The volleyball defensive position term "libero," is an Italian word meaning "free." Liberos may be free to substitute without restriction, but there is a price to pay on the back row. Libero currency has a shade of green, but it's mainly black and blue.

River Falls Wildcat senior libero Olivia Doerre, pronounced like “dairy,” had a 6-inch bruise on her right hip at the WIAA Section Finals this past Saturday night in Stevens Point, Wis. Doerre's bruise had the temperament and color of Ursula in the Disney movie, "Little Mermaid."

"It hurts to even put sweatpants on," said Doerre, "but I've never not had a bruise when I'm playing volleyball. I'm just trying to get the ball up and if it hurts, it hurts."

The top-seeded Wildcats were facing the number three-seed Stevens Point on the Panthers' home court. Wildcat junior outside hitter Brooke Dusek registered a single-match school-record 29 kills, but the Panthers won a back-and-forth match in five sets.

"Brooke was on fire in the third set," said River Falls Head Coach Sara Kealy, as Dusek totaled 12 kills in set three, including the first 10 Wildcat points.

"Brooke just destroyed the ball," said Kealy. "She is so athletic, but timing can be everything."

Dusek and fellow junior outside hitter Amelie Pankonin make up, arguably, the top outside hitting duo in Wisconsin high school volleyball. Pankonin was sidelined with a back injury after the last regular season game.

The Wildcats were in the locker room immediately following the section final loss. They were asked to come back out on the court.

"The girls went back out there thinking they were just going to get their medals," said Kealy.

When the Wildcats lined up on the end line, Stevens Point Junior High Activities Director Dan Fink, moonlighting as the match’s public address announcer, instructed the entire crowd to stand and give the River Falls' seniors a round of applause. The entire crowd responded emphatically in unison. Fink introduced the five Wildcat seniors individually. The Wildcat student section, feeling Fink's vibe, finished off the verbal accolade with a well-timed "thank you seniors" chant.

"I felt like everyone cared," said Doerre. "It's never been like that before (in the other section final losses). I felt it."

"It did give a big picture perspective," said Kealy. "It was a really cool gesture."

Sara Kealy just completed her 16th year at the helm. The Wildcats were playing in their 10th consecutive section final game in the last decade. For Kealy and River Falls volleyball, it has been a decade of Doerre.

Coach Kealy has had seven sister combinations during her 16 years as head coach, but no family surname has been in the program longer than the three Doerre sisters.

"Good job to Rob on having those X chromosomes," said Kealy with a big smile, referring to Rob Doerre fathering three daughters.

Oldest daughter, Abby, was a freshman on the JV team in the fall of 2016, the Wildcat's first trip to the state tournament.

"I always had a lot of respect for Abby on how she approached work," said Kealy, referring to the eldest Doerre's desire to improve even though basketball was her first sport. "And the vision for herself to get from point A to point B."

"Abby is so type A and like a mom," said middle Doerre daughter, Maddy, "Liv (Olivia) and Abby are definitely more direct and I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but I'm a more happy, chipper approach, like a whoop-di-do."

"Maddy used to tell me, 'Sara, I'm not here for a long time; I'm here for a good time,’" said Kealy.

"My siblings and I are very different," said Abby, who is now in her second year as an assistant coach for the Wildcat volleyball team.

"Maddy is more athletic than Abby, but don't tell Abby that," said Olivia. "I make fun of Abby because I got her dig record."

"Those sibling order personalities are so accurate," said Maddy. "The youngest is the feral child."

Two synonyms of feral in the Merriam-Webster thesaurus are “untamed” and “ferocious.” 

"Goose (Olivia's nickname) is an anomaly," said Kealy. "She's all over the place, but at the same time, she's so focused."

Rob Doerre nicknamed Olivia, "The Goose," when she was 3 or 4, but says he doesn't remember why.

"Those two were attached at the hip, literally," said Maddy. "Rob used to have Liv on a leash when she was 3 and those two were snowboarding together down a mountain. He taught her how to ride a bike at 2 years old and she'd be pedaling around following us."

That 2-year-old desire to ride a bike for Olivia continued throughout her childhood.

"Liv has always had that drive," said Maddy. "She was always trying to do what we were doing. She was consistently being pushed out of her comfort zone because she wanted to. She's so emotional about sports and winning and she has this drive that I've never seen before. She will do whatever it takes to win and that's something I really admire."

"The team with the best defense is going to win," said Olivia. "My dad always tells me if the ball doesn't hit the ground, the other team can't win. He’s probably the reason I’m as competitive as I am. I know he believes in me and keeps me going every day.”

Some might say Olivia has a "legen-Doerre" competitive spirit. She sent random texts to teammates a week after the high school season finished that read, "281 days until RFVB!"

Her intensity, passion, and skills have made her River Falls’ volleyball career record holder in digs with 1,595, a record that will likely never be broken.

"I was so mad," harped Olivia. "I could've had five more Saturday night to get to 1,600."

Those same personality traits helping her to sign with UW-Milwaukee next year to play Division-1 collegiate volleyball have also been a hindrance at times. 

Coach Kealy and Olivia had some tough conversations about her being a better teammate towards the beginning of the season.

"She was frustrated with some kids not doing their job how she thought they should," said Kealy. "And she let them know it. I told her, 'Instead of alienating them, as a leader, how can you bring them along so you can do your job. How you deliver that message will impact whether or not they listen to the message. You're going to have to be vulnerable.’

"All the girls care," continued Kealy. "They all want the same thing, but they speak different languages."

"As a leader on the team, my competitiveness took over and I wasn't acting the way I should've been," said Olivia. "I don't want to lose."

Last spring, Olivia helped lead her Wildcat soccer team to their second state final-four appearance. She scored 11 goals in the five play-off game run.    

"In soccer, if we need a goal, I can just take the ball and go score," said Olivia. "In volleyball, I can't do that and that's super hard for me, but I've gotten better at managing that competitiveness. For me, it's about effort and I feel like all of my teammates did give 100% effort Saturday night and I can't ask for anything else."

The post-match conversation between Coach Kealy and Olivia after the section final volleyball loss to Stevens Point was completely different from the one at the beginning of the season.

Coach Kealy to Olivia: "I know how much you love hugs (being facetious)."

Olivia: "Uuugh. I hate hugs."

Coach Kealy: "But I'm going to give you one anyway because I'm really proud of the leadership you showed tonight and throughout the play-offs."

"I wasn't getting that from her at the beginning of the year," said Kealy. "She'll be able to take that with her to college and beyond. That's more important than her ability to serve receive pass."

"Sara builds me mentally, physically, and I couldn't ask for a better coach," said Olivia. "She's tough at times, but I also know she's the first person to cheer me on. She's just... (there was a long pause with thought) she's just an amazing coach."

On Sunday morning, less than 12 hours after Saturday night's loss, Coach Sara Kealy was at the Wildcat gym in the team's fenced-in storage area situating equipment on wooden shelves Rob Doerre had built for her years earlier. No Wildcat teams have their own locker room, as they are shared. Each teams’ storage area behind the westside bleachers is their space to do with as they choose. Coach Kealy chose to make part of their area a "Wall of Fame," recognizing former Wildcat volleyball players that played in college.

"I did that because the kids will walk in there every day getting equipment out and they can see how hard these girls worked and where it got them."

Coach Kealy also recognizes team accomplishments with stickers on four of the doors.

"I put the 2025 BRC Conference Champion sticker on the door this morning," said Kealy, "You know me; I already bought stickers for the next four years."

There are two more sets of sister acts coming to River Falls volleyball next year. Might as well buy stickers in bulk and save money. That’s the standard for River Falls volleyball.