Lyla Stuurmans enjoys the thrill of the kill. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Sometimes perfection comes with a few bumps in the road.
Tuesday night’s varsity high school volleyball rumble between high-flying Coupeville and cellar dweller Friday Harbor was the blowout one would have expected.
Except for a 10-minute patch where everything went sideways.
But, a 10-minute patch does not a season ruin, as the senior-led Wolves pulled themselves together on their home floor and closed as strongly as they started, capturing a 25-3, 25-18, 25-4 victory.
The win lifts Coupeville to 6-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 7-0 overall, tying these Wolves for the second-best start in program history.
The 2024 edition of the CHS spikers equals the 2019 squad, whose setter was current assistant coach Scout Smith. That team started 7-0 en route to going 14-5.
The best start for a Coupeville spiker crew? Toni Crebbin’s 2004 team, which started 10-0 and finished 14-3.
The current Wolves, who earned coach Cory Whitmore his 95th victory Tuesday, have won all 21 sets they’ve played in the regular season this year.
They’ll take their streaks East this weekend, when they travel to Liberty High School in Spangle.
Friday night the Wolves clash with always-tough Okanogan (5-5), before returning to the same gym Saturday for a tournament which will feature prominent spiker programs such as defending 2B state champs Manson.
Tuesday’s warmup, coming against the last-place team in the NWL, was a potential trap.
Though, at first, the Wolves were ready.
Katie Marti opened at the service stripe and looked like she would never leave, ripping off 20 straight points to send a jolt of electricity through a somewhat-sparse crowd limited by an early 4:00 PM start.
Katie Marti, a one-woman wrecking crew at the service stripe.
The Wolves dominated at the net, as well, with Mia Farris, Teagan Calkins, and Jada Heaton combining to quickly thwart any efforts by Friday Harbor to stage brief rallies.
There was a moment where it looked like I was about to see the first 25-0 set of my sports reporting career.
But it was not to be, as someone on the CHS bench (who shall remain anonymous — you’re welcome, Miss You Know Who) jinxed the whole thing by mentioning out loud the Wolves had no errors up to that point.
After which the volleyball gods let one point slip through the Wolf defense, in retribution for breaking volleyball code.
While the perfect set faded into the gym air, the Wolves still came pretty dang close, with Aby Wood and Tenley Stuurmans notching service points to end things quickly.
And then the hiccup came.
After a first set in which Friday Harbor had nothing going on, the visitors shocked everyone in attendance by roaring out to a 13-6 lead in the second set.
Whitmore allowed his veteran spikers to find their own way on this one, and his belief in the long timers was repaid.
Marti, patrolling the floor from her setter position, kept delivering precision set-ups, and her big mashers responded.
Heaton, crunching the ball and flexin’ on fools, delivered her biggest performance of the season, while Lyla Stuurmans started flat-out murdering the ball.
Meanwhile Madison McMillan and Taylor Brotemarkle kept everything in play, Farris and Calkins sniped from the sides, and slowly, steadily, the Wolves dug themselves out of an unexpected hole.
Friday Harbor went down fighting with a fury, but the lead finally slipped away when Lyla Stuurmans spanked a service ace off the back corner to make it 18-17.
Marti got artful, faking a set before flipping a winner through a maze of bodies, and enjoyed it so much, she promptly did it a second time.
Closing the second set on a 19-5 tear, the Wolves never stumbled again, tearing through the final frame with the same precision they displayed at the start of the match.
With Calkins and McMillan torching their foes from the service stripe, CHS jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the third frame, then pushed it all the way out to 20-1 before coasting in for the win.
Coupeville’s seniors continue to lead the way.
As he reflected on Tuesday’s rout, and looked ahead to the Eastern Washington expedition, Whitmore praised his veterans for finding their way back after their brief melt-down.
“Katie played as controlled as I have ever seen her,” he said. “She gave the ball to her hitters really well and set them up for success.
“Jada was really strong tonight, and Mia was at the top of her game. She looked fearless.”
Tuesday stats:
Taylor Brotemarkle — 2 digs
Teagan Calkins — 7 kills, 7 digs, 2 aces
Mia Farris — 14 kills, 4 digs
Jada Heaton — 5 kills, 2 digs, 1 assist
Katie Marti — 3 kills, 4 digs, 26 assists, 6 aces
Madison McMillan — 2 kills, 12 digs, 2 assists, 2 aces
Lyla Stuurmans — 8 kills, 2 digs, 1 ace
Tenley Stuurmans — 2 aces
Aby Wood — 1 ace
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