Tomorrow’s volleyball stars are already making names for themselves on the court. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
The matches end, but the work goes on.
The Coupeville Middle School volleyball season came to a close Monday, with the Wolves waging a fierce, if good-natured, war with next-door neighbor South Whidbey.
Now, the next question will be which Wolf spikers will seize opportunities to fine-tune their skill set and deepen their passion for the sport.
Some of the girls in red and black uniforms Monday will move on to high school next year, while others will be back in the CMS hallways a year from now.
Where will they be in their volleyball journey?
Will they listen to the many lessons imparted by coaches Cris Matochi and Kristina Hooks this time around, accept the challenges available, commit themselves to growth, and continue to build towards a bright future on the court?
One hopes so, but only time will tell the tale.
For now, this is how the 2024 campaign ended:
Level 1:
Coupeville’s top squad put up a spirited fight, but fell just short in a 25-21, 25-21, 15-12 loss.
The Wolves started strongly, jumping out to a 5-1 lead in the first set behind precision serving from Cameron Van Dyke.
South Whidbey battled back, however, forcing three ties before sliding out in front for good at 9-8.
Kennedy O’Neill and KeeAyra Brown scored winners — the first by flipping the ball between defenders, the second by dropping a slicing overhead — but the visitors got the lead up to five points and never relented.
Van Dyke kept her rivals honest with a few more nasty serves and Rhylee Inman stood tall, dropping an emphatic kill, but Coupeville could never quite get completely back over the hump.
The second set was a donnybrook, with 12 ties, including a final one at 19-19.
Emma Leavitt had the hot hand at the service stripe in this frame, peppering South Whidbey with balls which tore off fingertips and skidded away.
Down 23-19, the Wolves got back-to-back winners from Inman — one via a tip, one via a well-crunched kill — but once again the visitors slipped away at the last second.
While the third set was for practice and little else with the match already decided, the two teams still put together another titanic tango.
Van Dyke, Inman, and O’Neill all offered strong work at the service line, while Inman also delivered on several of her team-high seven kills.
Stats:
Zariyah Allen — 4 digs, 1 ace
KeeAyra Brown — 1 kill
Laurel Crowder — 2 digs
Rhylee Inman — 7 kills, 7 digs, 2 aces
Emma Leavitt — 1 dig, 1 ace
Kennedy O’Neill — 1 kill, 2 digs, 1 ace
Cassie Powers — 2 kills, 1 dig, 3 assists, 1 ace
Scarlett Spencer — 1 kill, 1 dig
Sage Stavros — 3 digs, 2 assists
Cameron Van Dyke — 1 dig, 4 assists, 3 aces
Level 2:
The closest match of the day, except for the first five minutes.
Coupeville fell behind 11-1 in the opening set, then roared back to life, outscoring the Falcons the rest of the way in a razor-thin 26-24, 25-21, 14-16 loss.
The turn started with Scarlett Spencer, Emma Leavitt, and Emily Rains catching fire on their serve, then really got interesting with Laurel Crowder and Olivia Martin going bonkers at the stripe.
Crowder, just a 6th grader, smoked a particularly sweet ace before Martin, having her best performance of the season, started dropping bombs on South Whidbey from all angles.
From 10 points down, Coupeville got all the way back to holding a 23-21 lead.
And while the Falcons proved to be a hard target to take down, the Wolves did hold off a set point, forcing the frame beyond the standard 25-point finish line.
Properly warmed up by that point, CMS came out swinging in the middle set.
Up 4-1 after Leavitt dropped a winner over her shoulder while her back was to the net, the Wolves set off a yo-yo effect.
South Whidbey jumped out in front at 11-7, Crowder brought the Wolves back to a 12-11 advantage on her serve, then the Falcons reclaimed control at 19-14.
Except Coupeville wasn’t done.
Savannah Coxsey strolled to the service stripe and pounded out a pristine run of five straight points, with two of them coming on unhittable aces, pushing the Wolves back in front.
While CMS ultimately couldn’t quite close out the middle set on top, it did complete the KO in the third frame.
Rains proved to be the difference in the finale, matching Coxsey with her own five-point surge on her serve, while Spencer nailed a key tip winner to help close things out.
Level 3:
The final moments of the 2024 season went in South Whidbey’s favor, with the Falcons winning 25-14, 25-23, 15-8, but again a scrappy Wolf squad refused to exit the floor without first putting up considerable resistance.
Autumn Rubin, Maja Govorcin, and Sabrina Junich picked up points on their serve in the first set, with Junich dropping an ace which caught the sideline and skidded away, leaving the Falcons flat-footed.
The second set showcased the Wolves at their grittiest.
While it trailed for most of the frame, Coupeville steadily chipped away at the deficit, with Emma Green, Bella Sandlin, Rubin, Amira Anunciado, Reagan Green, and Govorcin all picking up points.
Sandlin was an equal opportunity assassin, scoring both on her serve and with a variety of flips and lobs in the open court, while Rubin finally pushed the Wolves ahead at 21-20.
A tense tussle which included a ball being launched skyward, where it got trapped (possibly forever) in the curtain which can be used to divide the court, ended in favor of the Falcons.
But, like the third set, which featured spotlight-worthy plays from Milly Somes and Diana Herrera, there were many bright spots for a still-developing pack of Wolves.
Jade Peabody, Annabelle Cundiff, Addison Jacobson, Kaylee Moore, and Kaylee Beshear round out a roster full of potential.
The matches are done (for now). The uniforms to be returned shortly.
But the future is right there, waiting to be claimed.
Which of these Wolves makes the commitment to become the next Teagan Calkins?
She’s currently a junior kill machine for an undefeated high school squad, and a positive role model who devotes a chunk of her time to helping the middle school coaches.
And which of these bright and whip-smart young women comes for the mantle currently held by CHS senior Katie Marti?
She’s the sublime setter who drives her team’s attack, and the saint who gave me a free hamburger after I endured almost four hours on rock-hard bleachers.
To the CMS spikers — this is your moment, ladies. This is your time.
Make it all you can.
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