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Posts Tagged ‘Orcas Island’

Empty house, full hearts

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on May 9, 2021| 1 Comment »

“I will devour your soul, sister!!” Sweet-natured Maddie Vondrak transforms into the volleyball wrecking machine known as The Mad Masher. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

“Wolves on three.”

A surreal season ended on a surreal note.

Less than 24 hours after celebrating Senior Night in front of a fairly-full gym, the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad closed its season Saturday by thrashing visiting Orcas Island in a mostly-empty house.

No fans were allowed to attend — to honor a request by the Vikings as positive Covid cases rise in the San Juans — though rest content in the knowledge that a handful of teenage girls can make as much noise, if not more, than any group of paying customers.

And the Wolves had plenty to hoot and holler about, as they strolled to a 25-12, 25-12, 25-14 win to finish 6-3 during this pandemic-altered season.

Coupeville, which finished second in the seven-team Northwest 2B/1B League, lost only to two-time defending state champ La Conner, and they made the Braves work as hard as anyone.

While he loses seniors Maddie Vondrak, Chelsea Prescott, Jaimee Masters, and Kylie Chernikoff, Wolf coach Cory Whitmore has a roster which features one junior and six fast-rising sophomores.

In the aftermath of Saturday’s win, as his players celebrated their success and mourned the end of their time together, Whitmore had a satisfied smile peeking out from under his face mask.

“We all have a lot of love for these seniors,” he said. “They were a great support crew for the younger players, like the seniors before them were for them.

“It’s really fun to see the impact these seniors had on our sophomores, and all they passed down.”

With all the obstacles this group of Wolves faced — a new league and classification, the loss of eight seniors, the pandemic — Whitmore was thrilled to see them accept every challenge.

“They tried new things, adapted, accepted feedback, and really were peaking by the end of the season, the right time,” he said. “I’m very proud of this team, and these seniors.”

Saturday’s match was essentially over one play into things.

Orcas served, there was a brief rally, then Prescott came sliding in, dropping the hammer of the gods, her power-packed right arm spiking a winner which split a pair of Vikings and skidded away.

Game, set, match.

Almost.

The Vikings did hang around for another hour or so, but they spent much of their time admiring the Wolf big hitters at work.

Prescott, Chernikoff, and Vondrak took turns getting wicked, spraying winners to all angles and showing their young teammates the way things are done.

Toss in strong runs at the service stripe from Alita Blouin, Maddie Georges, and Abby Mulholland, quality work in the trenches from Masters, and big plays at the net from twin titans Jill Prince and Lucy Tenore, and Orcas was doomed.

The end of the match offered up a perfect mix of the present (soon to be the past), and the future, for the Wolf volleyball program.

Up 22-13 in the third set, Coupeville collected its third to last point of the season thanks to one last, blisteringly brutal spike from the college-bound Prescott.

Stalking away in triumph, the young woman who first made varsity as a freshman celebrated with her contemporaries, then, metaphorically at least, turned over the keys to the car to the next generation.

Sophomores Gwen Gustafson and Ryanne Knoblich, who were on the court at the end, are part of that rising group of sophomore stars, with Tenore, Prince, Blouin, and Georges.

The final point, appropriately, came from one of the veterans, however.

Chernikoff, a fountain of joy over the past six years, from her days as a middle school track sensation to her current status as a volleyball killing machine, strolled to the service stripe, thunked the ball off the floor, then fired a note-perfect career capper.

Her low, sinking fireball ripped off a finger or two as it turned into set point #25 and match point #75, officially ending things.

One group moves on, another moves in, and Whitmore, with 55 wins in 4.5 seasons, rolls on, building something special.

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Young Wolves chase success, today and tomorrow

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on May 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Ryanne Knoblich spins a ball into play, while Skylar Parker backs her up. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The future is a bright one.

The Coupeville High School JV volleyball squad, playing for first-year coach Ashley Menges, were a bold, confident, frequently-inspired squad of heavy hitters and service stripe snipers.

Exiting with a 25-9, 25-15, 15-7 rout of visiting Orcas Island Saturday, the young Wolves finished the pandemic-altered season with a crisp 6-3 record.

Coupeville’s only losses came to La Conner, the premier spiker program in the Northwest 2B/1B League, and all three matches were tough battles.

Saturday’s tilt, played with no fans, was a different affair, as the Wolves jumped on the Vikings early and rarely relented.

Maya Lucero got her team rockin’ with a spike which was nasty enough to make the Orcas players take two steps back, then reconsider and make it four steps instead.

From there, it was time for Jordyn Rogers to step into the spotlight, with her service game garnering much hooting and hollering from the Wolf varsity players — who sounded louder by themselves than a full gym might have.

Rogers ran off a string of seven straight points, stretching a 9-5 lead out to 16-5 and breaking the spirit of the visitors.

Helping her along was Olivia Schaffeld, who pasted a winner off the back line, and Maya Lucero who snuck in to drop an artful tip which froze everyone on the other side of the net.

Everyone in a Wolf uniform was on fire, with Allie Lucero blistering serves to all parts of the court and Grey Peabody patrolling the net with a vengeance.

Grey Peabody is a tower of power.

Thoroughly entertaining themselves, varsity stars Kylie Chernikoff and Maddie Vondrak worked the lines, bringing all the flare at their disposal.

Trying to outdo one another with extra-dramatic waves of their flags while signaling whether a ball was inside the lines or not, the duo kept on upping their game, until Chernikoff nearly did a cartwheel after spinning out of control on one call.

Giggling behind her mask, while Vondrak laughed along on the other side of the floor, Chernikoff and her fellow senior thoroughly enjoyed themselves during the early stage of their final day in a CHS volleyball uniform.

Back on the floor, the JV spikers continued to rain down pain on the Vikings, with Rogers and Allie Lucero combining to win 17 points on serve in the second set.

The third set gave Ryanne Knoblich a chance to test her ability to bash the ball (she passed the test, easily), while Allison Nastali, Skylar Parker, and Gwen Gustafson all excelled during their stints on the floor.

La Conner escaped this season, maybe, but Coupeville is young, scrappy, and hungry. Watch out for the pack that hunts together.

Gwen Gustafson dreams of future wins.

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Freshman wows on Senior Night

Posted in Boys Soccer, tagged , , , , , on May 3, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Freshman Cole White lofted a pretty, pretty goal Monday night, catching league champ Orcas Island flat-footed. (Morgan White photo)

Sam Wynn (19) and Owen Barenburg (7) were honored on Senior Night. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Forget about Bend it Like Beckham. We’re more about Curl it Like Cole.

On the afternoon the Coupeville High School boys soccer program honored seniors Sam Wynn and Owen Barenburg, it was freshman Cole White who stole the show.

While the Wolf booters weren’t able to upend the Northwest 2B/1B League Champs, with visiting Orcas Island rampaging to a 10-1 win, that one Coupeville goal was a peach.

Not only was it the best scoring play of the season, but arguably one of the prettiest ever seen on Mickey Clark Field.

With an injury-riddled Coupeville squad battling the undefeated Vikings every step of the way, and Wolf goalie Logan Martin making one sweet save after another, CHS trailed just 1-0 at the mid-point of the first half.

That’s when White, heir to a legacy of prep athletic excellence crafted back in the day by dad Greg, lost his dang mind.

Blasting a shot from deep on the left side of the field, Cole was trying to set up teammates scrambling for position in front of the net.

Instead, the ball, showing a mind of its own, kept rising, kept curling, and kept increasing in speed and velocity, until it hooked right into the top right corner of the net.

The Orcas goaltender, who was otherwise lights-out, flung himself skyward, trying to track the incoming swerve missile, but had no chance as the orb came dangerously close to tearing a hole through the netting.

The play drew a low whistle and a reverent “That was sweet!” from CHS Athletic Director Willie Smith, who then crafted the Curl it Like Cole movie title out of thin air, before gifting it to the media assembled in his press box.

That set off pandemonium in the stands, and on the pitch, with White mobbed by his teammates, a crush of joy hailing the young star’s first high school goal, though very likely not his last.

As fast as the euphoria washed over the gathered masses, it was dampened a bit, however.

The Vikings seemed to take the score personally, and clicked into destruction mode after that.

Sending 10 of 11 players on many attacks, Orcas rattled home four scores in an eight-minute tear, breaking up a 1-1 stalemate and carrying a daunting 5-1 lead into the halftime break.

Intent on keeping their unbeaten streak intact, the very-efficient Vikings seized every opportunity, no matter how small, and rained home another five goals in the second half to make the final score much more lopsided than probably necessary.

With the loss, Coupeville drops to 1-3 during this pandemic-shortened season, with the regular-season finale set for Wednesday in La Conner.

After that, there may be another game, however.

NWL officials are working on a plan for “playoff” games to cap the season, with contests played Friday or Saturday.

The league’s #1 and #2 teams would face-off, with #3 vs. #4 and #5 vs. #6 also on the schedule.

Coupeville is currently in fifth-place in the seven-team league, ahead of La Conner (1-4-1) and Grace Academy (0-4-1).

While Monday’s tilt with Orcas was about the soccer, it was also about paying tribute to Wynn and Barenburg, the heart and soul of the Wolf backline.

They were hailed before the game, with velvet-voiced CHS announcer Ja’Kenya Hoskins reading off their senior thank-you’s, and family giving the duo a gift certificate for dinner.

Wynn, who will be attending the University of Calgary, summed up his run as a Wolf booter thusly:

“I really got into soccer and had more fun with it because of the programs at Coupeville,” he said. “I just want to thank all the coaches and everybody who’s volunteered and fed me throughout the years.”

Barenburg, who began his soccer career at age six in South Korea, and later had a stint playing in Italy, plans to attend Western Washington University.

“I like soccer to be fun for everyone and enjoyed playing Central Whidbey Rec soccer with my friend Sam in elementary school,” he said.

“Going forward I plan to study computer science and hopefully continue playing this wonderful sport wherever I can.”

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Long day, impressive win

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on April 24, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Maddie Georges doled out 24 assists Friday as Coupeville whacked Orcas Island in straight sets. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Jaimee Masters and Co. controlled play all afternoon.

Life on the road is never boring.

It was an extremely long day for the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad Friday, with an early departure and an extended return.

But, in the end it was worth it for the Wolves, as the time spent in the gym on Orcas Island went right to script, with Coupeville plundering the host Vikings in straight sets.

Winning 25-8, 25-17, 25-22, CHS lifts its record to 4-1 and remains in sole possession of second-place in the Northwest 2B/1B League, trailing just two-time defending state champ La Conner.

Thanks to the constantly-shifting schedules of the Age of Coronavirus, Coupeville doesn’t return to action until next Saturday, May 1, when it hosts Concrete on Senior Night.

While the wait between matches is an extended one, it’s nothing compared to the one the Wolves endured just trying to get back to Whidbey from Orcas.

With the ferry falling behind schedule by a truly-impressive 70 minutes, there was plenty of time to kill.

“It was a fun trip though,” said Wolf coach Cory Whitmore. “And, in our wait for the return ferry, we explored the terminal and then some very entertaining rounds of charades took place.”

When his squad was on the floor, the Coupeville spike guru came away pleased with much of what he witnessed.

“Overall we played well,” Whitmore said. “We spent most of the week working on our attacking, fixing form and our connection.

“It was rewarding to see it pay off — as a team we hit .256, which is a pretty efficient clip.”

Multiple Wolves embraced the spotlight, something their coach appreciates.

“Maddie Georges was a trooper, delivering some very well-placed sets despite nursing a bit of a wrist injury,” Whitmore said. “She averaged eight assists per set, and got everyone involved in the offense.”

Fellow sophomore Alita Blouin, making her season debut Friday, immediately found a groove.

“I’m also proud of how Alita stepped up and collected 10 digs,” Whitmore said. “She covered a lot of ground to take the pressure off others having to take the first contact and then transition to hit.”

With the ball moving crisply, Coupeville’s big hitters dominated at the net, with Chelsea Prescott, Kylie Chernikoff, and Maddie Vondrak all raining down death ‘n destruction on the Vikings.

“Another great night for our outside hitters,” Whitmore said. “Chelsea was very smooth on her approach and swing, hitting .310, with Kylie right behind her at .267.”

A day after signing her letter of intent to play volleyball for Medaille College in New York, Prescott thumped a match-high 13 kills, while adding seven service aces and six digs.

Chernikoff unleashed seven kills, went low for six digs, and popped an ace, while Lucy Tenore (five kills, two aces), Georges (24 assists, five aces, four digs), and Jaimee Masters (four digs) filled up the stat sheet.

Also making contributions were Jill Prince (two kills, two block assists), Vondrak (two kills), Ryanne Knoblich (two aces), and Abby Mulholland (an ace).

Coupeville was very strong at the service stripe, piling up 18 aces with just eight errors.

Knoblich, a fast-rising sophomore, bounced off the bench late in the third set with her team trailing 21-20, and immediately broke the Vikings spirit with two nasty aces to turn the tide.

“We had productivity from everywhere, and it was a great night for us to gain more experience and continue to work on very specific areas of focus,” Whitmore said.

“Looking forward to more practice time, fine-tuning things with this team of high-level learners.”

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Rally queens claim crucial win

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on April 23, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Grey Peabody, here firing a serve in an earlier match, was a standout Friday as the Coupeville JV spikers rallied for a road win. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Jordyn Rogers points the way to victory.

Never count them out.

Down a set Friday, playing on the road in a gym with no fans, the Coupeville High School JV volleyball players found their rally caps.

Roaring back with power and precision, both on serve and at the net, the Wolves overwhelmed host Orcas Island, pulling out a 16-25, 25-17, 25-16 victory.

The wins lifts the young CHS spikers to 4-1 on the season, and now they won’t play again for a week.

With both Darrington and La Conner having put their volleyball programs into Covid-related quarantines, the schedule has been shuffled, and Coupeville’s next match is May 1 at home against Concrete.

The off time will give the Wolves and their coaching staff time to fine-tune what is working, and tweak what is not.

After getting off to a bit of a slow start Friday, Coupeville’s spikers found a spark in the second quarter.

Strong serving from twin snipers Allie and Maya Lucero, backed by big performances at the net by Coupeville’s spike-happy mad mashers turned the tide.

“Everyone had a pretty good night after we picked up the energy,” said Coupeville coach Ashley Menges. “But I’m very proud of Olivia (Schaffeld) and Grey (Peabody) tonight.

“Olivia came up really big when we needed her, and it just brought the energy up even more.”

Coupeville’s JV squad features five freshmen, with Allison Nastali, Skylar Parker, and Issabel Johnson joining Peabody and Schaffeld on the roster, and their coach has been thrilled to watch their development.

“All of the freshman took on leadership roles tonight, which was really great to see,” Menges said. “Overall, it was great to see them overcome the slow start and pull out the win.”

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