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Posts Tagged ‘Port Townsend’

Untouched, unsullied, undefeated!!

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on October 28, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Ashley Menges teamed with Lauren Rose Saturday to set up their teammates for a non-stop barrage of kills. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

   Coupeville won all 27 sets it played this season against its 1A Olympic League rivals. (Photo courtesy Cory Whitmore)

They would not be denied this time.

A year ago, the Coupeville High School volleyball squad was nearly perfect in league play, finishing 8-1, with just a loss to Klahowya slightly marring the record.

Saturday, the Wolf spikers achieved perfection, crushing host Port Townsend in straight sets to not only finish 9-0 in conference action, but a flawless 27-0 in sets played.

The 25-10, 25-10, 25-20 drubbing of the RedHawks lifts Coupeville to 12-2 overall heading into the postseason, and the back-to-back Olympic League champs are just one win shy of the program record for victories in a season.

They can tie the 2004 squad by achieving what no Wolf volleyball team has done since that squad — punch their ticket to the state tourney.

To do so, Coupeville needs to win at least one out of two matches at districts Nov. 4 in Tacoma.

But that’s a week away, and, on this Saturday, it’s all about the celebration of finishing off the regular season in style.

“I’m pleased with where we are at and very proud of finishing league play strong,” CHS coach Cory Whitmore said. “I’m so happy for these girls and their hard work paying off in spades.

“Now we push into playoffs and try to play a couple more weeks.”

Coupeville didn’t want to look past Port Townsend, which upset Klahowya last week and is always a scrappy foe.

“I was really happy with our focus and execution in the first two sets especially,” Whitmore said. “Lauren (Rose) and Ashley (Menges) did a great job of distributing the offense and our passing was very strong, allowing us to utilize our middles.

“In set three we mixed things us a bit, getting everyone involved, which took us a minute to settle into, but then when we did, our offense could take over.”

Katrina McGranahan paced that offense, ripping off eight kills, while Mikayla Elfrank (6) and Emma Smith (5) backed her up.

Hope Lodell (12) and Kyla Briscoe (5) spent a good part of their afternoon scraping digs off the floor, with Rose and Payton Aparicio dropping five aces apiece from the service stripe.

JV roars to another win:

Coupeville’s young guns wrapped up their own undefeated romp through league play, pasting Port Townsend in straight sets.

First-year JV coach Chris Smith led his squad to a 12-1 record overall, 9-0 in conference action.

Add in the C-Team (4-0, 3-0), which had the day off, and Wolf volleyball is 28-3 overall, 21-0 in league play this season.

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A win in the wind!!

Posted in Girls Soccer, tagged , , , , , on October 20, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   After a 1-0 win Thursday, Lily Zustiak and her CHS soccer teammates are one victory from tying a program record. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Play the weather.

Buffeted by wind on a damp prairie Thursday night, the Coupeville High School girls soccer squad adapted strongly, using the elements to its advantage during a 1-0 thriller over visiting Port Townsend.

The win lifts the Wolves to 5-2 in Olympic League play, 7-7 overall. That pulls them within a win of the program record for victories, set last season.

With two league clashes left next week, followed by at least one playoff game, CHS is in hot pursuit of at least two big accomplishments.

One is the wins record, while the other is the mark for most goals in a single season.

Thursday night’s score, which came off the foot of Mallory Kortuem, was the 40th the Wolves have put into the back of the net.

Last year’s Coupeville team tallied 47, which gives the current group a solid number to shoot at down the stretch.

The Wolves were playing with the wind behind them in the first half Thursday and took advantage, raining down shots on a beleaguered RedHawk goaltender.

“We were taking a lot of good shots that were narrowly missing,” said Coupeville coach Kyle Nelson.

That changed when Kortuem unleashed a laser from distance, rattling home her second goal of her sophomore campaign.

Coming out of the halftime break, the Wolves faced a different weather outlook, with the brunt of the storm slamming straight into their faces.

Aided by a strong band of scrappy defenders, CHS net-minder Sarah Wright merely laughed at the wicked weather, “providing some excellent saves to maintain the victory.”

It was the second shutout recorded by the first-year goalie.

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Dominate today, dominate tomorrow!!

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on October 19, 2017| 1 Comment »

   Freshman spiker Maddie Vondrak (back) and big sis Peytin had plenty to celebrate Thursday as Coupeville’s JV romped to another win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Hide the children, cause things are about to get nasty!

Or, better yet, make sure the youngsters are watching, cause they can learn a lot watching the Coupeville High School JV spikers terrorize anyone foolish enough to step to them.

The Wolf young guns, a pack of kill-happy young women who have soared to the best record of any CHS fall sports team, would make great role models.

For more than one reason.

First, of course, is their ability to dissect an opponent, as they did to visiting Port Townsend Thursday night.

But, beyond their athletic skills, the 15 warriors who suit up for Wolf JV coach Chris Smith are a band of sisters who play with a “one for all and all for one” mentality which bodes well for the future.

The squad has stars, sure, but everyone contributes, and every night offers someone new the chance to grab a slice of the spotlight.

Thursday, during a 25-13, 25-4, 25-19 romp which raised their record to 6-0 in league play, 9-1 overall, the Wolves proved they could play from in front or behind.

In the second set, Coupeville cruised behind a hot streak of epic proportions from libero Emma Mathusek, who ripped off 15 consecutive points on her serve.

A set later, with their second-string carrying much of the load, the Wolves fought back from a late deficit.

From down 16-12 to finishing on a 13-3 tear, they refused to let a point die early and would not bend even under great duress.

While the RedHawks made things interesting for a bit in the third set, this was a match which was decided early. Very early.

I mean very, very early.

Meet Raven Vick, the “closer” who puts an exclamation point on things before the conversation has even begun.

The Wolf sophomore elevated on the far left side of the net on the very first play of the game, lashing a winner that went cross-court, bit the corner of the court and exploded in the general direction of the locker room.

As a RedHawk went down the hallway to retrieve the ball after Vick’s laser show ended the play, you could predict the outcome of the match with amazing ease.

On one side of the net, Port Townsend’s players looked like nervous deer who were suddenly realizing standing in front of those oncoming headlights might not have been the best career choice.

Jump the net and Mathusek and Maya Toomey-Stout were exchanging fist bumps, Vick was reloading her arm cannon and Lucy Sandahl was bouncing in place, smile on her face as she nodded in approval at her teammate’s display of awesomeness.

Game, set, match, Wolves, one point in.

But, you have to play the match for real, so the Wolves quickly went to work making the whispered predictions in my brain come true.

Vick went on a rampage at the service stripe, ripping increasingly nasty serves, Savannah Smith put on a tipping clinic at the net and the duo of Zoe Trujillo and Chelsea Prescott pasted the ball with wild abandon.

Trujillo’s kill was set up by a phenomenal running save from Mathusek, who ran all the way to the back wall in pursuit of a careening ball, then had the presence of mind to flick it backwards over her head before bouncing off the bricks.

That type of effort wasn’t much needed in the night’s middle set, as Mathusek and Jaimee Masters accounted for virtually all the points off of their nonreturnable service attacks.

But jump forward to the third set and hustle was back on the menu.

The pride of Germany, Charlotte Nölle, had a sweet tip for a winner, while Maddie Vondrak, Catherine Lhamon, Willow Vick, Megan Behan and Heidi Clinkscales all chipped in to capture the win.

Ending the match on as much of a bang as it started, Coupeville turned to Kylie Chernikoff to turn the lights out.

The Wolf frosh, who was dropping bombs all match, closed with back-to-back winners off of points set up by Lhamon’s serves.

First Chernikoff crunched a huge spike, then, on the final point of the night, she went one better, reaching backwards over her head to corral the ball, before launching it forward with substantial force.

The boom of the ball hitting the court on the other side of the net was the sound of victory, the roar of a young team which is dominating today, and plans to dominate tomorrow.

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Picking up steam!!

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on October 19, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Former Coupeville JV volleyball coach Kristin Bridges (and son) popped in Thursday to watch the Wolves romp to a win. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

   Wolves (l to r) Maya Toomey-Stout, Emma Smith and Ashley Menges are part of a big-hitting, sweet-serving first-place team.

One win away.

After strolling past visiting Port Townsend in straight sets Thursday, the Coupeville High School volleyball program is super close to doing something it’s never accomplished in its long history — win back-to-back league titles.

Claim victory in just one of their final three conference matches next week, and the Wolves officially clinch the 2017 Olympic League crown, which will sit quite nicely next to the 2016 version.

Of course, Coupeville would prefer to sweep its final three tilts, then roar through districts with an eye on advancing to state for the first time since 2004.

And nothing we’ve seen so far would indicate any reason that can’t happen.

Thursday the Wolves improved to 6-0 in league play, 9-2 overall, using a 25-10, 25-15, 25-16 romp over the RedHawks to open a two-game lead in the standings.

Klahowya (4-2, 5-6) is solidly in second-place while Chimacum (1-5, 1-8) and Port Townsend (1-5, 3-10) are deadlocked for the league’s third and final playoff berth.

But there is little doubt who the hard-hitting, sweet-serving big dog is right now, as the Wolves continue to fire on all cylinders.

Not only has Coupeville won every league match this season, it hasn’t dropped a set, singing its rivals to a merry 18-0 tune. Overall, the Wolves have won 27 of 33 sets.

Facing a tall, and fairly feisty, RedHawk squad, CHS seized the momentum early and never gave it back.

The opening set stayed close, for a bit, with the Wolves clinging to an 8-7 lead and looking for that spark that would light the fire.

It arrived courtesy two players, one a newcomer to the varsity, another a seasoned pro.

Scout Smith, a smooth-hitting sophomore with deceptive power, scrambled and made a brilliant running save on a ball, poking it skyward a moment before the floor claimed it.

Given new life, Coupeville rallied to win the point on a booming spike off of the fingertips of senior Kyla Briscoe.

A key contributor since way back when she was just a raw freshman, Briscoe missed her entire junior season due to a terrible leg injury.

Instead of sulking, she became her team’s biggest cheerleader during their stellar run last year. Now, Briscoe has returned, the skip back in her step, to seize a sizable, and well-deserved chunk of the spotlight.

After pounding the crud out of the ball Thursday, she immediately went on her best service run of the season, spraying winners left, right, and every which way.

By the time she was done — stopped only by an over-eager ref who dinged her for violating a five-second rule on getting your serve in the air which few knew even existed — Briscoe had piled up 10 straight points on her serve.

From 9-7 to 19-7 in the snap of two fingers, and the RedHawks were done, emotionally, mentally and physically.

And, while Briscoe’s serves were crackin’ off elbows and fingers and slammin’ into the hardwood, she got plenty of aid from her hyped-up teammates.

Emma Smith unleashed a spike which peeled paint off the back-line (while scarring the psyche of the RedHawk who tried to stop it), and that was just one point on a non-stop aerial assault.

Payton Aparicio sliced a buzz-saw of a winner cross-court, while Scout Smith owned every inch of the floor.

One moment, she was dancing forward, using just her fingertips to spin a winner in between Port Townsend defenders.

The next, Scoutosaurus Rex scaled a stairway to heaven, then unleashed holy heck with a put-away which went from right to left, hitting the court like a grenade and spraying shrapnel in every direction as the ball skidded into the fifth row of seats.

All of that was the opening act for Mikayla Elfrank, who capped the first set with a spike which erupted from her fist with a sonic boom and left a crater where it landed just inside the end-line.

Port Townsend managed to keep some rallies going, but had little answer for Coupeville’s raw power, either from the service line or on the finishing kills.

Long service runs from Ashley Menges, Katrina McGranahan, Aparicio and (her again!) Briscoe kept the Redhawks back on their toes, while Elfrank’s burning desire to break some faces with each kill kept them wide awake.

In between their rain of terror, the Wolves mixed things up with some subtle, elegant winners, as well.

Emma Smith dropped in tips for winners on back-to-back plays, freezing the Port Townsend defense in place, while Menges continues to be the master of the fake-out.

The Wolf play-maker has perfected a play on which she makes everyone, including often times her own teammates, think she’s about to loft a set. Then, at the very last second, her fingers curve to the side, instead, sending the ball skidding over the net on a tip.

It’s a subtle thriller and an ice-cold killer, and it leaves its victims grasping at air, as the ball, which has arrived by surprise, plops neatly to the floor for another Coupeville point.

Seeing his team mesh together so well, with everyone stepping up at a different moment, puts a smile on Wolf coach Cory Whitmore’s face.

“I like to see a nice balance, and that’s what we’re getting,” he said. “We’ve been stressing communication and everyone doing their own little job at the right time.”

The Wolves filled up the stat sheet, with Briscoe dropping five service aces, pounding four kills and going low for five digs.

Aparicio and Scout Smith led CHS with six kills apiece, while Elfrank and Emma Smith each added five.

Whitmore was thrilled to see balance from his front-line players, while also giving a special nod of approval to Emma Smith.

Since she patrols the middle, the junior standout doesn’t get as many kill chances as the snipers playing on either side, but she worked with what came her way.

“Emma really took advantage of her opportunities,” Whitmore said. “That is awesome!”

Coupeville’s setters doled out 21 assists, with Lauren Rose lofting 13 and Menges eight, while senior libero Hope Lodell paced the squad with 12 digs.

McGranahan (4), Aparicio (4) and Rose (3) joined Briscoe as Wolves racking up service aces.

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Hoagie delivers, with a side of relish!!

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , on October 6, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Coupeville senior Jake Hoagland brought back a kickoff 70+ yards for a touchdown Friday at Port Townsend. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Everything was just a little bit off Friday.

A kickoff time shoved from 7 PM up to 3:30 because of issues with ferries, three star players on the sideline in street clothes and a fairly dispiriting, lopsided loss for a Coupeville High School football team which could not wrap up a runner to save its life.

Given third, fourth and even fifth chances to break free on many plays, Port Townsend’s sophomore QB, Noa Apker-Montoya, did just that.

And, by the time he was done slicing and dicing the Wolf defense, he had run for three touchdowns and thrown for another two, sparking the RedHawks to a 61-12 win on their home turf.

The loss to an Olympic League rival drops Coupeville to 1-2 in conference play, 3-3 overall.

If there is a silver lining, it’s this — after playing four of their first six on the road, the Wolves now get three straight home games, starting with a Homecoming tilt Oct. 13 against win-less Bellevue Christian.

More immediately, the biggest ray of hope for the depleted CHS squad was the momentary burst of adrenaline offered by senior Jake Hoagland pulling off a career-best moment.

The kind of quiet, hard-working, humble guy every program loves to have, Hoagie, helping return kicks with Hunter Smith out, brought his fervent fans to their feet on the final play of the third quarter.

The Wolves trailed 54-6 at the moment, having surrendered a 15-yard scoring strike with just three ticks left on the clock, and, if heads were hanging a bit, it would have been understandable.

Hoagland, however, had his head straight up, and he took the ensuing kickoff to the house, bolting up the middle of the field, shedding RedHawk tacklers with each step.

By the time he was done, he had covered 70+ yards, scored the first varsity touchdown of his high school career and sent a large group of his classmates into hysterics.

Coupeville might have been the road team, but the Wolf fans turned out in big numbers, filling up their side of the stands, something the locals can’t claim.

A sizable chunk of the CHS rooters were Hoagland’s fellow athletes — Wolf volleyball, soccer, tennis and cross country stars — and they stayed loud ‘n proud even when the score turned sour.

And it turned sour pretty quick.

The Wolves were missing their #1 rusher and tackler, Sean Toomey-Stout (ankle), their top receiver and defensive back, Hunter Smith (back), and #2 rusher and tackler, Chris Battaglia (ribs).

Without that trio, Coupeville’s offense had trouble clicking on all cylinders.

Add in a defense which, for one night at least, looked like a squad in need of a refresher course on wrapping up the runner, and Montoya and Co. had their way.

Three touchdowns in the first 10 minutes, off of runs by Montoya and Jacob Boucher, followed by a 12-yard scoring strike from the former to the latter, put Coupeville in a huge hole.

The Wolves seemed to find a brief reprieve near the end of the first quarter, when QB Hunter Downes faked a punt, then pegged a long shot down the left sideline to the ever-elusive Cameron Toomey-Stout.

Camtastic snatched the ball between two Port Townsend defenders, then spun and juked a third would-be tackler out of his shoes on his way to a 63-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

While the PAT was no good, Coupeville had brief life, especially with Toomey-Stout immediately picking off Montoya on the game’s next offensive play.

It wasn’t to be, though, as Montoya returned the favor, immediately intercepting Downes first pass, essentially making the exchange a moot point.

The RedHawks put the hammer down in the second quarter, battering away for three more touchdowns on the ground.

Throwing salt into the wound, Port Townsend got two of those scores in the final 59 seconds of the half, packaging TD runs around a fumble recovery.

While Coupeville’s three turnovers hurt, missed tackles on defense will be what burns the most on tape-reviewing day.

On numerous occasions, the Wolves had a RedHawk runner corralled after a short 2-3 yard gain, only to lose their grip and watch in horror as the play turned into 10-20 yards.

Missing most of his key weapons and trying to climb out of a hole, Downes did what he could, scrambling and firing on the run.

His prettiest pass of the night actually wasn’t the 63-yard scoring strike, but a super-smooth 17-yard laser right before halftime.

Threading the ball through the defense, Downes laid the ball right on Toomey-Stout’s fingertips, and the senior sensation pulled off a gorgeous snag under duress.

Without its tops runners, Coupeville split carries between Matt Hilborn, Andrew Martin and Teo Keilwitz, with Martin bull-rushing up the middle for his team’s longest ground gain of the night, a hard-earned 11 yards and a cloud of dust.

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