Toni Crebbin and Cory Whitmore are the only Coupeville volleyball coaches to guide teams to a 10-0 start. (Scout Smith photo)
Rock the rafters and make some history.
Playing in front of the season’s biggest crowd Thursday, the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad gave them their money’s worth.
Delivering a staggering blow to visiting La Conner by sweeping the Braves in straight sets for a second time this year, the Wolves matched the best start in program history.
With its 25-13, 25-21, 25-19 win, Cory Whitmore’s squad gets to 8-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 10-0 overall.
That matches the start set by Toni Crebbin’s 2004 Wolf team, which finished 14-3.
The 2024 Wolves, who clinched at least a share of the league title with Thursday’s win, can claim the crown outright with a win at Concrete Oct. 24 or Orcas Island Oct. 29.
With four regular season matches remaining — including non-conference tilts at Neah Bay Oct. 26 and at home Nov. 5 against Sultan, this year’s senior-dominated team could tie the CHS single-season record of 14 wins before the playoffs even begin.
That record is jointly held by the 2004 and 2019 teams, with the latter going 14-5 for Whitmore.
The current Wolf net guru, who sits at 98-43 during his time in Cow Town, has now led Coupeville to double-digit win totals in eight of his nine seasons.
The only miss? The pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when CHS was limited to nine matches.
Jump forward to 2024, and La Conner, while no longer the Evil Empire which won seven state titles and didn’t lose a league match for a decade-plus, is still very dangerous.
The Braves came hard for the Wolves Thursday night, but as in their first match, Coupeville had all the answers.
“DE-NIED!!!” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
The Wolf big hitters made a statement in the first minute, with Lyla Stuurmans, Mia Farris, and Teagan Calkins dropping thunderbolts while soaring above the net.
And that statement?
Prepare for a hailstorm of kills to strafe you all night long until your very dreams are filled with the screams of players having their arms and legs ripped off by lasers erupting from the ferocious fingertips of the Wolf mad mashers.
Or something like that.
La Conner hung tough, staying within 6-5, but solid runs at the service line from Farris and Calkins quickly stretched the Wolf advantage out.
Madison McMillan painted the far corner of the floor with a kill which looked like it was flying south for the winter, only to dip at the last second and hit paydirt, frustrating the La Conner defense.
There was more of that on the way — much, much more — with Lyla Stuurmans, huge smile gracing her face, delivering a particularly nasty kill right down the middle of the floor to scatter the Braves.
Lil’ sis Tenley Stuurmans closed out the first frame at the service stripe, zipping perfect set-up balls, with Lyla popping back into the kill zone to drop a floater over the defense on set point.
La Conner, recapturing some of its fading glory, gave the Wolves a run for it in the second set, and led 16-13.
Enter Katie Marti, who smacked an ace off the back corner, and re-enter Calkins, who did her best to deflate the ball while crushing it cross-court for a tangy kill, and CHS was not to be denied.
Closing the frame on a 12-5 tear, the Wolves pushed the match to 2-0 with a beautiful service ace off the hands of McMillan, who danced away before being mobbed by her teammates.
With some of the air going out of La Conner, Coupeville seized the moment and led start to finish in the final set.
Marti was a flippin’ fool, tossing backhanded winners over the net while peeking over her shoulder, while Mia the Magnificent got increasingly rougher and rougher with the way she manhandled the ball on her kills.
The most explosive play, however, came on a point that Coupeville didn’t win.
Trying to corral a runaway ball with her team up 22-17, Calkins did a complete full-body flip over the bench, scattering teammates left and right and freaking out the fans in the first three rows as her feet went skyward and it looked like she landed on her head.
There was a scream (or three), a moment of silence that lasted about 0.02 of a second, then “The Red Dragon” sprang back to her feet, doing her best Mary Katherine Gallagher.
“SUPERSTAR!!!”
Indeed.
As he (briefly) marinated in the win, while already looking ahead to the next challenge on the schedule, Whitmore praised everyone involved.
The win was huge, the volleyball program raised a nice chunk of change on its cancer awareness night, and Calkins wasn’t in a full body cast, despite her best efforts.
“The entire team was present in the moment, beginning to end,” Whitmore said. “We really passed well, getting the ball to our hitters in a good place, and everyone fulfilled their roles.
“I’m really proud of the team, of the program, of the parents who did so much with our Dig Pink night, and with the community for coming out and supporting us.
“Just a really good night.”
Plucky paparazzi John Fisken gets his locks turned pink by Wolf spikers prior to the team’s cancer awareness night. (Diane Fisken photo)
Thursday stats:
Taylor Brotemarkle — 1 dig
Teagan Calkins — 12 kills, 2 digs, 2 solo blocks, 2 block assists
Mia Farris — 10 kills, 8 digs, 2 aces
Jada Heaton — 1 block assist
Madison McMillan — 4 kills, 11 digs, 1 assist, 1 block assist, 4 aces
Katie Marti — 1 kill, 5 digs, 31 assists, 3 aces
Lyla Stuurmans — 11 kills, 7 digs, 2 solo blocks, 2 block assists
Tenley Stuurmans — 7 digs
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