They outplayed their seeding and sent a message across the state.

Listen up and hear it well — the young women in red and black have some serious bite.

Capping a season for the ages, a Coupeville High School volleyball squad led by seven seniors returned from Yakima carrying the first state tournament trophy in program history.

Thursday didn’t go quite as well as Wednesday, with two hard-fought losses against highly ranked foes following two dynamic wins.

But you can’t dim the glow on the 2024 campaign, when the Wolves romped to an 18-2 record, a Northwest 2B/1B League crown, a Bi-District title, and a 4th place finish at the 2B state championships.

And while seniors Taylor Brotemarkle, Katie Marti, Jada Heaton, Chloe Marzocca, Mia Farris, Madison McMillan, and Lyla Stuurmans depart, their legacies will live large through the coming years.

Meanwhile, when CHS coach Cory Whitmore returns next year for his tenth season at the helm of the program, he’ll have plenty of firepower to build around.

Junior Teagan Calkins led CHS in kills this season, while freshman Tenley Stuurmans emerged in the second half of the year as a player on the cusp of potential stardom.

Toss in a band of other Wolf spikers who led the JV team to a 12-1 mark — many of whom were at the SunDome, either in uniform or cheering in street clothes — and the future is as bright as the present.

Making its seventh trip to state, and third under Whitmore, the Coupeville volleyball program exceeded all expectations.

How the tourney played out for the fifth-seeded Wolves:

Tonasket:

With a big-hit offense operating at full roar, CHS pasted the Tigers 25-19, 25-23, 25-12 in its opener, earning its first state win since 2004.

The Wolves claimed the lead for good early in the first set, then never relented.

Three straight points at the service stripe from Lyla Stuurmans pushed CHS in front at 5-2, while lil’ sis Tenley Stuurmans slammed the door shut with her own service run to make it 21-16.

Along the way, the Wolves got key kills off the fiery fingertips of Mia Farris and Lyla Stuurmans, and smooth passing keyed by slick senior setter Katie Marti.

Tonasket proved it wouldn’t go easily, however, jumping out to a lead in the second set.

The Tigers roared out to a 9-5 advantage, before weathering a Coupeville comeback sparked by Farris delivering pinpoint serves and Madison McMillan and Teagan Calkins firing off winners at the net.

CHS slid ahead at 10-9, Tonasket rebuilt its advantage at 16-13, then the Wolves made their move.

Marti got nuclear-hot at the line, and once she pushed her squad back in front at 18-17, Coupeville couldn’t be stopped.

Closing the middle frame on a 12-7 tear, the Wolves kept the good times hoppin’ as they rolled through the final set.

An ace from Tenley Stuurmans made it 10-5, before Lyla Stuurmans crushed all of Tonasket’s hopes and dreams with a five-point run at the line.

Popping off back-to-back aces (in your face), the senior slugger pushed the lead all the way out to 20-9 and Tonasket had no answers as its state championship dreams faded and burnt up for good.

Mossyrock:

Coupeville was ranked as high as #2 by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association during the regular season but found itself slotted behind the #4 Vikings on Selection Sunday.

Which was understandable based on Mossyrock’s stellar history, which included seven straight top three finishes at state.

But these matches are decided on the floor, and the Wolves put everyone on notice with a 25-17, 23-25, 25-15, 25-17 victory.

Coupeville went out in front at 2-1 in the opening set and never gave the lead back.

Big service runs from Lyla Stuurmans and Marti pushed the lead out to a sizable advantage, while “Mia the Magnificent” was a ball-destroying assassin, spraying kills and making all her rivals run.

Mossyrock made its big stand in the second frame, building a 16-6 lead, before Coupeville almost made it all the way back.

With McMillan spinning nasty serves and Jada Heaton raining pain at the net, the Wolves used a 15-4 surge to reclaim the lead at 21-20.

Unfortunately, the Vikings had just enough magic left to recover, becoming just the fourth team to take a set from Coupeville this season.

While that might have seemingly boded well for Mossyrock, the Wolves snapped right back into hunt and destroy mode.

The third set was close for a bit, all the way up to 12-12, when Calkins unleashed the full “Red Dragon” experience, peeling the paint off the floor for a kill.

Tenley Stuurmans, just a freshman and already playing in her second high school state tourney after making it to the big dance in tennis as an 8th grader, followed Calkins’ smash with a service ace.

From there, the Wolves steadily pulled away, then kept up the blistering pace in the night’s final set.

Farris went on a rampage at the line to put CHS up 9-4, before the Slammin’ Stuurmans Sisters peppered Mossyrock with unhittable balls.

Adna:

Coupeville held off five set points, including four in one frame, but couldn’t topple the top-ranked team in 2B, falling 25-14, 26-24, 25-17.

It was a throwdown between the last two undefeated teams in the field, with Adna in the semifinals for the first time since 2011, and the Wolves exploring completely new territory.

In the end, the precision-hitting, powerful Pirates were just a little too much, and they advanced to the title bout for the first time in their program’s history.

Things started 45 minutes late, thanks to a slow-moving five-set thriller occupying their court, before the Wolves bolted out to a quick 2-1 lead.

Things turned sharply after that, with Adna seizing control and pushing its lead out to seven points.

Big-time kills from Calkins and Lyla Stuurmans provided hope, and the Wolves staved off a set point, but ultimately couldn’t get all the way back.

The second frame featured strong work from Heaton at the net and Tenley Stuurmans at the service line, but Coupeville once again was forced to play from behind.

Down 24-20, the Wolves caught fire behind Calkins, forcing a 24-24 tie after dodging one bullet after another.

While the effort was valiant, Adna had an answer, ending the set with back-to-back points to push CHS into a 2-0 deficit for only the second time this season.

The first time that happened, the Wolves rallied for the 3-2 reverse sweep in a non-conference win at Okanogan during a mid-season Eastern Washington road trip.

This time, there was no comeback.

Farris uncorked a series of potent kills to keep the Pirates jumpy, but Adna held on for the win, setting off a floor-storming celebration.

Freeman:

After a lunch break, the Wolves returned to the floor to face a team which features three front-line players who stand between six-foot and six-three.

The Scotties, seeded #3, lost only to #2 Manson — once during the regular season and again Thursday in the state semifinals — and to undefeated 1A powerhouse Chelan.

Controlling the match from start to finish, Freeman jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the first set and made life tough for the Wolves.

While the opening frame vanished in a puff of smoke, Coupeville put up a strong fight in the latter two sets, eventually holding off a set point and two match points before things reached an end.

Farris did her best to blunt the power of Freeman’s tree toppers and racked up a few more kills in her final moments on the court.

Trailing 24-17, CHS held fast, earning its final two points of the season on a side out and a service point from Marzocca.

(John Fisken photo) Mia Farris crushes the ball earlier in the year.