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Posts Tagged ‘volleyball’

Ray of sunshine or Kyla Briscoe? Same thing!!

Posted in Happy birthday, Volleyball, tagged , , , on September 12, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Kyla Briscoe

Kyla Briscoe

I knew Kyla Briscoe before she got famous.

Before she was a starter Thursday night in the first home varsity volleyball match of her freshman season.

Even back before the days when she and Lauren Rose gave me free cupcakes during their middle school basketball season. Sweet, sweet free cupcakes…

But, yes, anyways, I knew Kyla, who celebrates her 15th birthday today, back when she was but a wee lass running wild in the aisles of first Videoville and then David’s DVD Den.

Since that time she has shot up to basketball-playing height and is on the fast track to being a multi-sport athletic star, but nothing has changed about her personality.

Kyla still is one of the sunniest, friendliest young women in the world, a devoted lil’ sis to Wolf sophomore Tiffany Briscoe (even when the two are tackling each other over the back of a couch while fighting for the remote control) and a truly wonderful person.

She is smart, she is caring, she is well on her way to becoming the truly awesome woman she will one day be.

Mom and dad (Amy and Rich Briscoe) should be very proud of their youngest (their oldest, too).

Seeing her succeed, in athletics and in life, is heartwarming.

Kyla is one of those kids who you root for, 1000%, every day.

She doesn’t demand things for free, she goes out and works hard for them, following in the footsteps of her other “big sister,” CHS senior Hailey Hammer, a strong role model for all young athletes.

So, Miss Briscoe, I hope this birthday, like all the ones to come, are worthy of you. Cause you’re pretty dang awesome, so your festivities should match.

And, if you should happen to find yourself with too many birthday cupcakes … well, good thing you know where I live.

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Crimmins and Co. serve up a huge win!!

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on September 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Maggie Crimmins prepares to unleash "The Knuckler." (Justine McGranahan photos)

   Maggie Crimmins prepares to unleash “The Knuckler.” (Justine McGranahan photos)

Jae

Wolf libero Jae LeVine (in red) gives her team a pep talk.

Maggie Crimmins is tricky.

The Coupeville High School freshman volleyball player serves underhanded, and why not? She’s deadly that way.

With her serves taking wicked spins and moving in a completely different manner than expected, visiting Friday Harbor was unable to master Crimmins Thursday night.

The Wolf JV spikers won 15 points off of her serves — almost double that of any other CHS server — as they romped to a 25-15, 25-7, 25-18 non-conference win.

The victory evened their record at 1-1.

Crimmins display of serving artistry came over the final two sets, with the Wolves scoring six points on her serve in the second set and nine in the third.

Coupeville was strong at the line all night, winning nine points apiece off of serves by Payton Aparicio, Lauren Grove and Hope Lodell.

The Wolves jumped out to big leads in all three sets, had momentary burps in the first and third, and were lights out in the second.

Along the way, they got masterful plays from almost everyone on the floor.

Katrina McGranahan was a force of nature at the net, while Brittany Powers and Grove were everywhere, getting hands on almost every ball remotely in their vicinity.

Kameryn St Onge, Mackenzi Valko and Sophia Hassapis chipped in with hustle, Allison Wenzel had two beautiful tip plays to win points and Grove, Kayla Rose and Jae LeVine closed out the sets at the service stripe.

LeVine, as is her fashion, then did a quick happy dance after Friday Harbor failed to return her match-ending serve.

Dance on, Jae, dance on.

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Floor burn fever sweeps the nation!!

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on September 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Valen Trujillo, seen here last season, hasn't changed her style of play at all. (John Fisken photo)

   Valen Trujillo, seen here last season, hasn’t changed her aggressive, electrifying style of play at all. (John Fisken photo)

If volleyball wins and losses were measured by who has the most floor burns, Coupeville would have been a straight-up winner Thursday night.

With Valen Trujillo and Kacie Kiel leading the charge — diving, sliding and skidding madly in pursuit of every loose ball — the Wolves refused to go down easily against visiting Friday Harbor. But, in the end, they did go down.

Despite fighting off eight match points, six in an epic third set in which it came back for the win, CHS eventually fell 25-10, 25-14, 31-33, 25-18.

The non-conference loss dropped the Wolves to 0-2 on the season.

They now have a full week off before their next match — a road trip to Orcas Island Sept. 18 — which should give the Wolf players time to heal bruised and bashed knees, thighs and elbows.

The biggest body blows came in the third set, when down two sets and trailing 8-3, Coupeville decided to get scrappy.

A picture-perfect tip for a winner from Kiel started the rally, and then big hustle plays from Sydney Autio and Trujillo, withering spikes from Hailey Hammer and precision serving from Miranda Engle started to pile up on one another in a most pleasing fashion.

The set became a battle royal, with 15 ties and stretched well beyond the usual race to 25 points.

Friday Harbor, after trailing 22-17, rallied to take its first match point at 24-23, but the Wolves refused to break. Over the next 10 minutes, they fought off match point six times, the last at 31-30.

Coupeville claimed the final three points, with Kiel serving out the set and punctuating things with a spike that exploded off the court and sent her dad, Steve, into a fit of glee.

His joyful screams of “that’s my baby girl!!” could be heard down around La Conner.

Still riding an emotional high off of the marathon third set, the Wolves jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the fourth, then unraveled a bit.

Unable to overcome a strong net game by a tall Friday Harbor squad, which frequently stuffed Coupeville’s best efforts at putaways, the Wolves let the momentary lead slip away.

But, even at the end, they didn’t go easy.

Junior McKenzie Bailey had three winners in a four-point stretch, elevating and dominating, as Coupeville fought off two more match points before finally running out of steam.

For the match, Hammer collected nine kills and four service aces, while Kiel had 13 digs, four kills and two blocks and Bailey had four kills and one block.

Trujillo had 13 digs, Autio nine assists and Engle two service aces.

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The little sister is a star, too!!

Posted in Middle School, Volleyball, tagged , , , , on September 11, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Scout Smith

Scout Smith, a young woman of many seasons.

Scout Smith has a snappy name and an even snappier game.

She’s only in the seventh grade, but has already excelled in five different sports, going to the highest level of her age group in her favorite, softball.

As a member of a select softball squad in Michigan, she helped carry the Lakeshore Pirates to the U10 Softball World Series in East Peoria, IL, where they came in fourth.

“My favorite sport is softball. I like softball because I have been around baseball as long as I can remember from watching my brothers (CJ and Hunter),” Smith said. “I love the adrenaline and excitement the game brings and I cherish the friends that I have made from playing softball.”

A family move to Whidbey last winter brought her and her older brothers to Coupeville. CJ is a junior at CHS, while Hunter is a freshman.

With the jump up from elementary school to middle school, Scout has picked up a new sport, as she’s deep into practice with the CMS 7th grade volleyball squad.

It’s her first year as a spiker, but the plucky Smith has been playing sports since her early days.

She played soccer from five to nine, cheered in third and fourth grade, started softball at age five and started shooting hoops at six.

Regardless of which sport she’s playing at a given time, Smith naturally gravitates towards being one of the players always ready to step forward and seize the moment.

“I think I am a good team leader that works hard and encourages my teammates,” she said.

A fan of her math and history classes who “loves all kinds of music and movies,” Smith, a huge Chicago Cubs diehard, would like to one day take her game to a higher level.

“I hope to play college softball for the University of Notre Dame or the University of Washington,” she said.

Already a savvy vet, even at a relatively young age, Smith is quick to spread the credit, calling out her supporters, both in family and out.

“My Pirate coaches, Noe Najera and Greg Younger, helped me improve my game and taught me to always work hard,” she said. “My parents and my brothers have always been supportive by cheering me on and making me raise the bar for myself to rise to the next level.”

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Payton Aparicio has mad skills!!

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , on September 10, 2014| Leave a Comment »

When Payton Aparicio hits a ball, it doesn't come back. (Katrina McGranahan photos)

When Payton Aparicio hits a ball, it stays hit. (Katrina McGranahan photo)

You'll stay up there ... and you'll like it! (Photo courtesy Amy King)

You’ll stay up there … and you’ll like it! (Photo courtesy Amy King)

Payton Aparicio is the early frontrunner in the contest for most spectacular hit of the volleyball season.

Playing in her first high school match Tuesday at South Whidbey, the Coupeville High School freshman lofted the ball high into the rafters, and it never, ever came down.

While she and her teammates waited for the black and white ball to bounce down — teams can play a ball that bounces off the rafters — it never reappeared.

Instead, it rolled along one of the gym beams and then skidded to a stop and sat motionless.

For all eternity.

“Everyone had a little giggle about it and it was there when we left the gym at the end of the night,” said Wolf JV coach Amy King.  “That was the highlight of our match.”

The rest of the night wasn’t as light-hearted for Coupeville’s JV squad, which fell 25-9, 25-13, 25-6 in its first match of the season.

“They were outmatched by a very strong, very aggressive and older South Whidbey team,” King said. “This group has a ton of potential, we have worked on their offense, defense, court movement and all of their skills. All I can do is continue looking for the group who will work together on the court and show what they really can do.

“We had a few really good rallies, but when it came down to it, we didn’t hit like we have in practice or even in the jamboree,” she added. “The court was quiet, feet weren’t moving and it just seemed that we were either extremely nervous or tired, and I’m sure it was not that we were tired.”

Serving was a highlight, with Allison Wenzel and Hope Lodell both launching ace serves, while “Lauren Grove was moving well on the court, as was Brittany Powers, trying to spark our offense.”

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