The Coupeville High School volleyball team had an ace (or 32) up its sleeve.
Behind a powerful serving attack, the Wolves won their season opener 3-0 (25-15, 25-11, 25-21) over visiting Mount Vernon Christian Tuesday, Sept. 6.
The win helped new coach Cory Whitmore win in his debut.
Coupeville earned 32 of its 75 points with aces, paced by Hope Lodell and Valen Trujillo with eight each. Payton Aparicio and Katrina McGranahan added five apiece, while Ashely Menges fired four more.
Menges also led the team with 12 assists; Lauren Rose collected seven.
The Wolves trailed 4-2 in the first game, then McGranahan posted four aces to help Coupeville go up 9-4. The Hurricanes bounced back to tie the set at 15, then Trujillo served out the game, tallying six aces in the process.
Five aces from Lodell propelled the Wolves to their 25-11 romp in the second set.
Three aces by Lodell helped Coupeville go up 5-1 in the third. The Wolves never trailed, but Mount Vernon Christian kept it close until late kills by Tiffany Briscoe and Mikayla Elfrank helped put the match away.
Whitmore said last week that serving would be one of his club’s assets, and the Wolves proved the point immediately.
“We kind of went into the match with the idea of just getting our serves in to get in a good rhythm, but they felt it right away,” he said.
Whitmore noted that his team is improving its serve receive because it faces its own tough service attack in practice everyday. MVC recorded only eight aces in the match.
He lauded the play of McGranahan and Lodell, saying their serving provided a spark.
“I expect a lot from them from the service line, and they delivered.”
Overall, Whitmore said it was good to see his team “trust the system. They trust me, they trust themselves, they trust the process.”
Coupeville plays in the South Whidbey Invitational at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10, and then hosts Chimacum in the conference opener at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13.
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Tiffany Briscoe passes for the Wolves Tuesday. Photo by John Fisken.
