Lady Hawks look to defend 7B net crown

Fresh off another fine season in ‘24, the Lady Hawk volleyball team wants to take the next big step this season and advance on to the State B tournament in 2025. Don’t bet against them, they were oh-so-close last year.

The Hawks will open season play at the Mission Invitational Saturday, and host Loyola Tuesday in their first home match. 

The defending District 7B champions after sweeping to the title on their home court in the 7B tournament last year, the Lady Hawks have a veteran crew back to defend that crown. Coach Sandra Kazmierczak’s Hawks went on to win third place in the Western B divisional tournament at Anaconda last fall, losing an epic five-set thriller to the homestanding Copperheads in the consolation final, just missing out on a State B tourney bid. 

Experienced seniors Gabi Hannum (an all-7B and All-State B selection last year), Addi Pardee, Annalise Fairbank and Emma Claridge, talented junior Addy Deal and sophomore Jasmin Risch, a transfer from Noxon, form the current starting lineup, the first six for the Lady Hawks. Pardee and Deal were second team all-7B picks last year. 

Kazmierczak said she accompanied those six to Dillon to participate in a competitive three-day summer camp in July, and that the team benefitted greatly. A worthwhile experience for everyone involved. Especially so for the Dillon Six, the tournament was exhausting but great for team bonding in retrospect. 

“It was a really good experience for us, there were some very good teams there and we did very well in the tournament play,” she said “The other teams brought more players so we ended up getting pretty wore out by the third day, but we held our own.” 

Kazmierczak said teams from Great Falls, Billings, Colstrip and even a team from Wyoming, to name a few, participated in the Dillon camp. As good as the Dillon Six are, they will need help, and developing depth off the bench will be a top priority for the Lady Hawks. 

“They will step up,” she predicted. "We have some good young players coming up, we will figure it out." 

Looking ahead to the regular season, Kazmierczak is optimistic but realistic. 

“There are some good teams,” she said. “Kim (Lakko, who used to assistant coach in T Falls, now the head coach in Plains) had a good team last year with good players back, Mission looks to be very good and Eureka is always competitive. District 7B is very strong this year, it will be a battle.”

    Lady Hawk seniors Annalise Fairbank, Addi Pardee, Emma Claridge and Gabi Hannum will be team leaders for Thompson Falls this season. Hawks are set to play in the Mission Invitational to begin season play Saturday. (John Hamilton/VP-MI)