Lady Hawks second at Western 7B volleyball

This one followed the script. Four favorites to advance out of the six team Western 7B District volleyball tournament this past week in Plains did just that.

And, as anticipated, they were led by this year’s version of last year’s unbeaten state champion Bigfork volleyball team, the Lincoln Country (Eureka) Lady Lions.

As a result of continuing their edge over District runner-up Thompson Falls, the Lions secured the conference title and with it the top seed from the 7B in this coming weekend’s Western B Divisional tournament this Wednesday (Nov 1) through Friday in, of all places, Eureka.

The Lions beat Thompson Falls twice to earn the conference crown as they jacked their season record to 19-1, their only loss of the 2023 season coming at the hands of Florence-Carlton in early September.

Thompson Falls, which lost to Eureka twice in the regular season and twice in last week’s District competition, earned second place and the number two seed from the conference for its showing in the tournament.

The Lady Hawks second place finish in the District event, matched their season showing in the conference...second to Eureka.

And the rest of the four favorites out of the six schools in the tournament, Mission and Plains fell in line with their pre-tournament standings as all four schools advanced to the Divisional Tournament in Eureka this coming week.

In the championship finals, Eureka and T Falls squared off twice with the Lions winning both matches, 3-1 in the semi-finals, then posting a 3-0 sweep of the Lady Hawks in the tourney’s final match.

In the tourney’s first day, Eureka had a bye, then dispatched of third seed Mission to advance to the championship round where they encountered T Falls Saturday morning. The Lions took the opening set 25-19, then weathered a Lady Hawks rally that squared the match at one set each as T Falls won the second set, 25-20. Eureka re-grouped and won the pivotal third set 25-19, then secured the 3-1 match victory with a 25-15 win in the fourth set.

That win by the Lady Lions pushed them into the championship round, while T Falls fell into a match with Mission Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs could not stop Thompson Falls from a 3-1 match win, taking the first, third and fourth sets after Mission won set number two 25-20.

Mission’s Izzy Evans had an outstanding game in the loss, picking up seven kill shots, two blocks and 16 digs for the Lady Bulldogs.

The T Falls win over Mission set up a return match with Eureka for the conference title.

In that match, Eureka jumped out to a 25-18 led after the first set, then pushed the match score to 2-0 with a 25-22 struggle over the Lady Hawks in the second set.

Thompson Falls fought back but could not overcome the tall, talented and experienced Lady Lions, who secured the match and 7B title with a down-to-the-wire 25-23 third set win and a 3-0 sweep.

Friday, the Lady Hawks met up with Sanders County rival Plains for the third time this year, with each school winning on their home court during the regular season.

In what was the seasonal rubber match between the two schools, T Falls took an early lead with a 25-14 set one victory, then withstood a strong Plains counter attack in the second set before eking out a 25-22 set two victory for a 2-0 match lead.

The Lady Hawks fought off another spirited Plains challenge in the third set before coming away with a 25-19 win to clinch a spot in the championship round Saturday morning versus Eureka. In the win over Plains, Thompson Falls got a strong match from Olivia Fitchett, who led the team with 21 assists and tied for the lead in digs with five. She also had two service aces as part of her match.

Gabi Hannum was also solid for T Falls with a team best five blocks to go with her six kills. Addi Pardee led the Lady Hawks with nine kills.

The Trotters opened day two of the tournament with a 3-1 match loss to Mission. The Lady Bulldogs took a 25-19 first set win, then watched as Plains knotted the match at one set each with a 25-15 set two win. However, Mission won the next two sets by identical 25-14 scores to secure the 3-1 match win. Mission’s Alecia Steele led the Bulldogs with 12 kills and 16 digs, while teammate Izzy Evans chipped in 15 digs for the Lady Dogs.

The Lakko sisters, senior Blakely and freshman Claire led Plains with 17 digs and 18 assists respectively.

In a consolation match versus Troy, Claire Lakko had a match best 27 assists as she continued her torrid assist pace for the season.

Plains opened the two-day tourney with a 3-0 sweep of win-less Superior Friday morning, then eliminated Troy later that day by a 3-1 count. Those two losses ended the seasons for both Superior and Troy.

In the 2023 Western B Divisional this Wednesday through Friday, Eureka has a first-round match with Powell County (Deer Lodge), while Thompson Falls takes on Loyola of Missoula later Wednesday evening.

Mission, the third seed from the Western 7B will faced Anaconda, while Plains, the 7B fourth seed takes on high-powered Florence later Wednesday afternoon. All matches will be held at Lincoln County High School in Eureka.

    Eureka Lady Lion Kara Stanger at the net against Thompson Falls' Annalise Fairbank and Addy Deal. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)