Bigfork volleyball caps standout season at Western A tourney

The Bigfork Valkyries wrapped up one of their strongest volleyball seasons in recent memory last weekend at the Western A Divisional Tournament in Libby, finishing the year 29-9 overall after a pair of hard-fought five-set battles ended their postseason run.

The Valkyries entered the tournament as the Northwest’s No. 1 seed after dominating league play with an 11-1 conference record and rising to No. 16 in Montana in MaxPreps’ statewide rankings.

Bigfork opened divisional play on Thursday with a convincing sweep of Southwestern No. 4 seed Stevensville, winning 25-11, 25-14, 26-24. Later that evening, Bigfork faced Southwestern No. 2 Hamilton in what became one of the tournament’s tightest matches. The Valkyries jumped ahead with first- and second-set wins (25-19, 25-17), but Hamilton surged back, winning the next three sets 25-16, 25-11, 15-11 to hand Bigfork its first loss.

On Friday, Bigfork squared off against Southwestern No. 3 Dillon in another elimination thriller. The Valkyries pushed the Beavers to five sets, winning the third and fourth frames (25-19, 25-21) before Dillon closed out the match 15-9 in the fifth.

Despite the early tournament exit, Bigfork had a season that speaks volumes about the program.

Bigfork’s offense ranked among the most consistent in the Northwest A, finishing the year with 792 kills and a .115 hitting percentage across 154 sets.

Somer Campos had a team-high 191 kills as a junior, averaging 2.3 per set, and an outstanding .223 hitting percentage on 530 swings.

Junior Raegan Waller nearly matched Campos with 188 kills, averaging 2.3 per set. While fellow junior Lillie Suffia was a major contributor in the middle with 135 kills (1.6 per set) and a strong .148 hitting percentage.

Emily Wisman, also a junior added 115 kills, while Olivia Carlson had 94 kills.

Bigfork will graduate a trio of seniors—Olivia Claybourn, Cassy Schlicht and Taylor Howlett—while returning a deep junior class that carried a significant scoring load throughout the season. With the team’s top four hitters all set to return, the Valkyries are positioned for another strong run in 2025.

The season’s ending may have come earlier than hoped, but Bigfork’s first-place Northwest finish in a very loaded Class A field means next year can't come soon enough.

    Bigfork High School's volleyball team at the divisional tournament in Libby. (Courtesy photo)