Troy volleyball says goodbye to seniors
Channel: Northwest Montana Now
Date: 2019-11-05

The Troy High School volleyball team couldn’t get a repeat of their regular season win against Bigfork, falling in three to the Valkyries during the districts play-in match at the Troy Activity Center last Tuesday.

It was an emotional end to their final season for the five Trojan seniors, as well as for Troy Head Coach Jordan Graves.

Though it is her second year coaching high school, Graves said she watched the seniors coming up since they were in junior high.

“So it’s -- it’s hard,” she said. “The standard for our team, the positivity, the encouragement -- is all them, and that’s going to be really missed.”

The Trojans battled the Valkyries hard, and all three sets were close until the end.

The Valkyries overcame an initial Troy lead early in the first set, and held it, but the Trojans kept the spread to no more than three points.

Troy managed to tie the score several times, with power moves such as a block by senior Ella Pierce and an ace by senior Katelynn Tallmadge.

Junior Talise Bequart served up an ace to give Troy a 20-19 lead near the end of the first set.

Pierce won the Trojans several points at the net [064, 066, 068], but Bigfork had the final say, taking the set 28-26.

In the second set, the Trojans came out fighting, and freshman Elaine Folkerts made an ace to give Troy a 2-0 lead.

After the Valkyries got two on the board, Troy held a 4-point rally, with kills by Pierce, Tallmadge, Becquart and senior Montana Rice.

Pierce supplied the digs for two more kills by Becquart and Rice, with sophomore Leah Clay handling the assists, and Troy moved into a 6-point lead.

Bigfork whittled down that lead, with the teams trading off serves as they reached the end of the set.

Late in the set, Becquart slammed home a kill, giving Troy a 21-20 lead, with an assist from Clay and a dig from Pierce.

But things fell apart for Troy, and Bigfork came back, winning the set 25-21.

Troy struggled to break a substantial Bigfork lead in the final set, and with the Valkyries leading 14-8, the Trojans didn’t look hopeful emerging from timeout.

But a Bigfork error put the ball back in Troy’s hand, and Folkerts began to close the gap with back-to-back aces.

An ace by Rice put Troy within 3 points of the Valkyries.

And a kill by senior Izzy Ramirez, with an assist from Clay and a dig by Tallmadge, seemed to restore some hope to the Trojans.

But they were ultimately unable to overcome the Bigfork advantage.

Despite the loss, the play-in match showed off the talent rising through the Trojan ranks.

Graves said that the team’s freshmen have really come together and shown good improvement while playing together on the C team.

She also said Folkerts has been a pleasant surprise on the varsity team.

“I’m excited to see where she’ll be in three years, as a senior,” Graves said.

It will be hard to lose the the five seniors, Graves said. But the legacy they leave behind is one she hopes the returning Trojans will carry on.

“The freshmen realize how important and encouraging these girls are for them, and they’ve really been mentors to the younger girls,” Graves said. “And so, I’ve just been really proud of that fact.”