Reagan Green hugs a teammate after closing out a home win. (Mandi Black photos)
They saved their best for (almost) last.
While they still have one road trip left on the schedule, a short jaunt to Langley October 19 to play South Whidbey, the Coupeville Middle School volleyball squads wrapped their home appearances Thursday by sweeping visiting Sultan back out the door.
With three wins in as many matches, the Wolves won seven of nine sets against the Turks and sent their fans away happy.
How the day played out, as high school spiker guru Scout Smith surveyed her future stars while holding up the back wall of the gym:
The Wolves defended their home floor with great passion.
Level 3:
Pulling out a 25-21, 18-25, 15-10 triumph, the Wolves captured their first win of the season in style.
To get there Coupeville pulled out all the stops in the opening set, battling through 10 ties before finishing the frame on a 9-3 tear fueled by top-notch serving from River Castellanos, Evelyn McDonald, and Annabelle Wold.
McDonald was on a hot streak all set, as she also ripped off a five-point run on her serve earlier, with two winners coming via aces which tore a fiery path up the middle of the floor.
Toss in stellar work from sparkplug Zora Worthington, who was flipping winners over both shoulders while getting to any and every ball within a one-mile radius, and the Wolves were feisty and deeply committed to the cause.
Sultan clawed back from a 9-5 deficit in the second set, before breaking a 13-13 tie with a 12-5 run to claim the frame and knot things up at a set apiece.
The Wolves didn’t give away the advantage easily, however, with Selina Milburn and Lily Jacobson flicking winners, Lindsey Ashby providing a jolt of energy, and Worthington continuing to add to her highlight reel.
With the match in question, the Wolves dug deep in the third set, turning a 7-7 tie into a runaway win.
Wold played like a star in the spotlight, hitting a winner to break the stalemate, followed by a four-point run on her serve, then it was McDonald arriving on scene to provide the punctuation mark.
Twirling the volleyball in her hands, the young Wolf set up behind the service line with a 14-10 advantage, asked Mr. DeMille for her closeup (a reference from WAY before her time…), then lashed a match-winning ace into the heart of the Turk defense to set off much screaming and jumping around.
The Level 2 squad celebrates a victory.
Level 2:
Deja vu, as the Wolves followed the blueprint set down by team #3, winning the first set 25-22, dropping the next 25-17, then rebounding to close things out 15-10 to also claim their first victory of the campaign.
Mia Goers got things started, peppering the Turks with unhittable serves, with Kolby Johnson, Lilah Grinstead, and Scotlyn Helm following suit.
The teams stayed close most of the way, with Diana Teran Herrera and Johnson nailing winners by flipping the ball through a maze of defenders to stake CMS to a 19-15 lead.
Things took a brief detour, with Sultan claiming five straight points to momentarily steal away the lead, but Grinstead wasn’t having any of that nonsense.
With mom Nikki (Griffin) Grinstead sitting in the stands alongside her own high school coach, Toni Crebbin, the heir to the throne pounded back-to-back winners on her serves to push the Wolves back in front, and a tip winner from Johnson slammed the door on Sultan.
Set #2 was a see-saw battle, as Coupeville started slowly, got hot in the middle stretch, when Abby Hunt and Johnson were sniping folks from the service line, then cooled off badly at the very end.
A 13-9 lead fell away, but Goers socked an absolute laser of an ace to cut the deficit to 18-17, before the Turks won the final seven points to send the match to a tie-breaking third frame.
A set where the Wolves stepped up and firmly snatched back control of things, taking the lead at 3-2 and never letting go.
Goers and Teran Herrera cracked superb serves, Evelyn Merino Martinez and Helm kept balls alive, and Grinstead, still coming for mom’s throne, delivered two big winners while dancing in the vicinity of the net.
And then it got a little bit noisy.
Level 1:
If the first two matches were nice breakthroughs, the finale was a case of the Wolves simply taking care of business.
Pounding the Turks 25-17, 25-14, 15-11, Coupeville’s top squad raised its record to 5-2 while showcasing its deep skills and strong team bond.
Jasmine Allen notched the first point of the rumble with a well-placed lob, before Halle Black made her old man, former Wolf hoops hotshot Allen, swell with pride.
Whether she was using skills taught to her by pops, or more likely by mom Mandi (Murdy) Black, now coaching volleyball at the same school where she once played, Halle brought the big hammer Thursday.
Delivering serves deep and nasty, the next gen star ran off six straight points, with teammates Josilyn McColl bashing a spike off the backline and Brinn Meek knifing the defense with a lunging shot up the middle.
Sultan didn’t roll over, scrambling to overcome a hail of McColl kills to briefly take the lead at 15-14. Emphasis on briefly.
McColl went nuclear on a ball for a winner at the net, before bounding off to high-five sister Reagan Green, then Faith Rivers closed out the set with a seven-point run on serve.
Rivers was an equal-opportunity assassin, using one hand to end a rally by smashing a low, screaming liner off the last flake of paint on the line, while ending the frame with a turbo-charged serve.
Any chances Sultan would win a set in this match went away fairly quickly, with strong service work by Black, Milly Somes, Faith Rivers and her sister Reina making life tough for the Turks.
When the visitors did get a rally going, it often ended with McColl and Green blistering the ball, a well-placed tip or flip from Arley Bosler, or Meek using all her libero skills to spin winners where the defense wasn’t.
While the third set was for practice, Coupeville took it seriously, refusing to buckle after falling behind 11-8.
Not content with anything but a clean sweep, the Wolves got it by forcing a side-out then handing the ball to Green, who went to work on crafting the final six points of the match, with some help from her sister, as McColl delivered one final, thunderous spike winner.
Green’s serves were consistent, they were dangerous, and they drove the Turks batty — exactly the way they were meant to be.
