Vals dig in for 2010 season

Last year the Valkyries volleyball team rode a wave of adjustments with a rookie coach and a move into Class B from Class A to become the District 7B Champions before losing out in three games at the Western B Divisional Tournament.

As is the case every year with high school sports, many things have changed on the team, but for this year's Bigfork volleyball team, much will stay the same.

"Win or lose, it is my hope that they remember this year as being positive and successful," said Bigfork head volleyball coach Tracy Wicklund about her team's upcoming season. "Team unity and dedication will lead to winning."

The Numbers

Six for seven

The Vals lost six seniors to graduation including, All-State hitter Emily Hardman, Claire Wilken, Hillary Bilodeau, Nikie Bilodeau, Kelly Deaton and Kyla Eike. Stepping up in their leadership role this year will be seven seniors — Mallery Knoll, Kristen Woll, Hannah Barrett, Ariel Stalknecht, Kate Lamm, Jenna Egdorf and Kirsten Campbell. Knoll and Campbell are the only ones who were fixtures on the floor for varsity last year, though. Also returning with solid varsity experience are juniors Taylor Peck and Melissa VanDerveer.

Sizeable incoming

Although last year the Bigfork volleyball program had just four freshmen on it, there are nine signed up for this season. Most of them will play on the C Squad, formally known as the froshmore team. The freshmen class is also looking like one of the tallest classes that the program has seen in recent years.

Little in the middle

Would-be Bigfork junior Heather Lehrman moved out of the area and will not be playing this year and Peck is still struggling with a basketball injury 'see Injury Report). With those losses and with so few freshman last year, the program has a shortage of girls in those age groups, so some of the older girls will still be playing down onto the younger teams. Last season this was common practice with the low numbers in the program in the younger grades.

Injury Report

Game on

Junior Taylor Peck is the only Val currently struggling with a major injury. Peck had knee surgery in April following an injury during the 2010 Western B Divisional Girls Basketball Tournament in March. Peck, who has played on the varsity team since she was a freshman, has been practicing with the team though she still has some limitations while she finishes healing. She is expected to be in game-shape by mid-September.

Solid Strengths

Serving it up

The Vals are looking to be a tough serving team. They aren't a tall team, but they make up for that in their ability to jump. Bigfork will likely continue in its tradition of being scrappy on defense.

With so many girls moving up on to varsity the team is still a little bit unsure of itself.

"We are still in the process of evaluating what kind of team we are," Wicklund said. "I would say that our strength at this time is team unity. The girls are playing very hard every day. We are trying different things in practice to figure out what we are best at. We do have some real athletes and strong returning varsity leadership."

Work in Progress

Small and mighty

The Vals are lacking varsity experience due to the loss of last year's seniors and Peck's injury. However, Wicklund believes they have the tools to combat the issue.

"We will make up for that with intensity, attitude and execution," Wicklund said. "I have a very strong belief that we will be successful if the girls continue to believe in themselves and keep a team-first attitude."

The Offseason

Putting in the time

Many of the girls on Bigfork's volleyball team spent a number of their summer hours in the gym preparing for the upcoming season.

"The players that completed offseason programs came to camp in good shape and showed marked improvement," Wicklund said. "I really appreciated the effort of many of the girls."

Several Bigfork girls attended open gyms, competed in weekly 4-on-4 tournaments in Whitefish and took part in college volleyball camps.

Coach Talk

Third time's a charm

Wicklund, who has been an assistant with the program the past two years, has become the third head coach for Bigfork volleyball in as many years.

"I am excited to have the opportunity," Wicklund said. "It can be difficult to be head coach as it's impossible to make everyone happy all the time, but with the attitude and effort the girls have shown so far during our first week of two-a-days, I feel confident."

Although the girls will be answering to a different coach, Wicklund said little will change with the playing style or the philosophy of the program.

Goals for the girls

Although every coach has the ultimate goal of having their team win state, Wicklund also hopes that her girls will take much more than that away from the season as well.

"I want to have every girl on the three squads realize that they are an important part of everything we do, so they need to come to practice with game time intensity," Wicklund said. "I want these girls to continually get better at their roles on a day-to-day basis. It is my goal to make sure that the players on this team have great memories of how much they developed, how much fun they had and how close they were with their teammates this year."

Building them up

Assisting Wicklund will be Trisha Smith and Treena Mitts.

"Program development is very important to me and I feel fortunate to have two great assistants that are making this adjustment to head coach as stress free as possible.," Wicklund said.

Mitts will be mainly coaching the junior varsity team and Smith will be heading up the C Squad Coach. (For more on Mitts and Smith, see next week's Bigfork Eagle).

Looking Back

The 2009 season

Under the direction of then head coach Tammi McDaniel, the Valkyries finished the 2010 regular season with a 9-1 record. The team's only loss prior to tournament time was dealt to them by the Eureka Lady Lions. The Lions also finished their season with a 9-1 record, with their only loss coming from a game with the Vals, to tie Bigfork for first place going into districts.

Tournament time

At the 2009 District 7B Tournament the Valkyries had a swift road into the championship game where Eureka once again caught them up. Bigfork had beat Eureka earlier in the tournament, but the Lions had fought their way through the losers bracket and earned another chance at the Vals. Eureka beat Bigfork in the championship match in three games. However, a challenge game followed and Bigfork was victorious in three games.

The Vals' luck ran dry at the 2009 Western B Divisional Tournament, though as they lost out of the double-elimination tournament in three matches. Their final loss was to Eureka.

The Road Ahead

Coach's view

"I am very excited about working with these girls," Wicklund said. "Since I am new to the position, I am quite nervous as I want so badly to put them in the best position to succeed. I absolutely believe that if these girls give 100 percent in practice and games, believe in themselves, and keep practicing the way they're practicing, they will be successful. They've shown me a lot of heart over the years and are proven winners. I believe in them."

Rivals

The Vals will have their eye on Eureka as they seek revenge for last year's losses. However, the Lions lost four seniors to graduation, including All-State hitter Carly Hammond. Eureka has just three seniors this season.

Game time

Bigfork's volleyball team will be the first fall sport to have a game. The girls will participate in the Whitefish Startup Tournament on Saturday, Aug. 28.

The Vals will also host the first Bigfork home game. Stillwater Christian will be in town Tuesday, Aug. 31. The C Squad will get the action started at 4 p.m. in the Bigfork High School gym.