L-BF recovers from 2-0 deficit and wins 3-2

LITTLEFORK — After a fuzzy start filled with small errors and frustrating moments, the Littlefork-Big Falls volleyball team clawed its way back from two games down to defeat the Bigfork Huskies in a five set thriller Tuesday night at Littlefork Gymnasium. The final score read 26-28, 21-25, 25-17, 25-19, 15-8.
The turning point in the match came midway through the fourth game when senior Kristi Bloom served six straight points, all of which ended with kills by senior Whitney Junker at middle hitter. Junker dominated the smaller Huskie blockers, and her display of power seemed to energize the Vikings.
Bigfork scored three straight points after Junker’s display in Game 4 to make the score 23-19.
The Vikings had an identical lead in Game 1, only to let the Huskies slip back in and eventually win. There were no mistakes this time, however, as the home squad took advantage of a service error by Bigfork, followed by a game-point kill by Baylea Wendt to get the final two points and tie the match at two games each.
“Whitney did a nice job,” L-BF coach Kim Wimmer said. “She can hit the ball hard. When we needed someone to step up, she stepped up. That was key.”
Bigfork served the opening ball of the tie-breaker into the net, pretty much setting the tone for the final frame. Though not as dominant as in the earlier game, the Vikings consistently took advantage of sloppy Huskie defense to group two and three points together, building small leads that added up to a 15-8 victory.
Littlefork did not look itself early in the match, allowing a smaller and less experience Bigfork team to come back and win the first two games after gaining sizable leads. After a Junker kill made it 23-19 Vikings in Game 1, the Huskies ran off four straight points to tie, then stuck around through two game-point serves by the Vikings before Gianna Anselmo served an ace to give the Huskies a 28-26 victory.
In Game 2, the Vikings built a 20-13 lead, then let Bigfork back in again. With the score 21-16, Bigfork sophomore Carolyn Thurston served nine straight points to earn the win for the Huskies.
Down two games to none heading into the third, the Vikings moved into an early lead when Haylee Gates served six straight points, most of which came on defensive errors by the Huskies, to make the score 8-4 Vikings.
After the Huskies climbed back into the game at 10-8, Junker served nine straight points keyed off of two kills by Hannah Larson to build a 19-8 lead. From that point on, Littlefork kept enough of a cushion while trading points with the Huskies to pull out a 25-17 victory.
Though obviously tired after the emotional victory, Wimmer was upbeat about the Vikings effort so far, and the work that lay ahead for her program. The Vikings improve to 3-0 on the season, while Bigfork falls to 1-2.
“We’re working on improving things,” Wimmer said. “And looking far down the road toward tournament time, we’re hoping to peak then. So far, things are going well.”

• L-BF’s junior varsity team lost to Bigfork 25-20, 27-25.

BF 28 25 17 19 8
LBF 26 21 25 25 15
KILLS: Junker 21, Larson 9, Gates 6, Hell 1, Wendt 1.
ACES: Bloom 4, Gates 2, Junker 2, Larson 1, Cipriano 1, Wendt 1, Trappe 1.