BV claims crown with run through TRAC East

It’s been nearly a decade, but the Bureau Valley Storm volleyball team has reached the pinnacle of the Three Rivers once more.

The signs of the Storm’s perfect 12-0 run through the TRAC East were there all summer long … and maybe even earlier, if you ask coach Abbi Bosnich.

The third-year varsity coach remembers vividly meeting with this senior class before their freshman season in 2011, and watching the girls marvel at all the banners depicting past
success, and how all the girls could talk about was wanting to be the next group to join that list.

“Last year, they started to see a little bit of success, and this summer, I think they started to believe that they had something special,” Bosnich said. “From a coaching standpoint, you’re standing back and watching it evolve. Even though you know what they’re capable of, to see them catch on to that … they’ve really just taken it and gone with it and made it happen.”

The last time BV (26-5) won a conference title, it was also with an unblemished record.

That 2005 team was 32-5 overall, and went on to the state tournament, where it lost in the Class A quarterfinals.

A pair of this year’s seniors had a front-row seat to that postseason ride, and remember even back then wanting to be part of it when they were older. Co-captains Sydney Lebahn (Madison, SVM’s player of the year that season) and Carlie Bickett (Angie) had sisters on the team that set the bar for seasons to come.

“It was pretty awesome watching Madison play,” Lebahn said, “and seeing all their success really fueled me wanting to get into high school and do the same thing. It’s great to finally have ‘my’ year, and have this team do so great.”

“It makes it so much more special,” Bickett added. “Watching Angie play and go very far, it just made it really special for me this year.”

Lebahn and Bickett agree that going through “some building years,” as Lebahn puts it, makes this group appreciate so much more what they accomplished this fall.

“Sometimes when you have a bad year, you just look forward to the next year,” said Lebahn, a 4-year varsity starter. “Now, ‘next year’ has finally come, and it’s just so amazing and exciting and unbelievable and special.”

This past summer, Bosnich put her Storm players through a bit of a different workload than in years past. Instead of attending team camps, she opted to play in tournaments at Millikin University in Decatur, as well as host one of their own.

Playing matches against bigger and better competition sparked her squad, and opened their eyes as to what they could do if they put their minds to it.

“Playing over the summer, we just kind of knew that this season was going to be a little different than last year,” senior co-captain Ali Siltman said. “We really just came together as a team the second we started to practice back in June, and we’ve just built on that this whole time.”

As victories mounted and the season progressed, the thoughts of potential slowly turned to reality. After sweeping through the first half of their conference schedule, the possibility of winning the title – and maybe even running the table – started to move to the forefront of the BV players’ minds.

Still, when they finally wrapped it up with a two-set win over Newman on Tuesday, it took some time for it all to sink in.

“Just around the middle of the season, we started thinking about what could be ahead of us,” said senior Lindsey Hoffert, a 3-year varsity starter. “Over the summer, we thought, ‘Wow, this could be a really good season, it’s already looking so good.’ But it still feels like we just started, so it’s crazy to think that we’re here at the end and we did so well. It’s so impressive, I still can’t believe it.”

The Storm had a few days off after their championship, and spent the time celebrating and enjoying their accomplishment. But the veteran-laden team – seven seniors returned from last year’s 16-14 squad that finished 8-6 in conference play – quickly turned their attention to the next challenge.

BV opens regional play as the No. 1 seed in its home gym Tuesday. The players say they know the slate is clean for everybody, and feel like they’ve hit the reset button to start the whole thing all over again.

It’s that mental toughness – something which Bickett said they haven’t had at times the past couple of seasons – that the Storm feel could make all the difference in the playoffs.

“I think every time we step on the court, we always have the mentality that we’re not done until the scoreboard says 25,” Siltman said. “Our goal has always been to just play our hardest and absolute best every night, and so far we’ve succeeded – and we’ll just keep fighting until it’s over, and that’s all I could ever ask for from my girls.”

Heaven Bennett leads BV with 165 kills, while fellow seniors Val Reuter (133), Bickett (131), and Hoffert (105) are also in triple-digits. Bickett (66) and Hoffert (49) lead the team in blocks, while Lebahn has dished 495 assists, nailed 73 kills, recorded 121 digs and served 42 aces; Reuter has reeled off a team-high 49 aces. Another senior, Jehna Thomas, leads the way with 211 digs, with Reuter (144) and Bennett (135) also over 100.

It’s that balance and array of weapons – and the team chemistry to make it gel – that have the Storm thinking big the next few weeks.

“It’s really nice to have a different variety in our girls,” Bickett said, “knowing that if, one night, one of us is down, another will come back and pick us up. It’s just really reassuring, and now we have to pick it up, play with all our hearts, and play every match like it’s our last … because it might be.”