Emma Smith (left) and Ashley Menges said farewell to their home court Wednesday, as Coupeville volleyball crushed Sultan on Senior Night. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
They have lived their lives in the gym, together, as teammates, friends, and, ultimately, sisters from another mother.
Through wins and losses, on school teams and club squads, through endless practice drills, long journeys through the night on school buses and ferries, playing while sick, while hurting, while dealing with the encroachment of real life, they have persevered.
Together, they grew, they matured, they grew confident – as athletes, as students, and, most importantly, as friends.
I won’t tell you they got along perfectly every day of every month of every year. Even friends can argue, have moments when things aren’t flawless.
But I can tell you that pretty much every time we, the fans, saw them, on the court, or in real life, they seemed to take such joy in each other’s company.
Once there was a trio, and then Maddy Hilkey moved to soccer as a junior, and, on the volleyball court, at least, it became a duo.
Sports may have separated the three, with Emma Smith and Ashley Menges staying with volleyball, but, off the court, where it mattered most, they remain close-knit sisters for life.
Wednesday night, the two who remained spikers took the court at Coupeville High School for the final time.
There are still practices ahead, and a trip to the district tourney starting Saturday for a Wolf team which finished the regular season 10-3, with two of those losses coming to the defending state champs.
But Wednesday was the final time Menges and Smith played on their home court, their personal kingdom, their haven, in front of their classmates, their parents and their fans.
And they got the storybook ending they deserved.
Six years of work, of commitment, of growing from girls learning the sport to young women leading by example, in how they played and how they conduct themselves, culminated in a 25-8, 25-21, 25-19 romp over visiting Sultan.
The duo and Wolf coach Cory Whitmore have been part of three straight teams which have posted double-digit win totals.
The win, which ended with Menges reeling off three straight points at the service line – two scorching aces, then a hustle save by Menges which set up a winner by Hannah Davidson – brought the Wolves to 7-3 in league play.
After back-to-back Olympic League titles, Coupeville moved into the tougher North Sound Conference this season and finished 2nd in an often brutal six-team league.
The Wolves toppled arch-rival South Whidbey twice, pushed state champ King’s as hard as any 1A team has this season, and proved they could compete in any league.
Coming on the heels of 11 and 13-win seasons, this year’s total of 10 victories and counting gives CHS a 34-14 record during Cory Whitmore’s three-year run as coach.
Smith and Menges have been constants during that surge, bringing different skill sets to the floor, but the same love of the game.
The former uses her height to ruthlessly defend the net, stuffing would-be kills, then pounding winners that crack the psyche of her rivals.
The latter is a scrambler, a fighter, a hustler, body always in motion, the belief she can, and will, catch up to every runaway ball, no matter how far she has to fling her body, or how hard she has to hit the deck.
As seniors, the duo became captains, sharing duties with junior setter Scout Smith.
The seniors have been the first out of the locker room, the pair at the front of the line as the Wolves circle the floor to begin warm-ups.
All season, all career, they have played for their own success, certainly, but they have played for team above all.
“To my sisters, who others know as my teammates, I couldn’t imagine any other way for my senior year to go,” Menges wrote in her Senior Night remarks.
“I love each and every one of you so much and will cherish the memories I’ve made with all of you,” she added. “You girls have no limit and I believe in you all so much, and can’t wait to see what you all are able to do in your years to come.”
Menges hangs out with dad Terry, brother Cody and mom Jennifer.
It’s a sentiment shared by Emma Smith, as well.
“From the seniors my freshmen year, to the freshmen my senior year, without knowing it, every single one of you has inspired me,” she wrote.
“The commitment all of you had or have made me want to be a more committed player. The grit and passion all of you had or have made me want to have more grit and passion,” Smith added. “And finally, the love you had for the game has made me fall even more in love with it.”
The playoffs loom ahead for the duo, and there is always, tantalizingly in the background, the whisper of more playing days if either or both follow in the footsteps of former teammates and seek out a chance to play in college.
There will be fans who follow the Wolves on the road for the postseason, but Wednesday was a final chance to feel the full roar of the Coupeville faithful.
And the roar came, as Menges struck first, dropping a dagger of a winner while floating the length of the net.
With sophomore Chelsea Prescott ripping off nasty serve after nastier serve, Emma Smith rose to the moment.
She flung her arms skyward, rejected a Sultan shot, then bounded back up to smash the incoming reply, the first of three straight winners she lashed.
The third, and final, kill was a mix of unrelenting power and uncanny precision, landing in the very tiniest part of the far left corner and tearing a chunk out of reality itself as it detonated.
From there, the senior duo, and their younger teammates, picked the Turks apart, trailing only once in three sets, and then just by a single point.
Menges toasted the Turks for seven straight points on serve, with one epically nasty ace slicing a hunk of flesh off the would-be returner’s arm, before Maya Toomey-Stout closed out the opening set with another long, blistering run at the line.
Smith is joined by sister Savannah and mom Konni.
The second and third set were moderately closer, as Sultan fought with an intensity which belied their 1-9 mark in league play.
“They are a better team than their record might indicate, and have improved since the first time we played them,” Whitmore said.
While Sultan had spunk, Coupeville has killers, and that carried the Wolves through a few rough spots.
Prescott, who “did a great job in the front row,” was a sniper, smacking kills off Sultan arms, legs, and every other body part she could find.
Her fellow underclassmen on the floor — Toomey-Stout, Hannah Davidson, Scout Smith, Emma Mathusek, Maddie Vondrak and Lucy Sandahl — all sparkled.
Scout Smith doled out 16 assists, Toomey-Stout peeled the paint with 10 kills, and Prescott racked up six kills and nine digs, but the night belonged to the seniors.
Emma Smith had six kills, five aces (with several leaving Turk players with their mouths gaping wide open) and two blocks, while Menges notched five roasty, toasty aces, four digs and three kills.
But their impact, in this final home win, in the four years they spent in the CHS program, in the six years they have chased their volleyball dream, came from much more than mere stats.
In this one momentary (but not final) ending, as in the beginning, it was their spirit, their desire, their love of the game, of each other, and of their teammates, which mattered most.
That was shown when Sandahl momentarily broke down while offering a heartfelt pregame thank you to Menges.
A small sob caught in Lucy’s throat, but then a giant smile broke across her face, as all the positive memories she has shared with her mentor, teammate and friend rose up and pushed away any sadness.
And it echoes in the final words offered by Menges herself.
“You have all given me so much to be thankful for and I’ll miss being on the court with all of you.”
The dynamic duo.
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