Vals end regular season 5-5

By FAITH MOLDAN / Bigfork Eagle

The varsity Valkyrie volleyball team earned a No. 3 seed in the Northwest A Divisional Tournament with wins over Polson and Ronan last week.

Bigfork defeated both teams on the road, winning 25-13, 25-20, 25-23 against the Lady Pirates and 26-24, 25-19, 25-16 in Ronan.

After a seemingly easy game one, in which the Vals came back from a small and early deficit, Bigfork had a difficult time getting past the persistent Pirates who the Vals face in their opening match at Divisionals.

"It's Divisionals. Anything can happen," Bigfork coach Kelsey Jensen said. "You can't overlook anybody."

The Vals trailed the Pirates early in game two as well, with hitting errors and Polson blocks. After being blocked, BHS middle hitter Alyssa Fierro came back with a kill for the sideout. Mallery Knoll kept the Vals within two points of the Pirates as she stepped up to the service line.

Polson and Bigfork traded sideouts on the next couple of plays and the Vals remained four points behind the Pirates. With Claire Wilken serving, the Vals moved within one point of Polson. Roxy Thurman recorded a kill, which made the score 8-7 in favor of the Pirates, who then got the ball back on a kill from Breanne Kelley.

Nicole Davey's serve was short for the Pirates and ended with the Vals' best chance to take the lead and the game.

"Polson's a young team, but they have some good defensive players and serve the ball well," Jensen said.

Bigfork rattled off three straight points, which included one ace from Thurman, and continued with five more points after a Polson timeout. Thurman served two more aces, while Fierro and Knoll added a block to give the Vals a 16-10 lead. Thurman finished the night with 11 of Bigfork's 26 digs.

The Vals maintained their lead and added to it with Knoll and Fierro at the service line.

Bigfork scored on net violations by the Pirates and a block by Fierro and Megan Thole. Fierro led the Vals with 16 kills, four blocks and five aces. After a Polson sideout, the Vals came right back with a Fierro ace and bad Pirate free ball. Emily Hardman and Thurman added another Bigfork block before Fierro's serve came up short and the score was 14-23.

Polson followed suit, scoring six unanswered points. Hitting errors plagued the Vals during the Pirates' scoring run. Thurman alleviated that problem as one of her kills fell through a Polson block attempt. A hitting error by the Pirates gave the Vals the 25-20 win.

The final game of the match was even closer, with the teams staying within one point of each other much of the game and two ties late in the game. The Vals led almost the entire match, barely fending off the Pirates. Polson trailed the Vals by one point after cutting down Bigfork's 13-9 lead. The Pirates also tied the game at 16 apiece and again at 20-20 before Bigfork won 25-23.

Avery Vogel tallied 19 set assists for the Vals against Polson.

Bigfork started slow against the Ronan Maidens the following evening, according to Jensen, but the Vals "pulled it together" and won the match to even out their conference record to 5-5. The Vals' overall record is 8-6.

Fierro again led the Vals with 12 kills and seven blocks, while Thurman notched eight digs and three aces. Vogel recorded 18 assists.

With Ashlee Gordon and Jill Hamilton out for the remainder of the season with injuries, Jensen will utilize some junior varsity players during the Divisional Tournament.

"I've had some JV playing varsity," Jensen said. She added that now that the JV season is done the JV players can start on varsity if needed. "They're practicing hard," Jensen said.

Bigfork begins the Divisional tournament, in Ronan, against Polson at 4 p.m. today, Nov. 1. A win pits the Vals against the Whitefish Lady Bulldogs in the second round and a loss matches them up against the loser of Libby-Columbia Falls/Ronan match. The Divisional Tournament runs Nov. 1-3 at Ronan High School.

Bigfork def. Polson, 25-13, 25-20, 25-23.

Kills - Bigfork 33 (Alyssa Fierro 16), Polson 19 (Aislinn Nielsen 6). Blocks - Bigfork 7 (Fierro 4), Polson 3 (Nielsen 2). Digs - Bigfork 26 (Roxy Thurman 11), Polson 35 (Staci Benson 10). Assists - Bigfork 30 (Averyl Vogel 19), Polson 15 (Dani Tidwell 11). Aces - Bigfork 12 (Fierro 5), Polson 3 (Brianne Kelley 3).

Bigfork def. Ronan, 26-24, 25-19, 25-16.

Kills - Bigfork 32 (Alyssa Fierro 12), Ronan 11 (Kaylee Larson 4). Blocks - Bigfork 7 (Fierro 7), Ronan 1 (Allison Crenshaw). Digs - Bigfork 32 (Roxy Thurman 8), Ronan 46 (Amanda Bartel 13). Assists - Bigfork 24 (Avery Vogel 18), Ronan 11 (Ashlee Cheff 11). Aces - Bigfork 5 (Thurman 3), Ronan 6 (Crenshaw 2, Kallia Orr 2).