Valkyries finish regular season in third place

The Bigfork volleyball team got the job done this week, beating both Troy and Plains in home matches to secure third place in Distrcit 7B and avoid having to compete in the play-in game.

The Vals finished the regular season with a 5-3 record in district play and a 10-5 record overall.

“I look at this season as a great success, as we stayed out of the play-in game and finished with a better record than last year,” said Bigfork head volleyball coach Tracy Wicklund. “Our goal has been to consistently get better throughout the year and play our best volleyball at the end of the season. I feel the Vals are getting to where they need to be and have yet to play their best volleyball. The two tight losses against Thompson Falls (lost 3-2 and 3-1) have us excited for our first-round match on Saturday. We did not play our style consistent enough as a team in either loss and were able to compete with them both times.”

The Valkyries open the District 7B Tournament, which will be held at Lincoln County High School in Eureka, with a 12:30 p.m. match against No. 2 Thompson Falls on Saturday. If Bigfork wins that match, the Vals will play for first and second place at 4:30 p.m. against the winner of the game between No. 1 Eureka and either No. 4 Troy or No. 5 Plains. Eureka’s only loss of the season was to the Vals in Bigfork, 3-2.

Troy and Plains competed against each other in a play-in game for the fourth spot in the tournament on Tuesday night. (The result of that match was not available prior to press time.)  If the Vals lose their first game at districts, they play the team that lost the other first-round game at 3 p.m.

All four teams will advance to the Western B Divisional Tournament, which will also be held in Eureka, the following weekend. There, the top four teams from District 6B and District 7B will compete for the West’s two spots at the Class B State Volleyball Tournament in Bozeman.

“There is a lot of parity in both districts, so the seeding going into divisional is important from the standpoint of going in on a roll, but it really doesn’t mean you’ll be playing a weak team,” Wicklund said. “I feel any team can win on any given day. We hope to play smart, solid volleyball and look at each set, point-by-point, and the wins will take care of themselves. There’s nothing to gain by thinking ahead during this tournament.”  

LAST WEEK

The Valkyries cemented their third-place status with a 3-2 win over Troy on Friday in Bigfork.

The Vals won the first set 25-16 and then lost the next two 27-25 and 25-13. Bigfork fought back in the third set to win handily 25-14 and won the final set 15-6.

“After a quick first set, the girls got tight for some reason and lost the next two sets,” Wicklund said. “They showed their resilience and proved that they are a very good team coming back with two strong sets to finish the match. I think last year’s loss to Troy at the end of the season may have played a role in their rough patch during sets two and three.”

Senior Melissa VanDerveer had a big night for the Vals with six aces, 16 kills and 17 digs. Fellow senior Taylor Peck led the team with 24 set assists and sophomore Tessa Robertson was a force at the net with four of the team’s seven blocks, while VanDerveer made three.

  “Melissa had another strong performance all the way around, and Tessa once again played her best game against Troy. She was a beast when we played in Troy,” Wicklund said. “We really need to tighten up our service errors if we want to beat the elite teams in the division. As usual, Troy gave us a great match and played with great energy.”

The following night Bigfork hosted Plains for the Vals’ final game of the regular season ?— at which Senior Night was celebrated — and beat the Trotters in three sets — 25-20, 25-10 and 25-17.

“Plains is a much better team than their record indicates,” Wicklund said. “They took us to four sets at Plains and took Eureka to five sets earlier this season. It was an emotional Senior Night, and we started a little slow, but once the first set was over, the Vals kicked it into high-gear and were not going to be denied.”

Senior Amber McDaniel had a strong showing against Plains with five kills and five aces. Sophomore Alanis Stallknecht also made five kills. Peck accounted for 10 of her team’s 14 set assists and nine of the team’s digs. VanDerveer made eight digs and put in three aces. Robertson was credited with all three of the team’s blocks.

“They played well as a team, limited their unforced and service errors, and showed the intensity needed to sweep a team in three,” Wicklund said. “I was happy with their performance, and we will do our best to make sure we keep that type of high energy in the district tournament on Saturday in Eureka. It was a great team effort.”