Even with a loss Tuesday to the defending state champs, Ashley Menges and Coupeville volleyball are a strong 5-1 on the season. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Maddy Hilkey and her Wolf soccer teammates are back playing at home Thursday.
Welcome to Hell Day.
Tuesday offered Coupeville High School female athletes a reminder there are six schools in the North Sound Conference, and five of them are chasing the sixth.
King’s, one of the true premier, sports-orientated private schools in the land, entered this year as the defending state champs in both volleyball and girls soccer, and little has changed.
Both Knights squads are undefeated in league play, with just a single non-conference loss to a 3A school from the Metro League (soccer) and a 4A school from Kingco (volleyball).
So, it comes as little surprise that the Wolves, despite putting up strong effort Tuesday, were swept aside by King’s on the road in Shoreline.
Varsity volleyball:
The big match-up of the night, as Coupeville and King’s entered play tied for first-place.
The Knights, whose only loss was to undefeated 4A North Creek, held steady, winning 25-12, 25-13, 25-15.
The loss drops the Wolves to 3-1 in league, 5-1 overall, while King’s rises to 4-0, 6-1.
Coupeville didn’t go down easily, fighting for every point and scraping shots off the floor.
“It got progressively better and more competitive,” said CHS coach Cory Whitmore. “Just let a few strings of points get away from us without coming up with our own.
“We dug the ball tenaciously, which we can be proud of, and made them earn their points,” he added. “That definitely was the strongest part of our game and we received compliments for our grit.”
The teams will meet again in three weeks, when King’s visits Whidbey Oct. 23, and the Wolves will be ready.
“We need to take a look at some things in practice and be ready to take on our next opponent, looking to take care of business,” Whitmore said. “Then we’ll get a second chance at them second half of season.”
Scout Smith paced the Wolves with 17 assists and two service aces, while Emma Smith (five kills, two aces), Maya Toomey-Stout (four kills, three digs) and Chelsea Prescott (two kills, three digs) provided solid back-up.
JV volleyball:
Coupeville was swept in three sets, but JV coach Chris Smith liked the fight his players showed.
“King’s played well,” he said. “We battled and kept our chins up.
“We just have to keep working. We have a lot of good things to learn playing a team like King’s.”
With the loss, the young Wolves slip to 1-3 in league play, 2-4 overall.
Varsity soccer:
King’s tied its season-high in goals, routing Coupeville 9-0.
The Knights, who lost their season opener 1-0 to 3A Lakeside, have won eight straight, while outscoring foes 45-2.
The Wolves, meanwhile, drop to 1-5 in league play, 1-8-1 overall. They have been shutout in six of 10 games this season.
“We lost to the defending state champs, and they showed that they look like possible repeat champs as well,” said CHS coach Kyle Nelson. “They are very tough on their home field.
“I thought in many ways we had a better game this time than when we lost to them 4-0 earlier in the season,” he added. “We had better ball movement, and for good portions we defended well against a very fast and dynamic Kings attack.”
One bright spot for the Wolves is the schedule gets easier the next couple of games.
CHS gets a break from conference action when it hosts former league rival Port Townsend (1-9) Thursday.
After that comes Coupeville’s final four league games, starting with a road trip to Sultan Oct. 9 to face a team it blasted 6-0 the first time around.
