By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
Other than the eventual state champion, every other high school team eventually has to deal with a loss that ends its season.
But that doesn’t mean everything else that happened beforehand is forgotten.
For the Big Foot girls volleyball team, there were plenty of positives to dwell on in the wake of its 15-25, 13-25, 14-25 loss last week to East Troy in a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal.
The Chiefs closed the year at 27-10-3 overall, while East Troy, which won the state title two years ago, advanced to this week’s sectional round.
“This group of girls had an extremely successful season that not many people thought we would have,” Big Foot coach Caitlin Dowden said. “There are always uncertainties going into any season.
“These girl were able to answer all of the questions thrown at them and more.”
East Troy, ranked second in the state, put together a solid match on several fronts, Dowden said.
“East Troy played a solid match of volleyball,” she said. “They are a solid team, and we could do nothing to stop (Division I recruit) M.E. Dodge. Our block just wasn’t big enough.
“She was finding kills from both the front row and back row. We were hoping to be able to defend her better when she was in the back row and make up any differences in those situations. We just couldn’t do it, though.”
Dowden said her team fought the Trojans until about the 13th point in all three games – but at that point, East Troy began to pull away.
“I think their knowledge of being a powerhouse took over and our youth sank in.
“I think early on in each of the games our offense was doing a good job finding kills, we just struggled late and missed a lot of opportunities on our own hitting errors. What really slowed down our offense was our own defense. We didn’t pick up as many ball as we were used to, and when we did pick them up, we weren’t getting solid passes to run an effective offense.”
Dowden said East Troy has the look of a potential state champion.
“Especially if they continue to play solid volleyball,” she said. “They had several players (besides Dodge) who stepped up in our match and took care of business.
“They will have to beat some very tough teams with bigger blocks, but they do have the potential, without a doubt.”
The loss ended the Big Foot playing careers of senior Alyssa Zillmer, Morgan Courier, Kaiti Kelley and Julia Gilstrap – and they will be missed, Dowden said.
“Our seniors contributed to the team and program in a number of ways throughout their careers here at Big Foot,” she said. “They will be greatly missed.
“Each had to step up in a different situation and when faced with a challenge, responded the way seniors should. They took it upon themselves to make the most of what they were given and worked hard day-in and day-out to help better themselves and the team.”
