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)
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