Vals head into district tournament

With another loss added to their record, the Valkyries will have to settle for the second-place title in District 7B for the season and the No. 2 seed at this weekend’s district tournament in Thompson Falls.

However, as is often the case, the Bigfork girls may have learned more from the losses than they would have from victories.

“The losses to Thompson Falls (Oct. 14) and Troy (Oct. 19) just prove that you must maintain complete focus all the time and take nothing for granted,” said Tracy Wicklund, head Bigfork volleyball coach. “Mistakes will happen when you play a power style, but it’s better to play your game than conform to a style of play that is not yours. We need to make it more difficult for our opponents to run their offense. In the long run, these losses may help us to maintain the necessary attitude we will need to complete our goal.”

The goal, of course, is to make it to state. The Valkyries have a few hoops to jump through to get there though. Four of the six teams at the District 7B Tournament will advance to the Western B Divisional Tournament next week in Superior. Two of the eight teams from that tournament, which will include four from District 6B, will advance to the Class B State Tournament.

The Valkyries, who were the No. 1 seed going into districts last year, have some work to do if they are going to snag those coveted spots. Last Tuesday, Oct. 19., Bigfork lost 3-0 in Troy. The sets were close with final scores of 25-22, 26-24 and 25-17, but they were not representative of Bigfork’s best effort.

“Troy has been the hottest team in the district over the week and really controlled the match with good serving and aggressive play,” Wicklund said. “The Vals played not to lose, which is not our style. This timid play allowed Troy to run their offense, which hurt our defense. We learned once again that if we do not play with aggression, we are in trouble, but that can be said about any volleyball team.”

Bigfork’s effort was led by Mallery Knoll, who had 15 digs and eight kills. The Vals had just four aces during the match, half of which were served by Melissa VanDerveer. Hannah Barrett and Taylor Peck shared setting duties, splitting the team’s assists with a 10 apiece. Bigfork did not complete any blocks during the match.

The loss bumped the Vals down from co-District 7B champions with Eureka to second place, and caused both the girls and Wicklund to reflect.

“The good news is that I believe the Vals now truly believe that we are a force that can play with anyone as long as we play relaxed and play to win,” Wicklund said. “My biggest challenge as a coach right now is trying to keep them from playing not to lose. Playing not to lose is not fun. Fun is why we play, so we need to get back to having fun.”

The Valkyries got a little closer to that goal Friday, when they hosted Plains for Senior Night.  

“I was happy to see the Vals increase their intensity in practice after the Troy loss and even more pleased that they stayed with their style of play on Friday against Plains,” Wicklund said.

Those adjustments helped Bigfork take down Plains 25-19, 25-13 and 25-18, in what was the Vals’ final match of the regular season. The win kept the Vals from having to share second place with Mission (6-4).

The first set had a few close calls with the scoring tied up a couple of times, but in the second set Bigfork had long scoring runs that left the score at 21-12 at one point. In the third set the Vals trailed at the beginning by four points before tying the game up at 13 and then going on an seven-point run.

“Plains was a great team win,” Wicklund said. “I was proud of the way Mallery, Kirsten (Campbell), and Melissa stayed aggressive with their hitting. The team still had a few moments when they were less aggressive, but they quickly turned it back around when the momentum started to shift toward the Trotters.”

Against the trotters, Knoll had 12 digs and 11 kills. Barrett and Peck had 10 and nine set assists, respectively. Barrett was also responsible for three of the team’s 10 aces and Kianna Wicklund led with four. VanDerveer had 10 kills and completed two of the Vals’ four blocks.

GOING FOR A REPEAT

Last year the Valkyries were not only the District 7B regular season champions, but they also beat out the competition for rights to the district tournament trophy as well.

A repeat would be nice for Bigfork, but really all they need is to be one of the top four teams at the two-day District 7B Volleyball Tournament on Friday and Saturday at Thompson Falls High School.

Eureka (8-2) is the No. 1 seed in the district. The Lady Lions, as well as the Valkyries, have a bye in the first round of play.

Bigfork has its first match at 7 p.m. Friday against the winners of the No. 3 Mission and No. 6 Plains match at 3 p.m. Eureka will play the winner of the 1 p.m. match between Troy (No. 4) and Thompson Falls (No. 5).

The semifinals match is at 1 p.m. for the winners bracket and 5 p.m. for the consolation bracket.

 The championship match is at 7 p.m. to conclude the double-elimination tournament.

“We will have very intense practices with no distractions this week,” Wicklund said. “We will be working on not only fundamental volleyball, but working as a complete team to stay with our game plan. If I do my job right, we will play to win at all times during the tournament. The Vals can do it. I know they can.”