Coupeville rolls by Port Townsend | Volleyball

Coupeville High School's young volleyball team put together a strong, all-around performance to defeat visiting Port Townsend 3-0 Thursday, Oct. 8, in a non-league match.

Coupeville High School’s young volleyball team put together a strong, all-around performance to defeat visiting Port Townsend 3-0 Thursday, Oct. 8, in a non-league match.

The win completed the non-conference portion of the Wolves’ schedule. The regular season concludes with six Olympic League matches, including two more with Port Townsend (1-5).

Conference play begins with Klahowya (3-6) at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, in Coupeville (2-6).

The Wolves cruised by Port Townsend 25-12, 25-20, 25-9.

Three aces by Lauren Rose helped the Wolves close out the first game on a 10-2 run.

Coupeville jumped to a 5-0 lead in the second game behind two aces by Sydney Autio and kills from Katrina McGranahan and Tiffany Briscoe.

A series of Coupeville hitting errors enabled the Redhawks to battle back to take an 11-10 lead. The set was tied at 16 before the Wolves pulled away. The burst was started by a McGranahan kill and two Hope Lodell aces and finished with a McKenzie Bailey kill.

The Wolves were never threatened in the third game, racing to 5-0 and 9-1 leads. A pair of aces each from Autio and Briscoe sparked the strong start.

Coupeville coach Breanne Smedley was particularly pleased with how her club handled Port Townsend’s comeback in the second set.

“The focus from last Thursday (when the Wolves allowed Chimacum to rally for a win) has been to work on our mental toughness,” she said. “We handled the pressure well today.”

Smedley also like the aggressiveness of her team and how it didn’t back off from attacking even when hitting errors were mounting in the second game.

“I would much rather see them hit out than play tentative,” she said.

Bailey and McGranahan led the offense with nine and five kills respectively.

Autio racked up nine aces and 11 assists, and Lodell finished with five aces.

Valen Trujillo recorded six digs and a 2.7 passing average out of a perfect 3.

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Below, Ally Roberts passes in the big win over Port Townsend. Photo by John Fisken.

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