Madison McMillan filled up the stat sheet, again, in a five-set thriller Tuesday night. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
The dynasty is dying in front of our eyes.
La Conner, four-time defending state 2B volleyball champs, and a program which hasn’t lost a Northwest 2B/1B League match in more than a decade, is no longer untouchable.
The Braves are struggling through non-conference play, sitting at 2-4 overall, and have been dinged heavily in tournament action.
Saturday, La Conner lost to both Coupeville and Mount Vernon Christian at the South Whidbey Invite, with the Wolves going undefeated to win the tourney title.
Tuesday night, back in the comfy confines of their home gym, the Braves blew a two-set lead and trailed 12-11 in the fifth, before rallying to edge CHS and (barely) keep their streak alive.
For a moment, at least.
The Wolves, and other teams like Orcas Island and Darrington, are already inside the house, and there are increasingly less places to hide for the Braves.
Ellie Marble isn’t coming to rescue you this time, is all I’m saying.
The final score Tuesday came out in favor of La Conner, to the tune of 25-23, 25-14, 23-25, 20-25, 15-12, but after watching the Braves bash the brains out of foes in previous seasons, it’s safe to say times have changed.
Coupeville may be 0-2 in league play, 1-4 overall, but that record is highly deceptive.
The Wolves, who led at some point in all five sets Tuesday, have lost in five sets three times, with their other defeat coming to undefeated Neah Bay.
The La Conner loss, while it still stings, should also hit differently for Coupeville.
Unlike the other five-set losses, where the Wolves let the lead slip away, this time they were the ones charging from behind.
A shot here, a shot there, and Tuesday’s tilt ends with the visitors screaming in joy all the way back to Whidbey Island.
Circle Oct. 24 on your calendar.
That’s Senior Night for Coupeville, and the rematch with La Conner, possibly with major playoff implications on the line.
Play like they did Tuesday, and clean a few small things up, and the Wolves could make The Rock shake.
Mia Farris cranks out another winner. (Jackia Saia photo)
Coupeville came out strongly, building a 14-9 lead in the first set thanks to strong play from Mia Farris, who fired missiles from the service stripe, while getting a hand on numerous winners while covering the entire floor.
She got plenty of help, with big hitters Lyla Stuurmans, Grey Peabody, and Teagan Calkins peppering the Braves with a mix of snappy spikes and artful tips.
La Conner fought back, however, using a 15-5 run to surge ahead 24-19.
Their backs to the wall, the Wolves fought off four set points — with three different players lashing winners — before the Braves caught a break when a long rally ended with a CHS shot which just barely missed the back line.
Not missing a beat, Coupeville bounced back to take a 6-1 advantage in set two behind a strong run at the service stripe from Stuurmans.
A disputed call kept the Wolves from pushing the margin to 7-1, while once again raising the question of why volleyball is the only high school sport to leave a significant amount of its linework in the hands of hometown parents, and not the refs.
The call, in which a ball hit out of bounds by La Conner was ruled to have grazed the fingertips of a Wolf, seemed to throw Coupeville off a bit.
The Braves took advantage, closing the set on a 23-8 surge, even as Stuurmans continued to rise up and smash the holy heck out of the ball.
In seasons past, a two-set lead for La Conner allowed Hall of Fame Coach Suzanne Marble the opportunity to light up a victory cigar.
For her successor, Pam Keller, that’s not happening as often in her first season at the helm of a new-look Braves squad.
A couple of early winners from Madison McMillan (one on a nasty slicer) and Stuurmans (delivering straight smoke) were sweet, but La Conner built a five-point lead and led as late as 20-17 in set three.
Enter a fired-up Peabody, who delighted in smashing balls off her rivals, and Calkins, who popped serve winners, as the Wolves rallied to keep their night alive.
Katie Marti will rock you. (Bailey Thule photo)
Katie Marti, who spent a considerable chunk of time flicking high, arcing sets to her hitters, delivered the final punctuation note herself, mashing a winner which left a welt on the Brave who tried, foolishly, to stop the ball.
Set four firmly belonged to the Wolves, who, riding a wave of emotion, snatched the lead at 9-8 and never gave it back.
Coupeville stretched the margin to as many as seven points, let La Conner sneak back in for a moment, then closed things out with Peabody and Stuurmans once again doing the dance o’ death at the net, strafing La Conner’s defense with laser shots.
That set up a furious finale, with the teams combining for five ties in the fifth set.
The last came at 11-11, as Stuurmans jumped to the ceiling for a tip winner, with a La Conner error on the next play staking the Wolves to a 12-11 lead.
The miracle finish wasn’t to be, though, with the Braves holding on to win after Coupeville missed their final run of shots by a combined 1.3 inches.
As he reflected on the match afterwards, Coupeville coach Cory Whitmore praised the grit shown by his team.
“Hard fight tonight and I’m proud of how the team bounced back from down 0-2 to push into a 5th,” he said.
“Mia was incredible with her back row defense and covered sideline to sideline in addition to being our go-to on occasion. Grey came up with some big blocks.
“But we struggled to close when we had a chance and it cost us the fifth set.”
Tuesday stats:
Taylor Brotemarkle — 11 digs
Teagan Calkins — 1 kill, 3 digs, 3 aces
Mia Farris — 15 kills, 22 digs, 2 aces
Jada Heaton — 2 kills, 1 assist
Issabel Johnson — 1 ace
Katie Marti — 2 kills, 15 digs, 34 assists, 6 aces, 1 block assist
Madison McMillan — 1 kill, 17 digs, 1 assist, 1 ace
Grey Peabody — 12 kills, 1 dig, 4 block assists, 2 solo blocks
Lyla Stuurmans — 21 kills, 10 digs, 1 assist, 3 aces, 1 block assist
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