Lady Hawks take second place at District in Plains

PLAINS – The Lady Hawks entered into the District tournament as the number one seed and battled two teams in an attempt to keep their lead before the Divisional tournament this weekend.

Their first game was against their county rivals Plains. Beating Plains previously in the season, the Lady Hawks marched onto the court with their heads held high, determined to keep their undefeated streak.

And that’s exactly what they did.

Thompson Falls started off the match with a handful of points. They managed to keep the lead throughout the first set. With strong volleys between the two teams, the crowd roared with excitement for their favorite team.

Plains continued to close the gap between the score, however, Thompson Falls wouldn’t have it and they won the set 25 to 20.

During the second set, the Trotters put the Lady Hawks to work. With Plains leading a majority of the game, Thompson Falls stepped up their game and evened out the score at 15 to 15.

From there on out, the Lady Hawks continued to bring in points until they took the set 25 to 22.

As for the third and final set, Erica Sorlie had a solid start making an ace for her team. The set continued much like the first one did, with Thompson Falls keeping a lead on the Trotters. Plains fought hard to stop the ladies but it was too late. Thompson Falls took the third set 25 to 21, remaining undefeated.

Sorlie had four of the ten aces and three of the teams six blocks with Autrey Hannum making the other three. The Lady Hawks had 28 kills with Shey Hannum gaining 11. Angela Padden had 14 of the ladies 53 digs and Sorlie brought in 10 of the 24 assists.

After a break, the Lady Hawks fought against Bigfork in the championship game of the night.

“We had a good game against Plains,” said Head Coach Sandra Kazmierczak.

The Lady Hawks started off strong and with ease, slamming down point after point. The score evened out at a tie with five points on each side of the scoreboard.

Thompson Falls continued to pull ahead in the back and forth game. As one team scored a point, the other team would match that point – steadily moving forward.

Shasta Wilson slammed down a point for the team bringing their lead up to two points, although short lived.

Bigfork pulled ahead and took the set 25 to 21.

The second set started in Bigfork’s favor again, with the Lady Vals scoring first.

The Lady Hawks pulled out all the stops to get ahead but were once again thwarted. After one spike after another, Thompson Falls surpassed the Lady Vals with what appeared to be a comeback. In a very close nail biting match, Bigfork took the second set 26 to 24.

As the pressure fell on the Lady Hawks, the girls were determined to bring in some victories. The match started off with seven points for Thompson Falls. Their strong return caused frustration on Bigfork’s side making the Lady Hawks’ continued success a piece of cake.

Autrey Hannum was a leading force during the match, bringing in one point after another.

The ladies took the third set 25 to 12.

That streak continued into the fourth set where Thompson Falls again started the set with a chunk of points. As they continued to advance, the ladies won the set 25 to 14.

In the fifth and final set, Bigfork had time to cool down and bring back their competitiveness.

In what looked to be a promising set, the Lady Hawks started the match with a few points. However, this time they would not hold a huge lead against their opponents. The game tied at five points apiece and Bigfork slowly began to take the lead. As they continued, the Lady Hawks were unable to come up with the points needed and they fell to the Lady Vals 10 to 15.

Madison Fitchett had half of the team’s 12 aces, while Autrey Hannum brought in four of the five blocks. Wilson and Logan Beckman had 15 and 13 kills respectively adding to the team’s total of 47. With a very high number of 124 digs, Beckman brought in 27 with Fitchett adding 26. The team had a total of 43 assists with Sorlie bringing in 29.

The Lady Hawks fell to second seed for the divisional tournament.

Coach Kazmierczak said despite the loss, the team is staying strong and moving on.

“This happens at tournaments. We just got caught up in the motion and it was hard to get back on rhythm,” said Coach Kazmierczak. “These girls are capable. It was a good game for both programs and I think we are making ourselves stronger and we’ll be ready to go this week.”

Their first divisional game will be against Loyola on Thursday in Florence at 2:30 p.m.

Coach Kazmierczak said her team lost to Loyola earlier in the season but it was during the second game of the year and the girls have improved since then.

“They are a strong program so we have to come up and be ready to play in the first game of the tournament and give it our all,” said Coach Kazmierczak.

As they keep continuing through tournament play, the ladies have their minds set for the top. After reaching the state tournament two years in a row, the ladies are hoping to do so again this year.