Volleyball guru Cris Matochi keeps a watchful eye on his 8th grade spikers. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
There was a middle-of-the-week feel to things.
Head to the Coupeville Middle School gym for Wednesday’s volleyball match, and you were met with a variety of issues.
The bleachers were still packed away.
A new ref, who later had to consult the rules book more than once, didn’t like the way the net was hanging, and insisted on several adjustments.
And Coupeville’s opponent, Northshore Christian Academy? Nowhere to be seen, presumably lost in traffic during its commute from Everett.
But things have a way of working out, and, eventually, everything was properly unfurled and tightened up, and the private school spikers arrived in the lil’ gym on the prairie.
After all that, fans got two fairly exciting tilts.
While Coupeville lost both the JV and varsity matches, the prime-time bout wasn’t decided until the final moments, while the second squad showed great hustle and grit.
How the day played out:
JV:
Coupeville normally has two JV squads, but Northshore only has one, so several Wolves became enthusiastic fans in the stands.
The young women on the floor put up a solid fight for coach Kristina Hooks, fighting valiantly in a 25-12, 25-6, 15-7 loss.
CMS 7th graders Brooklyn Pope and Kennedy O’Neill both had strong runs at the service line, while Olivia Martin wins an unofficial “most spirit of the day” award.
The younger sister of former Wolf volleyball ace Emma Mathusek — who announced her engagement on Instagram earlier in the day — Martin vibrated with excitement every second she was on the floor.
Rocking back and forth before firing off a successful serve, or yelping “We’re having fun!” she remains a delight — the sort of indispensable team-first player every program needs.
Coupeville fell behind early in set one, but rallied, cutting the margin to 14-12 at one point.
Viktoria Grieves bumped a winner into open space, while Zoe Winstead and Pope both cracked off well-hit serves to keep the Wolves close.
Northshore ultimately pulled away, however, reeling off the final 11 points of the set, riding its own impressive service game.
Set two was rough for quite a while, with the Wolves falling behind 15-1 before O’Neill stopped the skid.
With parents Sean and Ashley watching from the front row, the lethal lass pounded out four straight winners on her serve, with two missiles skimming the top of the net, then diving hard for unhittable aces.
While CMS was unable to keep the momentum going, O’Neill’s fiery display bodes well for the future of her, and the Wolves.
Set three was for practice, with Northshore already having clinched the victory, but Coupeville put up a strong fight.
Pope, O’Neill, and Martin all peppered the visitors with their serves, with Pope zinging one beautifully nasty offering.
Varsity:
Dead even through two sets, with Coupeville taking the opening frame 25-23, before Northshore matched them by the same score the next time on the floor.
That sent the match to a third and deciding set, one in which the Wolves led at 2-0 and 3-2 after Adeline Maynes led off with a couple crisp service winners.
But it wasn’t to be, as Northshore used a 12-2 run to bust things open.
The Wolves still fought off two match points, with Tenley Stuurmans following up a tip winner with an ace at the service stripe.
The deficit was too large however, and the visitors held on to triumph 15-7, heading back to the bus with a collective skip to their steps.
That capped a heavyweight fight, as the two teams stood in the middle of the court and exchanged knockout punches all afternoon.
The opening set featured eight ties, with the final one at 21-21.
Willow Leedy-Bonifas provided the final burst of energy to shove the Wolves over the finish line, taking advantage of the ref overturning her own call and putting the ball back in the hands of CMS.
Winners from Stuurmans, Ari Cunningham, and Rhylin Price got Coupeville into position to claim the set, with Maynes slamming the door shut on a play where she flicked the ball over her head, letting it splash down into a small open space between defenders.
That set off an on-court celebration … which might have been a bit premature.
Coupeville actually led for much of the second set, before Northshore surged back to make it a nailbiter.
The Wolves played with wild abandon, such as on plays where Maynes lost her shoe, kicked it away, and still found a way to spark her team to winning a tense back-and-forth rally.
After being up by as many as four points thanks to a hail of winners springing from the electric fingers of Stuurmans, Coupeville lost the lead, however.
There were 10 ties down the stretch, the last at 22-22, but the Wolves just missed on several smashes which almost caught the back line.
