Vals finish third at opening tournament

The Valkyries volleyball team got their first taste of the 2011 season Saturday when the varsity squad took part in the startup tournament in Eureka at Lincoln County High School.

The day began with a round-robin tournament for seeding purposes prior to the actual tournament held in the second half of the day. Bigfork beat Ronan twice during round-robin play — in which games were shortened to first team to 20 points rather than the usual 25 — and split with Troy and Eureka. At the end of the seeding tournament, Bigfork ranked second in overall points and win-loss records. The Vals used their seeding to place third ultimately in the evening tournament after being defeated by Troy in a semifinal match and bouncing back to down Ronan in the consolation match.

“We came out a little shell shocked,” said Bigfork head volleyball coach Tracy Wicklund. “We’re very young. We only have four girls that have even played varsity. I have two sophomores who are starting for me along with the four seniors. We’re just going to have to keep going out and playing and every game will be a learning experience. We just have to keep working and wait for the team to gel. I think that we will do well, but it will just be a slower start.”

The Vals earned a 25-16, 25-15 victory in the consolation match over the Ronan Maidens, who moved into Class B this year from Class A. Bigfork tallied 13 kills, led by senior Melissa VanDerveer with four and sophomore Tessa Robertson with three. Senior Taylor Peck was responsible for eight of the team’s 10 assists. The Vals made three blocks, and Robertson and Peck were each credited with one. Bigfork finished with 12 digs, three of which were made by VanDerveer and another three of which were made by sophomore Alanis Stallknecht. Stallknecht also put in two of the team’s nine aces during the match, while Peck put in another three.

“We went out and played them very strong. Our net was stronger than theirs,” Wicklund said of Bigfork’s victory over Ronan in the consolation match. “Tessa was doing a good job of intimidating them at the net. I’m not sure if they’re a young team, but after we lost to Troy when we felt like we shouldn’t have, but did because we were just a little low on energy, I think they wanted to make their mark and beat Ronan.”

During its semifinal match against Troy, Bigfork lost the first game 25-22, rallied back to win the second game 25-22 and then dropped the third 15-11. The Vals tallied 22 kills in that match. Stallknecht had five, as did senior Kianna Wicklund. Peck again led Bigfork in assists with 17 of the team’s 20. Bigfork had seven successful blocks, including three made by Robertson and another three made by senior Amber McDaniel.

The Vals had 29 digs during the match, led by VanDerveer with eight and Stallknecht with five. VanDerveer put in seven aces to lead her team, which garnered a total of 13 during the match.

This was the first time that the Valkyries have participated in Eureka’s startup tournament. In previous years the team has played in Whitefish’s tournament, even after Bigfork moved to Class B. However, Whitefish did not hold its tournament this year, so Bigfork opted to play in Eureka’s tournament and gain some experience with its Class B peers.

“Every time we go to one of these tournaments it is the first time of the season that we have had any varsity competition, so it’s a good time for us to try some things out and see where we’re at,” Wicklund said. “There’s things we need to work on, but overall I think we did well.”

The season ahead

The Valkyries lost seven seniors to graduation this year, which leaves the team in a rebuilding scenario and its veteran players with a lot on their shoulders. Bigfork will be led by its four seniors — McDaniel, Peck, VanDerveer and Wicklund — and two juniors — Madison Fraley and Shelby Scoggins. Sophomores Stallknecht and Robertson will serve as two of the team’s starters as well.

“It’s pretty much a whole new team,” Wicklund said. “That’s why we’re really in a rebuilding year. It’s a whole new team. Even my returning girls are in new positions. Amber is playing in the back row now too, and so is Mel. Kianna has stepped up, and she’s playing in the front row now too and not just the back. Taylor is going to be an all around setter. We’re going to run with just one setter this year. We may change that later in the year, but as of right now we’re just running one. She’ll do the front and the back. All of my seniors are playing all the way around.”

In addition to taking on new positions, the seniors on the team are also taking on new roles as leaders of the team and helping to form team unity, which Wicklund said is one of her team’s greatest assets.

“The strength of our team is the bond that we are building among our team. We have a lot of heart,” Wicklund said. “We have very strong seniors that are good at working with the younger members of the team. They are hard working and they are working really, really hard to make this a good season. They’re dedicated to getting this done.”

The competition

The Vals will again be playing in District 7B with Troy, Thompson Falls, Eureka and Plains. However, with Ronan moving into Class B and Superior moving into Class C, Mission (St. Ignatius), which was in District 7B will be moving into District 6B, which is the same district Ronan will be in. District 6B and District 7B are the two districts in the Western B Division.

“I think we match up pretty well,” Wicklund said of the other team’s in the district. “It’s going to be hard work, though. We’re going to have to make sure we’re getting better every day, and it has to be every day. We have to be getting better at every practice.”

This year’s post season tournament schedule has been altered. Instead of the district tournament being a two-day event, the teams with the fourth and fifth best records in the district will play each other a few days prior to the district tournament. The team that loses will not advance to divisionals, which will be held in Eureka. The remaining four teams will play in a one-day district tournament, which will be held at Bigfork this year, to determine seeding.

Last year, the Vals were unable to get out of the District 7B tournament and into divisionals — a problem Wicklund hopes to avoid this year.

“I think we’re going to be fine,” Wicklund said. “We have to keep working on peeking at the end of the season and keep building and building. Last year we peaked so early, and then we just kind of stayed the same and that hurt us. This year we have to focus on building and peaking at the right time. I don’t see us having a problem with getting out of districts. You can’t assume anything though. That’s part of what hurt us last year. This year, we’re going to have to work for everything we get too. Nothing is going to be handed to us.”

A new twist

Wicklund said she noticed an increase in teams using let serves during games. Let serves are serves that hit the top of the net, but still make it over the net and are therefore considered good. The technique causes the ball to lose momentum and drop directly in front of the net, where players are often not expecting it.

“A lot of the teams were really trying to work in the let serves,” Wicklund said. “We’re going to have to really work on being ready to cover those.”

Coaches

This is Wicklund’s second year as head coach. Prior to the 2010 season, she served as an assistant coach for two years. Her first year with the high school program was also her current senior players’ freshman year. The longevity she has had with the group is coming in handy as she prepares them for the season ahead.

“I know them, and I’ve been around them for four years,” Wicklund said. “I’ve been able to be around their team so I know their temperaments and their style of play on the court.”

In addition to Wicklund, Trisha Smith, who coached the C-squad last year, has returned to help coach the Valkyries. Smith will instead coach the junior varsity team this year, though.

Susan Nelson and Nicole Danz are sharing the coaching duties for the C-squad.

“I’m excited for this year,” Wicklund said. “I think it’s going to be a good one. It’s just going to take a lot of hard work and dedication to get where we want to go. They’re a good group of kids.”

Up next

The junior varsity and C-squad teams played in Whitefish on Tuesday. Those results will be in next week’s Eagle.

This Saturday all three Valkyrie teams will travel to Ronan to play in a double-header against the Maidens as well as Deer Lodge (Powell County) in nonconference matches. Bigfork hosts its first home matches of the season Thursday, Sept. 8 against Eureka, which will be a conference match for the varsity. The C-squad plays at 4 p.m., followed by JV at 5:30 p.m. and varsity at 7 p.m.