Although the Coupeville High School volleyball team lost six regulars to graduation, it returns much of its firepower from last season.

Back is junior setter Sydney Autio to steer the ball to hard-hitting seniors middle blocker Hailey Hammer and outside hitters Kacie Kiel and Madeline Strasburg.

Hammer earned all-Cascade Conference honorable mention in 2013.

The quartet will be joined by key newcomers seniors McKayla Bailey (defensive specialist), Monica Vidoni (opposite) and Tiffany Briscoe (defensive specialist); junior McKenzie Bailey; and sophomore Valen Trujillo (Libero/defensive specialist), according to first-year coach Breanne Smedley.

“We have a lot of potential to be competitive this year,” Smedley said. “Once the girls start stepping into their roles and playing as a team, then we can live up to that potential to have a solid season.”

Smedley is pleased with her team’s work ethic and “desire to learn and improve.”

Smedley is the team’s third head coach in three years, and with that comes “some growing pains associated with learning new systems and information.” However, the squad is “doing a great job of working through those.”

The coach’s goal is daily improvement.

“I always ask my players at the end of practice, ‘Are you a better volleyball player and teammate now than when you started practice?’ If they can honestly answer ‘yes’ to that question, then we will be successful this season.”

That desire, she hopes, will lead to a league title, but it will only happen if “we are working to improve one day at a time.”

Regardless of the number of wins, the season will be a success if “we can be selfless teammates and play together as a team,” Smedley said.

Since Coupeville is entering a new league, it has little information about its opponents. Therefore, the Wolves need to “treat each game as if we are competing against our toughest opponent,” according to Smedley.

“We cannot afford to rank one team over the next at risk of not playing to our fullest potential in every match,” she added.

The Wolves will take part in the Oak Harbor Jamboree at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, and then head to South Whidbey for a nonleague match at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9. The first home match is 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, with Friday Harbor.