Hot-serving Katrina McGranahan is one of seven seniors on this year’s state-bound Coupeville High School volleyball squad. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
After missing her junior year with a leg injury, Kyla Briscoe returned to play a key role in the Wolves success.
Welcome to the Group of Death.
Coupeville’s first trip to the state volleyball tournament in 13 years comes with one small caveat — spikes are about to fly.
But, survive the beginning, and the finale could be sweet.
The 16-team, double-elimination tourney opens Friday with two matches for each team, and the Wolves companions are the deadliest to be found.
Coupeville’s block of four teams includes both remaining undefeated schools, including the defending state champs, who HAVEN’T LOST A SET THIS SEASON … and some rich, private school you all might remember named King’s.
The Wolves won at least one match in all four of their previous trips to the big dance, between 2001-2004.
To keep that going, though, they will have to play their best volleyball of the season.
The opening foe (3:15 PM Friday) is Castle Rock, which arrives bearing a 16-0 mark.
The Rockets were the regular-season champs of the six-team 1A Trico League, which also sends La Center to state.
Castle Rock captured the title at the District 4 tourney, with wins over King’s Way Christian and the aforementioned La Center, earning its 25th trip to state.
In their previous visits, the Rockets have emerged as state champs three times — 1987, 1993 and 2012. They were runner-ups in 1983, 2008 and 2011, as well.
Win or lose, Coupeville is guaranteed a second match Friday night, and that foe will either be former Cascade Conference rival King’s, or the hottest team in 1A currently, Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls).
The Knights, a longtime thorn in the side of the Wolves until CHS jumped to the Olympic League in 2014, are 15-2.
King’s only losses came to 2A Archbishop Thomas Murphy, a defeat it avenged late in the season, and fellow 1A power Lynden Christian.
That loss to the Lyncs kept the Knights from claiming a bi-district title, but they rebounded to drill Meridian to earn their 16th trip to the big dance.
Back-to-back state titles in 2008 and 2009 are the benchmark for King’s spiker program.
But while the Knights are undoubtedly top-drawer, they have a huge obstacle in front of them in Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls), which hails from Spokane.
After winning three straight state titles from 1999-2001, the Eagles captured their fourth championship in 2016, and are now back to take their 13th crack at the big dance.
Last year’s title win came against Lynden Christian, preventing the Lyncs from winning a third-straight championship.
While plowing through the eight-team 1A Northeast League, which also sends Freeman to state, Lakeside has been absolutely, positively perfect, winning all 48 sets it has played this season.
With Coupeville a tidy 13-3 itself, its four-team bracket carries a combined record of 60-5, a .923 winning percentage which far outweighs the other three groups.
Whidbey Island’s other state-bound team, South Whidbey, is joined by Charles Wright Academy, Chelan and Naches Valley, and their combined .761 winning percentage (54-17) is the lowest of any group of four.
The other two pods are 58-9 (.866) — La Center, Cascade, Kiona-Benton and Overlake — and 53-15 (.779) — Freeman, Lynden Christian, Bellevue Christian and Goldendale.
A breakdown of what’s coming this weekend:
What: 1A state volleyball tourney.
When: Friday and Saturday, Nov. 10-11
Where: Yakima Valley SunDome (1301 S Fair Ave)
Admission (all day/all tournament):
Team capsules:
Coupeville:
Season record: 13-3
League finish: #1 in 1A Olympic League
Sets W/L: 40-10
Coach: Cory Whitmore
Mascot: Wolves
Bellevue Christian:
Season record: 12-5
League finish: #2 in 1A Nisqually League
Sets W/L: 37-18
Coach: Jenna Bronson
Mascot: Vikings
Cascade:
Season record: 14-1
League finish: #1 in 1A Caribou Trail League
Sets W/L: 42-5
Coach: Marni McMahon
Mascot: Kodiaks
Castle Rock:
Season record: 16-0
League finish: #1 in 1A Trico League
Sets W/L: 48-9
Coach: Jeana Bayes
Mascot: Rockets
Charles Wright Academy:
Season record: 13-4
League finish: #1 in 1A Nisqually League
Sets W/L: 42-18
Coach: Mindy McGrath
Mascot: Tarriers
Chelan:
Season record: 12-4
League finish: #2 in 1A Caribou Trail League
Sets W/L: 39-13
Coach: Jenifer Rainville
Mascot: Mountain Goats
Freeman:
Season record: 14-3
League finish: #2 in 1A Northeast League
Sets W/L: 42-10
Coach: Eva Windlin-Jansen
Mascot: Scotties
Goldendale:
Season record: 12-5
League finish: #3 in 1A SCAC West
Sets W/L: 42-24
Coach: Jodi Bellamy
Mascot: Timberwolves
King’s:
Season record: 15-2
League finish: #1 (tie) in 1A/2A Cascade Conference
Sets W/L: 46-10
Coach: Jeff Fransen
Mascot: Knights
Kiona-Benton:
Season record: 15-2
League finish: #1 (tie) in 1A SCAC East
Sets W/L: 44-10
Coach: Jolene Calzadillas
Mascot: Bears
La Center:
Season record: 14-5
League finish: #2 in 1A Trico League
Sets W/L: 47-21
Coach: Cymany OBrien
Mascot: Wildcats
Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls):
Season record: 16-0
League finish: #1 in 1A Northeast League
Sets W/L: 48-0
Coach: Kara Moffatt
Mascot: Eagles
Lynden Christian:
Season record: 15-2
League finish: #3 in 1A/2A/3A Northwest Conference
Sets W/L: 49-12
Coach: Kim Grycel
Mascot: Lyncs
Naches Valley:
Season record: 14-4
League finish: #1 in 1A SCAC West
Sets W/L: 46-20
Coach: Sherri Partlow
Mascot: Rangers
Overlake:
Season record: 15-2
League finish: #1 in 1A Emerald City League
Sets W/L: 46-11
Coach: Justice Magraw
Mascot: Owls
South Whidbey:
Season record: 15-5
League finish: #3 in 1A/2A Cascade Conference
Sets W/L: 50-15
Coach: Mandy Jones
Mascot: Falcons
Bracket:
http://www.olympicleague.com/tournament.php?tournament_id=2451&sport=10
Coupeville Sports 