It was a rugged night for a young Coupeville High School volleyball team searching for success.

The Wolves held a 2-0 lead over visiting Chimacum before falling 3-2 in a non-league match Thursday, Oct. 1.

Fortunately for Coupeville, this one doesn’t count in the Olympic League standings. The two schools will meet again in conference games Oct. 15 and 22.

The Wolves rolled to 25-13, 25-11 wins in the first two games, and it looked like Coupeville would pick up its second win in six matches.

The Cowboys (3-1), however, had other ideas and swept the next three sets, 25-22, 25-21, 15-11.

“The team was really clicking and playing aggressively the first two sets,” Coupeville coach Breanne Smedley said. “As things got close in the third set, they became tentative and gave Chimacum opportunities to control the game. It’s a great learning opportunity for us to grow on.”

Lauren Rose dished out 18 assists, leading to 13 kills for McKenzie Bailey and nine for Katrina McGranahan.

Coupeville was hot from the service line as Tiffany Briscoe fired seven aces, Valen Trujillo six, Rose five and McGranahan three.

Trujillo topped the defense with 20 digs; Briscoe chipped in with 14.

The Wolves (1-5) play two more non-league matches next week (at Bellevue Christian at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, and at home with Port Townsend (1-4) at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8) before starting Olympic League play at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, with visiting Klahowya (3-5).

(McKenzie Bailey, front, and Emma Smith block a Chimacum hit. Photo by Jim Waller.)