They like it: How CFHS volleyball juggles expectations, 3 a.m. games and Cardi B

Under former Clark Fork volleyball head coach Cindy Derr, each of the senior classes took pride in leaving a legacy ­— whether it was the winning culture, the methodical style of play, the example set by seniors who closed their careers with state appearances.

But of all the lasting legacies the six, class of 2019 seniors left, few things might be as memorable to the returners as the Cardi B-heavy, pre-game dance parties that helped them find their mojo before the girls took the court.

“Every time I hear ‘I Like It’ by Cardi B, it reminds me of playing against Kootenai on senior night,” senior captain Aleehia Valliere said. “I can see Hailey [Bristol] and Brooke [Stevens] and all of us in the locker room dancing. Sometimes a certain song comes on and I’m like, ‘Wait, am I in the gym right now?’”

The team’s ever-expanding pre-game playlist holds a special place in senior left hitter Ellie Kiebert’s heart as well — all with the added bonus of remembering Tessa Sutton (‘19), the mild-mannered middle blocker who would break out of her shell by dancing her heart out before she took the court.

“We just bop until all the nerves are gone,” Kiebert said, recalling these pre-game dance parties. “It really gets me going. One of my favorite things is when you’re going to do your approach and it’s to the beat of the music. It makes me feel like I’m in a movie.”

But in the eyes of the current Clark Fork seniors, there’s still work to do.

The Wampus Cats haven’t taken home a state trophy in several years, and while their past teams have had the talent to place in the top four at the state tournament, Valliere believes the current group has something past teams have been missing: the want to succeed as a unit.

“I feel like in past years, we’ve always had the skill to where we could do it, but not everyone had the drive to do it,” Valliere said. “But this year, everyone has the drive to make it to state or win a tournament. Everyone has that want and desire to do it this year.”

Valliere’s mother Michelle, who will be taking over had coaching duties for the aforementioned Derr, concurs. She has faith in the current roster in spite of all the changes the program has endured since last November.

“I’m really hoping that we can go to state again this year,” Michelle Valliere said. “I feel like we have a really strong team even though those six seniors graduated.”

The Wampus Cats will have to replace six seniors, including multi-time league MVP Brooke Stevens, from last year’s 18-win team that not only made it to state, but also posted a perfect 10-0 record in North Star League play — all without conceding a single set.

With all of that said, following in the footsteps of the class of 2019 will presents a plethora of challenges for the class of 2020. Even though each current senior has different approaches to dealing with that pressure ­— some choose to to acknowledge it, others do not — avoiding the comparison game when the season gets tough will be crucial.

“I feel a lot of pressure because for the past three years, we’ve been that Clark Fork team that everyone talks about,” Aleehia Valliere said. “I feel a lot of pressure as a senior especially to carry that on. I know we can, but there’s a lot of anxiety leading up to those first games to see what we can do. There’s some pressure, but there’s some excitement too.”

Kiebert has a different approach. The four-year varsity senior views volleyball as a source of enjoyment, so negative feelings rarely cross her mind when she’s on the court.

And if comparisons to last year’s team do arise, Kiebert knows that the majority of the girls on the roster aren’t comparing themselves to the class of 2019.

“I really don’t feel pressure because we’re a new team and there’s always going to be new things for us to learn,” Kiebert said. “If we’re not going to go undefeated, then we can always win matches and the games within.”

“I think we’re doing a good thing by not comparing ourselves to last year,” Kiebert added. “We’re a new team, we have a foundation to build off of for several years.”

And the next group has more than potential.

Both players and coaches are optimistic about not only the underclassmen, but also the progress the veterans have made over the offseason.

While the faces will look completely different, the team’s modus operandi is the same: Clark Fork has the skill, the year-long program in place and the players willing to make it back to state.

“Aleehia’s passing has improved so much and I’m excited to see what she does as a libero this year,” Valliere said. “Ellie Kiebert is an amazing hitter. We’re moving her from right side to left side, so I’m excited to see what she does on the left.”

The current senior class has, according to both Vallieres, been “waiting in the shadows” of the previous class. None exemplify this mindset quite like seniors Abbie Anderson and Sophie McMahon — two returning role players from last year’s team.

“Whenever [Anderson] doesn’t play with the last group of seniors, she’s so all-out on the court,” Michelle Valliere said. ”Sophie [McMahon] is going to be a middle hitter; she’s started the last two years for us but she’s gotten better with her swing and her contact.”

Perhaps the biggest change will be at setter, as Paige Valliere, Aleehia’s younger sister, will step into Stevens’ role as a freshman.

“There will be some challenges, since our setter is going to be a freshman,” Michelle Valliere said. “Brooke [Stevens] was a four-year setter, a super good setter who worked with a trainer down in Spokane — and [Paige] is working with the same trainer. But with that age and experience that Brooke had, she was just an amazing setter.”

“Paige is on her way to hopefully being as good as Brooke was, but she’s got four more years to get going on that.”

Clark Fork’s new-look team will have to gain experience against the usual suspects. There are games against 5A and 4A junior varsity programs, plus Intermountain League opponents who have been regular upset victims for the Wampus Cats.

But the Wampus Cats won’t go back to Lakeland’s tournament this season. Instead, the team will return to the Gennesee tournament in October and compete at Coeur d’Alene JV tournament in addition to the usual slate of area opponents.

Since this season will be a bit of a rebuilding year, Valliere and the coaching staff want to build the team’s confidence early.

“[Lakeland] was a good tournament, but there were a lot of bigger schools there, so we didn’t have a ton of success there,” Michelle Valliere said. “With having those six seniors graduate, I just felt like maybe that was going to be a little too much and maybe not worth going down there and getting killed.”

The current team, however, has already been doing its fair share of offseason and club tournaments.

Over the summer, Clark Fork took a team to an all-night tournament in Cottonwood, in which games started at 6 p.m. and didn’t end until 7 a.m. With long hours, no sleep and steep competition, this volleyball marathon of sorts could have gotten the team on edge, yet the Wampus Cats pulled together.

During that tournament, the senior captains were taken aback by the cohesiveness of the freshmen, all of whom remained positive even as the team hit its collective wall at around 3 a.m.

“I don’t even remember what was going on —I was back there asleep, passing,” Aleehia Valliere said. “But the fact that we were competing with that team at 3 a.m. and we weren’t biting each other’s heads off was a really good sign.”

“If you’re with people for a really long amount of time, you kind of like, get at each other, but we weren’t,” Kiebert added. “We were still vibing. Half of us were asleep on the court but we were still having fun — and that’s what you need for volleyball all the time anyways. If we could do that at 3 a.m. after playing six games of volleyball, then we can do it any game.”

Clark Fork will host Bonners Ferry on Sept. 5, at 7 p.m. — after a pre-game, locker room dance party, of course.