Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Orcas Island’

Another night, another gem

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on November 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The champs. (Mark Saia photo)

The Wolf spikers are making history on a daily basis.

Led by a very strong pack of seniors, the 2024 edition of the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad continues to put together a run like no other.

The latest conquest came Saturday at La Conner, where the Wolves polished off Orcas Island in straight sets to get to a program-record 16-0, claim the District 1/2 title, and punch a return trip to the state tourney.

Keyed by a hit-happy offense and a scrambling defense, CHS swept the Vikings off the floor to a 25-4, 25-20, 25-15 tune.

“Really proud of all the people and effort — well before tonight — that went into a district championship,” said Coupeville coach Cory Whitmore.

“We came out firing in the first and they made some adjustments to keep it a lot closer in the second.

“But going up 2-0 I was proud of the girls for keeping laser focus on the goal, playing point-to-point and finishing the job.”

The Wolves celebrate on Instagram, and I am here to poach the pics.

Senior setter Katie Marti, having flown past 1,000 career assists recently, continued to add to her torrid total, lofting pinpoint passes to her big hitters.

And whether the ball landed on the ferocious fingertips of Mia Farris, Teagan Calkins, Madison McMillan, or Lyla Stuurmans, the hapless orb quickly got the crud pounded out of it.

Spraying kills from all angles, the Wolves were, once again, too much for Orcas to handle for an extended period of time.

“Our offense looked really sharp all night, hitting with very few errors and very in-rhythm,” Whitmore said.

Teagan Calkins, Coupeville’s kill queen this season, basks in the afterglow. (Mark Saia photo)

“I’m so proud of how we’ve prepared in practice for these chances to play in big games,” Whitmore said. “And, of course, I’m proud of our program pushing to return to state.

“We are looking forward to the experience and pushing to play as deep into playoffs as possible.”

Coupeville, which is currently ranked #2 among all 2B schools by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, will find out its state tourney path Sunday, when teams are seeded, and the 16-team bracket is announced.

The double-elimination rumble is set for Nov. 13-14 at the Yakima SunDome.

This is the seventh time Coupeville volleyball has advanced to the big dance, and the third under Whitmore.

The Wolves, led by coaches Kim Meche and Toni Crebbin, qualified four straight years from 2001-2004, before making it back in 2017 and 2023 with Whitmore at the helm.

 

Saturday stats:

Taylor Brotemarkle — 4 digs
Teagan Calkins — 8 kills, 1 block assist
Mia Farris — 10 kills, 5 digs, 4 aces
Jada Heaton — 1 kill, 1 assist, 1 block assist
Katie Marti — 1 kill, 4 digs, 26 assists, 6 aces
Madison McMillan — 3 kills, 9 digs, 3 assists
Lyla Stuurmans — 11 kills, 2 digs, 1 ace, 2 solo blocks
Tenley Stuurmans — 2 digs, 1 assist

Coupeville’s seniors roll on. (Jennifer Heaton photo)

Read Full Post »

Scrappy booters denied playoff berth

Posted in soccer, tagged , , , , on November 2, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Cael Wilson led Coupeville in scoring during his senior season. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Close, but no playoff berth.

Playing in the toughest 2B/1B boys’ soccer league in the state, the Coupeville High School co-ed pitch squad was in play for a postseason berth until the final day of the regular season.

Unfortunately for the Wolves, things came to an end Saturday at Mickey Clark Field, as they fell 5-0 to Orcas Island, the #1 team in statewide rankings.

The defeat brings Coupeville’s final record to 4-4 in Northwest 2B/1B League action, 6-8-1 overall.

With the Wolf loss, the fourth and final playoff berth from the nine-team league will go to the winner of a late Saturday afternoon game between Mount Vernon Christian and Friday Harbor.

That team will join Orcas — which is 8-0 in league, 15-1 overall — Lopez Island, and Providence Classical Christian in advancing to the postseason.

Saturday’s finale pitted the Wolves against a rampaging Vikings team which has now outscored its foes 80-11 this season.

By contrast, no other NWL team has registered more than 48 goals.

Orcas, which has played in four of the last five 2B/1B state championship games, winning the crown in 2021, is fast, wily, experienced, and prone to capitalizing on every little mistake.

Even when the error would appear to be made by the refs, who awarded the Vikings a penalty kick after a nothing burger of a play less than seven minutes into play.

Orcas senior Kevin Ibarra Garcia slapped home the game’s opening goal via that freebie, then came back around less than five minutes later to crank in another shot from about 20 yards out to make it 2-0.

The visitors stretched the lead to 3-0 shortly before halftime when a ball slid just under the grasp of Wolf goaltender Hurlee Bronec, before tacking on two more scores in the second half.

Facing a stiff defense, Coupeville only managed to scratch out just a handful of shots on goal.

The best chance for the Wolves came very late in the game, when Preston Epp was awarded his own penalty kick after being roughed up.

The senior captain banged a wicked shot to the left, but it caught part of the bar, and part of the Orcas goalie’s arm, and was denied by a matter of inches.

Hurlee Bronec lays out to block a shot during an earlier game.

Saturday’s game marked the end of the road for a pack of Wolves, with 12th graders Ayden Wyman, Matthew Ward, Epp, Angel Partida, Mason Butler, Cael Wilson, Bronec, and Dane Hadsall playing their final game in the red and black.

Epp and Wilson were five-year players, both starting their runs as 8th graders.

 

Final season scoring stats:

 

Varsity:

Cael Wilson – 7
Angel Partida – 5
Sage Arends – 3
Preston Epp – 2
Brian Thompson – 2

 

JV:

Tamsin Ward – 3
Lillian Ketterling – 2
Frankie Tenore – 1

Angel Partida heads upfield.

Read Full Post »

Another day, another town, another win

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on October 29, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Katie Marti flicks a pass skyward. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

One more chapter written in the book of perfection.

Continuing the best start in program history, the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad swept host Orcas Island off the court Tuesday afternoon.

Winning 25-23, 25-10, 25-15, the Wolves cap a flawless 10-0 season in Northwest 2B/1B League action and get to 13-0 on the season.

Up next? The regular season finale, and Senior Night, which arrives Monday, Nov. 4.

Coupeville will host 2A Sultan (10-5) that night in a tune-up for the District 1/2 playoffs, where the top-seeded Wolves will need two wins to punch a return trip to state.

Closing the league season with a sweep of Orcas provided a nice punctuation mark, as the Vikings were the defending league champs entering this season.

That changed as the Wolves dropped just a single set — to Concrete — across their 10 NWL matches.

Coupeville has won 39 of 43 sets overall, with non-conference foes Okanogan and Neah Bay the only other teams to steal a frame.

The Wolf spike crew at (momentary) rest.

The 13-0 start marks the second time a CHS spiker squad has opened a season with a double-digit win streak, following the 2004 team, which began 10-0.

It also puts the 2024 squad just one win away from tying the program single-season record for victories, jointly held by the 2004 and 2019 units.

Which is all a long way to getting around to one cold, hard fact — the senior-led 2024 crew is here for all the wins, and all the records.

Something the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association computers has picked up on, as the Wolves moved to #2 in the 2B rankings, behind just Adna (14-0) after the win on Orcas.

As he headed home Tuesday, Wolf coach Cory Whitmore reflected on the day that was.

“A good trip out in the islands today,” he said.

“Not our sharpest start, keeping a bit close for comfort but they pulled it out and we ended with a strong balanced attack making it hard for Orcas Island to pick us up consistently.

“In addition to the balance, our hitters were pretty low error on the attack,” Whitmore added. “It starts with a pass though, and we gave our offense a chance to be good again and again.

“I’m proud of the girls and look forward to fine-tuning things the rest of the week before Senior Night on Monday.”

 

Tuesday stats:

Taylor Brotemarkle — 5 digs, 1 assist
Teagan Calkins — 7 kills, 2 digs, 2 aces
Mia Farris — 9 kills, 9 digs, 2 aces
Jada Heaton — 1 kill
Katie Marti — 1 kill, 7 digs, 27 assists, 5 aces
Madison McMillan — 4 kills, 16 digs, 2 assists
Lyla Stuurmans — 11 kills, 7 digs, 2 assists, 1 solo block, 3 aces
Tenley Stuurmans — 3 digs, 4 aces

Read Full Post »

Young Wolves spike Vikings

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on October 29, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Dakota Strong mashed nine kills Tuesday to pace Coupeville to a win on Orcas Island. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It was a chiller and a thriller.

And it ended exactly the way the Coupeville High School JV volleyball squad wanted it to — with the Wolves headed back to the ferry after clinching their ninth straight win.

Outlasting host Orcas Island across three tense sets of action-packed spikes and aces, CHS claimed a 25-23, 25-23, 16-14 victory Tuesday in its road finale.

That sends Coupeville home boasting a 9-1 record in Northwest 2B/1B League action, 11-1 overall.

Up next is the last match of the season for the young spikers, with the Wolf JV hosting non-conference foe Sultan Monday, Nov. 4.

As she and her team bounced across the water and backroads of America on their (long) way home from Orcas, CHS coach Ashley Menges basked in adding another win to her team’s glossy record.

“I’m obviously very happy with how it went,” she said. “We’ve been learning a lot of lessons this season and it seems like everything just keeps clicking.

“Skills are developing and team dynamics are getting better with every game so I’m very proud,” Menges added.

“Lots of growth this season, and we have one more to get even better!”

 

Tuesday stats:

Capri Anter — 3 kills, 1 dig, 1 assist, 3 aces
Haylee Armstrong — 8 digs, 2 assists
Lexis Drake — 5 kills, 2 digs, 2 aces
Adeline Maynes — 2 kills, 2 digs, 11 assists
Isa Mc Fetridge — 1 ace
Chelsi Stevens — 3 kills
Dakota Strong — 9 kills, 1 dig, 1 assist, 2 aces
Tenley Stuurmans — 1 kill, 2 digs, 6 assists, 1 ace
Sydney Van Dyke — 3 kills, 3 digs, 3 aces

Read Full Post »

Spike crew still fairly flawless

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on October 3, 2024| 1 Comment »

Wolf seniors Taylor Brotemarkle (2) and Chloe Marzocca celebrate their teammate’s success. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Check another thing off the to-do list.

The Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad is methodically garnering achievements as the season plays out.

The Wolves beat the Evil Empire (La Conner).

Won a battle of undefeated teams with Darrington.

And now have upended Orcas Island, the defending Northwest 2B/1B League champs, sweeping the visiting Vikings in straight sets Thursday.

The Homecoming week win lifts Coupeville to 5-0 in conference action, 6-0 overall, and Cory Whitmore’s squad has yet to lose a set this go-round.

Dominating from start to finish against Orcas, the Wolves claimed a 25-8, 25-13, 25-15 triumph, giving the CHS spike program its best start since the 2019 team won its first seven matches.

Coupeville is also one of just three 2B schools still undefeated this season, with Adna (7-0) and Freeman (8-0) the others.

About the only thing which slowed the Wolves down Thursday was the perils of inter-island transportation, which had Orcas arriving a half hour late for an afternoon tilt.

Once the teams were on the floor and warmed up, the CHS net crew was locked-in and in full-on destruction mode.

A tip winner from Mia Farris kicked off the match, and Coupeville rode hot streaks at the service line from Tenley Stuurmans and Teagan Calkins to blow things wide open.

Calkins, who was honored as an Athlete of the Week winner by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association earlier in the day, dropped a nasty ace on the Vikings, the ball skidding away to stake her squad to a 19-4 lead.

While Orcas briefly (very briefly) rallied, the Wolves closed out the opening frame with a flurry of kills off the scorching fingertips of Farris, Madison McMillan, and Lyla Stuurmans.

The second set was almost a mirror image of the first, with the Wolves peppering the Vikings with brutal serves, popping note-perfect passes to each other, and crushing kills in all directions.

CHS setter Katie Marti, running from one side of the floor to the other, even went renegade at one point, using her leg to keep a ball alive with a soccer-style kick.

The perfectly legal, yet rarely used, play rocked the Orcas defense, or maybe they were just in run-and-hide mode because Marti’s kick was followed 0.02 seconds later by Farris peeling paint off the back line with a juicy kill.

Everyone was getting in on the action, with Jada Heaton walloping a winner at the net, before sophomore Dakota Strong delivered her first-ever varsity kill.

It came on set point and unleashed a tidal wave of joy from the Wolf bench, which mobbed her.

It wasn’t the last time that scene would play out, either, as another sophomore, Lexis Drake, matched Strong by closing out set #3, and the match, with HER first-ever varsity kill.

That winner capped a crush of big hits, with the Wolves taking turns seeing who could spin the nastiest kill against an Orcas squad which lost its All-League masher to graduation after winning last year’s crown.

Madison McMillan launches the attack.

Whitmore, who notched his 94th win with the CHS volleyball program, was pleased to have a low stress win during one of the most frantic weeks on the school calendar.

Now the Wolf spikers can go participate in Homecoming-related events the next two days content in the knowledge they’ll carry a spotless record into the new week.

“We played very, very clean for the first two sets,” Whitmore said. “I think we missed like only two serves in that time.

“We stayed very in system, even when they tried to move us around,” he added.

“There were some errors later, but the girls recognized what was happening, took control, and fixed things on their own. I like to see that.”

 

Thursday stats:

Taylor Brotemarkle — 7 digs
Teagan Calkins — 9 kills, 8 digs, 1 assist, 1 block assist, 4 aces
Lexis Drake — 1 kill
Mia Farris — 9 kills, 13 digs, 1 assist
Jada Heaton — 1 kill
Katie Marti — 3 kills, 7 digs, 27 assists, 2 aces
Madison McMillan — 8 kills, 7 digs, 1 ace
Dakota Strong — 1 kill
Lyla Stuurmans — 4 kills, 5 digs, 2 solo blocks, one block assist
Tenley Stuurmans — 1 kill, 1 dig, 1 ace

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »