Excitement builds for Lady Hawks

There is an excitement building with the Thompson Falls Lady Hawk volleyball team.

Back to battle their way to another potential State B tournament bid, coach Sandra Kazmierczak's Lady Hawks almost made it there last year, finishing a strong third in the Western B tourney in Florence last fall.

Since only the top two teams advanced to State, the Hawks were left on the outside looking in, but just barely.

The good news is that three teams will move to State from the Western B division this season. The better news is that the Lady Hawks have almost everyone back from last year's team and should be, by all rights, one of the squads vying for one of those spots.

"We have five starters back," Kazmierczak said. "We will miss Maya (Stiles) and Sarah (Detlaff), but we still have a lot of very strong players returning. These girls have been working hard, showing up for practice like a half an-hour before.

"They are pushing themselves," she added. "We are looking forward to a good year."

The optimism in the Lady Hawks' camp is understandable. District 7B first team selections Scarlette Schwindt and Jody Detlaff, second team pick Brooke Bowlin, Belle Cooper, Riley Wilson and Ellie Pardee are all seasoned veterans, and hungry for bigger and better net things.

"They are hungry and eager to get going," Kazmierczak said. "Florence and Eureka look really good again, but we think we should be able to compete with anyone."

Now a sophomore, Schwindt burst onto the Western B volleyball scene in a big way last fall as a freshman, also earning All-State B accolades, Bowlin and Cooper are seniors, Detlaff and Wilson juniors and Pardee a sophomore.

The competition will begin for the Hawks as it has for the last several seasons, at the Choteau Invitational, one of the most prestigious preseason tourneys in Montana, Aug. 30-31.

Thompson Falls will follow up that tourney with a pair of important Western B matches, visiting Florence Sept. 5 and hosting Loyola Sept. 7 in the first home match of the season.

Kazmierczak said that she has 23 girls out for volleyball, with new assistant coaches Lisa Mickelson and Chrisi Robinson, who are both ex-Lady Hawks themselves. A former assistant, Chris Kelly, another ex-Hawk netter, has also agreed to help out, Kazmierczak said.