BIGFORK – They say there’s no crying in baseball, but there’s plenty of giggling in volleyball – at least in Bigfork.
A volleyball practice at Bigfork High School, while a serious training endeavor, is never without laughing girls. And the Valkyries wouldn’t have it any other way. In fact, it’s a key ingredient to their success. It just so happens that these girls really like each other and it shows when they’re on the court.
“We’ll goof at practice, but we pull it together for the games,” said senior outside hitter Emily Hardman.
And as fellow senior captain Claire Wilken says: “Our team chemistry is good because we don’t bring girl drama onto the court.”
With Bigfork High School back in Class B for the first time since 1998, the Valkyries are continuing what they did the past several years in Class A: play upper-echelon volleyball. The Vals, who were perennial Northwestern A favorites, are 11-2 this season, including a league-best 9-1 in District 7-B play. Their two losses – against Eureka and Missoula Loyola – were five-set nail biters.
Perhaps the first thing an observer will notice about the Bigfork Valkyries, aside from their obvious affinity for each other, is their height. They’re short. So they do what they need to – they jump high and spike the ball hard. And their digging skills make up for their blocking disadvantages.
No girl on the varsity roster is taller than 5 feet 8 inches, while some other teams have front rows that are 6 feet or taller across the board. First-year coach Tammi McDaniel has sought to minimize the negative impacts of having a short team by instituting jumping routines in practice to increase their verticals. The girls do a drill in which they jump with elastic bands attached their waists for resistance.
The drills have paid off, as evidenced by a hitting crew that is as strong as you’ll find in the area. Hardman, a team captain, anchors that crew. She is assisted, at different times, by senior Hillary Bilodeau, junior Kirsten Campbell, junior Mallery Knoll, sophomore Melissa Van Derveer, senior Nikie Bilodeau and Wilken, who is also a star setter.
Campbell is one of Bigfork’s secret weapons, as she is the only girl on the team with Class B experience. She transferred from Seeley-Swan High School, so she is able to give her teammates scouting reports on Class B foes. Most of the Valkyries have never seen any of their division rivals before.
“She’s kind of our undercover spy,” Wilken joked.
While some in the community felt the transition from Class A to B would mean inferior competition, McDaniel and her players say on the volleyball court that hasn’t proven true. McDaniel feels teams like Missoula Loyola and, for that matter, her own Valkyries could hang with any Class A school. It shouldn’t be forgotten that just last year the Vals were a quality Class A team.
“There are some great B teams out there,” McDaniel said. “(Some people) thought we were coming to a lesser class. That’s not the case. A lot of these kids are ranch kids; hard-working, talented kids.”
She added: “You definitely have to earn it.”
The “it” that the Vals hope to earn is a trip to the Class B state tournament and then a run to the championship. In Class A, a team only has to place high at a divisional tournament to qualify for state. But in Class B, the girls must get through districts, then divisionals and then on to state. It’s a long, tough road.
The District 7-B tournament is scheduled for Oct. 30-31 in Troy, followed by Western B divisionals on Nov. 5-7 in Superior. The state volleyball tournament, for all classes, will be held at Montana State University in Bozeman on Nov. 12-14.
The Bigfork players have made a few promises to McDaniel if they make it to state. Namely, they said they are going to dye McDaniel’s hair blue. If they win it, they said they’re going to shave her head. While McDaniel might have something to say about these promises in the end, it’s clear the girls know their goals.
McDaniel used to be the volleyball coach at Bigfork Middle School before taking the high school job this year. She replaced Yvonne Peck. One pleasure for McDaniel of having coached at both school levels, she said, is being able to get the girls started at a young age and now getting to see those same girls battle for state supremacy in their final years of high school.
“I started them,” McDaniel said, “and some of the girls might say now I’m finishing them off with conditioning.”
Conditioning is a major component of McDaniel’s training routine. She said she has heard people ask: “Why do you have to condition for volleyball?” Having seen girls suffer from exhaustion at tournaments, where teams play multiple matches in a single day, McDaniel thinks the answer to that question is apparent. It’s part of earning “it.”
McDaniel will hear no complaints from her Valkyries about the conditioning. They’re all onboard, starting with the senior leaders, who McDaniel said have built a consistently upbeat atmosphere within the team.
“They’re always smiling,” McDaniel said. “There’s no selfishness on this team. When they’re down, they don’t get down on each other.”