
South Whidbey 2-3 3-6
Sultan 1-4 4-6
Granite Falls 0-5 3-6

 

North Sound Conference football:

School League Overall
CPC-Bothell 2-0 5-1
Coupeville 0-0 4-2
Granite Falls 1-1 2-4
South Whidbey 1-1 4-2
King’s 0-1 1-5
Sultan 0-1 1-5

**CHS football is playing an independent schedule and has no league games.**

 

North Sound Conference girls soccer:

School League Overall
South Whidbey 6-0 10-0-1
King’s 5-1 8-4-0
CPC-Bothell 3-3 6-4-0
Granite Falls 3-3 6-5-0
Sultan 1-5 1-9-2
Coupeville 0-6 0-9-2


Emerald City League boys tennis:

School League Overall
Seattle Academy 10-1 10-1
University Prep 10-1 10-1
Bear Creek 8-6 8-6
Overlake 6-5 6-5
Eastside Prep 5-5 5-5
South Whidbey 3-10 3-10
Bush 2-8 2-8
Coupeville 2-10 3-10

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“I love it. I just love it.”

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on October 10, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Raven Vick had a very strong night at the service stripe Wednesday, helping power Coupeville to a big bounce-back win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Hannah Davidson delivered 11 kills, two aces, and two blocks in the home win over Sultan. (Brian Vick photo)

It wasn’t perfect, but it’ll do.

Two days after absorbing their only loss of the season — a brutal beat-down at the hands of state power King’s — the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad roared back to life.

Playing without explosive hitter Chelsea Prescott, who suffered a brutal ankle injury in the loss, the Wolves stuffed visiting Sultan Wednesday night 25-10, 25-9, 23-25, 25-15.

The win lifts Coupeville to 4-1 in North Sound Conference play, 8-1 overall.

The Wolves are a game back of King’s (5-0, 8-0) and a game up on Cedar Park Christian (3-2, 8-3), at the halfway point of the league season.

South Whidbey, Granite Falls, and Sultan are holding on to the bottom three slots currently.

Coupeville travels to Port Townsend Thursday for a non-conference tilt with the RedHawks (1-7), before playing four of its final five league games on the road.

With its eight seniors making their next-to-last regular-season appearance on their home floor, and both teams celebrating Dig Pink Night and the fight against breast cancer, Coupeville was looking for a bounce-back game.

And the Wolves got it, as they controlled play all night, even factoring in a brief slip-up in the third set.

“It was good to get back after it and get a win again,” said CHS coach Cory Whitmore. “We had a productive practice with a very productive team meeting and we went after making adjustments to not having Chelsea for the time being.

“We had a third set lull and relaxed too much but got it together for the fourth set and ultimately the win.”

While the Wolves wanted to wash away the bad taste from their King’s loss, they also wanted to honor those fighting against, and those lost to, cancer.

The event drew a large crowd, with money donated to the cause and attention drawn to the battle.

“The event was fantastic and the turn-out was great with incredible energy as we played for a very important cause,” Whitmore said.

With freshman Lucy Tenore replacing Prescott in the lineup, the Wolves came out firing from the start.

Scout Smith opened things up with a 5-0 run at the service stripe, and she got big-time help from her teammates.

Fellow senior Maya Toomey-Stout erupted for a big kill on the first rally, blasting a ball off the back line, then made an eye-popping one-handed save on a later ball few could have caught up with.

Sprinting in a way which reminded all the fans why they refer to her as “The Gazelle,” Toomey-Stout punched the ball skyward at the last second, angling it perfectly to a waiting Zoe Trujillo, who lashed an immediate winner, sending the Turks scurrying for cover.

There weren’t too many places for Sultan’s players to hide, however, as Hannah Davidson, stepping up and delivering her most complete performance of the season, was on the rampage.

Mixing up thunderous spikes with note-perfect tips, then tossing in some service aces and blocks at the net to complete her mid-week masterpiece, Davidson gave dad Micheal plenty to celebrate.

“That’s my girl right there!!!!!!!,” papa screamed, while Whitmore was a little more laid-back, yet just as appreciative, in his post-match dissection, smiling and nodding as he intoned, “Hannah was huge for us tonight.”

Coupeville led from start to finish in the opening frame, continuously stretching the lead out, before Toomey-Stout (with a spike off a rival’s arm) and Trujillo (with an artful tip winner) closed the set.

If big hits was the theme in set one, sizzlin’ serves dominated the conversation in the second frame.

Raven Vick ripped off three straight winners, before Toomey-Stout came around to pour gas on the fire with a 10-0 run helped out by Davidson delivering winners on four of five points during one part of the run.

Again, Sultan never led in the set, and seemed primed to accept a straight sets beatin’ and get back on the bus.

But something changed as the third set played out, from the Turks taking their first lead of the night at 2-1, then hanging tough all the way through.

Toomey-Stout, Davidson, and Trujillo were still savaging Sultan at the net, with Maddie Vondrak sliding in to deliver some soul-shaking hits of her own, but the visitors didn’t melt away the third time around.

With the set knotted at 15-15, Vick came bounding off the bench to finally, seemingly, slam the door on the Turks.

A 6-0 run on her serve, topped by a play on which Toomey-Stout went airborne while swinging one hand, then suddenly changed hands in midair and blasted a winner with arm #2, shoved the lead to 21-15.

It was over … and then it wasn’t.

Sultan got a side-out, put the ball in the hands of its best server, and threw down its own unexpected, and faintly disturbing, 8-0 run to regain the lead, while pushing Coupeville to the brink.

Vondrak finally stopped the bleeding, delivering a monstrous mash of a winner, but the damage was done, and, for only the fourth time in nine matches, the Wolves dropped a set.

If Whitmore was disturbed, he hid it well, keeping a poker face for the fans and assorted word scribblers in attendance, but leaning in close to talk to his players as they sat on the bench.

Whatever words of wisdom were passed on did the trick, as the Wolves played out the fourth set much more like sets #1 and #2 than #3.

Once again, they led the entire way, they dictated the action, and all the big blows were dealt by young women wearing black uniforms.

Vick and Trujillo added one more strong run at the line apiece, while Tenore rose up above the net to let the world know she’s coming, and the spikes will be deadly and plentiful.

But it was Toomey-Stout, as it has often been over these last four remarkable years, who provided the final punctuation.

Taking flawless sets from Smith, her close friend, “The Gazelle” attacked again and again, delivering a season-high 19 kills, each one more explosively dynamic than the previous one.

With twin brother Sean leading the student section, stomping and screaming, Maya played with a brutal beauty, daring the ball not to pop under her ferocious attacks.

Huge smile on her face, mom Lisa leaned back and whispered, “She is going to be one tired girl tonight.”

At which point her daughter, once again defying gravity, flew by and pasted a cross-court winner to end the match, then landed in a group hug as her teammates mobbed her in glee.

Port Townsend was right around the corner, with the stretch run of league play looming ahead.

But in the moment, as Emma Mathusek and Lucy Sandahl and Smith and all her teammates bounced up and down, all Toomey-Stout could do was smile the all-encompassing smile of a winner.

In the stands, her mom leaned back and smiled even bigger.

“I love it. I just love it.”

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Mihill, Hall pace Wolf harriers

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , on October 9, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Aidan Wilson was one of 13 CHS cross country runners to hit the trail Wednesday in South Whidbey. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The sun was out, and Wolf freshman Helen Strelow was zipping right along. (Photo courtesy Brian Strelow)

Sophomore Alana Mihill was 9th, best showing by a Wolf harrier. (Jackie Saia photo)

The sun was out, and, finally, so were the runners again.

Returning to the trails after nearly a two-week break, 13 Coupeville High School cross country runners competed Wednesday at a North Sound Conference meet in South Whidbey.

Sophomore Alana Mihill and freshman Mitchell Hall recorded the best finishes of any Wolf, hitting the line in 9th and 10th places, respectively.

Naomi Smith of King’s and Michael Harwell of South Whidbey won the individual races on the 5,000 meter course, while their respective squads captured team titles as well.

The next turn-around will be much, much shorter for Coupeville, as the Wolves head to Lakewood this Saturday for the huge Nike Hole in the Wall Classic.

 

Complete Wednesday results:

GIRLS:

Alana Mihill (9th) 23:55.59
Claire Mayne (12th) 24:36.09
Helen Strelow (17th) 25:57.49
Cristina McGrath (21st) 27:15.93

BOYS:

Mitchell Hall (10th) 19:12.11
Sam Wynn (22nd) 20:30.11
Aidan Wilson (23rd) 20:34.26
Cameron Epp (29th) 20:45.49
Reiley Araceley (37th) 21:18.51
Aiden Anderson (43rd) 21:44.31
Alexander Wasik (49th) 21:58.11
Tate Wyman (50th) 21:58.71
Chris Ruck (58th) 23:07.80

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