Sydney Autio rises up and lays down some heat Thursday night. (John Fisken photos)
The volleyball thinks it’s going to get away. Ally Roberts has other ideas.
It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but it was a win, and that was all that really mattered.
Showcasing an ability to scramble and rally, the Coupeville High School volleyball squad roared from behind in two of three sets Thursday night.
By the time the Wolves were done, they had a 25-20, 25-13, 26-24 win over visiting Port Townsend and were primed to plunge into postseason waters.
The victory, the third in the last four matches for CHS, lifted it to 5-9 overall, 3-3 in 1A Olympic League play.
The Wolves, who finished in the cellar a season ago, tied Chimacum for second place this year.
Since Coupeville and the Cowboys finished with identical records and split their two matches, a coin flip will decide playoff seeding.
The winner of the flip will be the league’s #2 seed and will open the playoffs at home against the Nisqually League’s #3 team Thursday, Nov. 5.
The loser gets the #3 seed and a home playoff opener against Nisqually League #4 Tuesday, Nov. 3.
You can monitor the playoff bracket by popping over to: http://www.olympicleague.com/tournament.php?tournament_id=1690&sport=10
Whichever day the Wolves play, it will be their first home volleyball playoff match in a decade.
When Coupeville was part of the Cascade Conference, it always had to go to Lynden Christian and King’s for postseason action, regardless of record.
Last year, in the first go-round in the Olympic League, CHS failed to qualify for the playoffs.
That has changed this season, as a young squad (only two Wolves, McKenzie Bailey and Sydney Autio, were honored on Senior Night) has begun to jell as the season progresses.
Not that there was much jelling going on early in the first set Thursday.
A lack of communication allowed a number of balls to drop in uncontested as the Wolves fell behind big early, eventually trailing 13-5.
Enter the calming influence of junior libero Valen Trujillo, who settled in at the service stripe by immediately lashing an ace that skidded off the back-line.
Katrina McGranahan punched home a winner off of Trujillo’s next serve, ripping a bullet of a tip that left notches in three RedHawks as it whistled through a crowd.
With Port Townsend unable to get much going in way of returns, the Wolves ran off 10 straight points with Trujillo on serve.
On one play, McGranahan threw out an arm at the last second to save a rally, popping the ball up in the air as she sprawled to the ground.
Given new life, Coupeville took advantage, with Payton Aparicio rising up and sending a slicing kill shot to cap the rally.
Once they had the lead, the Wolves never relinquished it, bringing the first set to an end when Bailey jumped out of the joint to deliver a knee-buckling spike that scattered a pack of Port Townsend players.
The second set, by contrast, was all Coupeville all the time.
The Wolves got successful service runs from Maddy Hilkey, Hope Lodell, Lauren Rose and Tiffany Briscoe, a gorgeous tip for a winner from the ever-limber Ally Roberts and an emphatic spike from high-flying frosh Emma Smith.
Then, comfortably ahead, Coupeville hit the snooze button for a moment or two in the third set, before waking back up just in time to put an end to the evening.
CHS fell behind by as many as seven points and had seemingly given away the set, facing a string of set points down 24-20.
Showing no signs of panic, the Wolves scrambled for the match’s final six points, with a Briscoe smash off the last flake of paint on the back-line at 24-22 a particular highlight.
As line judge Steve Kiel thrust out both hands dramatically to call the shot a winner, a ripple of electricity shimmered through the large, enthusiastic Coupeville student section.
In answer, all the shoulders on the RedHawks players slumped as one, a perfect image for a team that knew its season had about three minutes left.
Turned out to be more like 80 seconds.
As the Wolves and their fans celebrated, the stats were added up, and Trujillo moved a step closer to a school record.
She recorded five digs, leaving her just five away from claiming the career mark.
Trujillo has 338 in her stellar career, while the school record of 342 is held by Jessica Riddle.
Rose was flawless at the service stripe (13 of 13), while Briscoe delivered seven kills with no hitting errors. Aparicio had four kills and three aces.
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