Valkyries fail to get out of districts

When the Valkyries volleyball team started the season, aspirations were high and a berth in the state tournament seemed likely. Those dreams crumpled last weekend as Bigfork was eliminated from the District 7B Tournament in its first two matches.

“I think we definitely underestimated all of the other teams,” senior Hannah Barrett said. “At the beginning of the season, we seemed to be better and then by the time we got to tournament, everyone else had improved a lot and we were just caught off guard.”

The Vals had a bye in the first round and needed to win just one game to secure one of the four spots reserved for 7B teams at the Western B Divisional Tournament.

However, as easy as that sounded to the No. 2-seeded Bigfork volleyball team, it proved to be much tougher than assumed.

Bigfork fell to Mission (St. Ignatius) in three swift sets with final scores of 25-17, 25-12 and 25-13.

“They came out ready to beat us, and we didn’t really play with nearly as much intensity,” senior Mallery Knoll said. “We didn’t play badly — we just didn’t have what they had and I don’t know what it was. Maybe it was just that they wanted it more than we did.”

Knoll led the Vals in kills with nine and digs with 11. Melissa VanDerveer added seven kills and Ariel Stallknecht had eight digs. Taylor Peck and Barrett handled setting duties with 12 and 11, respectively. The Vals had a total of five aces, three of which senior Kirsten Campbell put up. Bigfork did not complete any blocks.

“Tournament jitters played a role as the Vals were unable to serve with the consistency they’ve shown all year and the team played tight,” said Tracy Wicklund, head Bigfork volleyball coach. “Mission was coming off of an earlier win and played loose. I was extremely impressed with the way Mission played.”

Mission, who was the No. 3 seed going into the tournament, went on from that Friday evening match to win the championship game Saturday night against Eureka 3-2.

Meanwhile, Bigfork was sent into the consolation bracket of the double-elimination tournament where the Vals faced Thompson Falls. The Bluehawks were one of two teams — Troy being the other — that handed Bigfork late-season losses in the week leading up to the district tournament. Thompson Falls, the No. 5 seed, also had the advantage of hosting the district tournament, which the team used to beat Bigfork 3-2.

“Thompson Falls played with a lot of energy, but I thought the Vals matched them step for step,” Wicklund said. “The Vals lost the first two sets, but came out in the third and fourth and really played hard. The fifth set was difficult as the Vals dug themselves an early hole and did not have enough time to fight their way out of it.”

The Bluehawks won the first two sets 25-21 and 26-24, respectively, which grabbed the Valkyries’ attention.

“We got really emotional in the third game and were pretty much begging each other to ‘please not let us go home,’” Knoll said. “So we picked it up in the third and fourth games and we hoped we wouldn’t lose, but in the end we did end up having to go home.”

Bigfork won the third game 25-9 and spurred a wave of hope.

“We were definitely playing a little bit scared,” Barrett said. “Then we won that game 25-9 and we thought ‘we can do this.’ But, we always have a down-spell. We just couldn’t do it.”

The Vals pulled off a 25-22 win in the fourth set, but the fifth still loomed.

“After we won the third 25-9, I was thinking, ‘Dang, we got this,’” Knoll said. “If the fifth set would’ve gone to 15, I think we would have won it. We just don’t start out strong. We never do. We always play catch up. They got to 15 before we got going and we just didn’t have enough time to come back. It was a bummer.”

Statically, Bigfork played better in its Saturday morning loss to the Bluehawks. Knoll tallied up 44 digs for her team, which had a total of 96. Knoll also led in kills with 14, while Campbell added 13. Knoll had two of the team’s four blocks as well.

Barrett led in set assists with 21 and Peck contributed 17. The Vals had 16 aces led by Peck with four and Kianna Wicklund with three.

“Seniors Mallery Knoll and Kirsten Campbell played extremely aggressive and helped keep the intensity at a high level for the rest of the team,” Wicklund said.

The early post-season losses put a damper on the Vals’ otherwise successful season.

“It was truly a pleasure coaching this team of exceptional ladies,” Wicklund said. “Whether they won or lost, they always showed class and poise, and gave me their best. I had obviously hoped for a different outcome in the tournament, but knew that this district was evenly matched. It wouldn’t have surprised me if we won the championship as the top five teams took turns beating each other. Going 7-3 in the district was a great accomplishment and I hope the Vals can take away the positives of the year and not dwell on the close tournament losses. I’m very proud of this team.”