A day of comebacks fell one game short as the Coupeville volleyball team was eliminated from the district tournament at Lynden Christian High School Saturday, Oct. 29.

Coupeville won one of three matches to finish the year 9-9.

In the day’s final match to secure third place and the district’s final berth in the tri-district tournament, Coupeville fell behind 0-2 to Nooksack Valley (6-11) in a pair of 25-22 losses. The Wolves, with their season on the brink, rebounded to win twice (25-19, 25-16) but fell 15-13 in the deciding game after overcoming a 4-1 deficit.

Coach Toni Crebbin said her team dominated games three and four by taking advantage of Pioneer errors and by stumping Nooksack with “tips and smart ball placement.”

After trailing early in the fifth set, Coupeville went up 12-10 before faltering.

Crebbin said, “Being our 12th game of the day to just their eighth, we seemed to run out of gas.”

Bessie Walstad paced Coupeville with 21 digs, 13 kills and three stuff blocks. Katie Smith finished with 12 kills and 11 digs, Ali Trumbull and Hailey Hammer had nine kills each and Makenna Martyn added five kills and three stuff blocks. Taya Boonstra collected 36 assists.

Coupeville opened the tournament with its first comeback. The Wolves arrived just 20 minutes before game time and stumbled through a 25-12 loss to Meridian (5-10). From there, Coupeville dominated with 25-19, 25-22, 25-13 wins.

Walstad had 12 kills and 18 digs, Trumbull three aces and eight kills and Boonstra three aces and 22 assists.

The win sent the Wolves to a matchup with sixth-ranked Lynden Christian. Although the Lyncs won 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-17), the Wolves battled through three competitive games.

Crebbin said, “I thought we were going to pull out game two, as we led most of the way.”

Smith led with seven kills and 12 digs, and Crebbin lauded the blocking of Martyn, Walstad and Hammer for slowing the Lyncs’ attack.

Crebbin said, “It was a heartbreak to be so close and not move on…I was extremely proud of the girls for giving it their all. We felt like we came a long way from the beginning of the season when some had written us off. We were a team in the true sense.”