Hawk netters to host Falcons Thursday

The feathers should be flying when the Lady Hawks and Falcons mix it up.

In one of the premiere matches of the Western B volleyball season, the Florence Falcons will visit Thompson Falls Thursday for early season bragging rights in the division.

The perennially powerful Falcons, who won second place in the State B tourney a second straight time last fall, won a road match over Class A Stevensville to open their season last week, proving they have the makings of another good team this fall.

After starting the season with a road-trip split – defeating Great Falls Central in three sets Friday and then falling in a five-set thriller to the Eagles in Fairfield Saturday – the Lady Hawks were to have visited Loyola in Missoula Tuesday, but will be ready when the Falcons arrive Thursday.

“It will be fun, we always enjoy playing Florence,” Lady Hawk coach Sandra Kazmierczak said. “They always have a great team and are always a challenge to play against.”

Ditto could be said about the Lady Hawks however. Over the last decade or more, Kazmierczak has had the Lady Hawks consistently in the mix as one of the best teams in the division. In 2016, Kazmierczak and her Lady Hawks busted through to win third place at the State B tournament, still the only hardware a Sanders County team has ever won in a state volleyball tourney.

The Lady Hawks barely missed a berth in the State B tourney last year. After winning the District 7B regular season and tournament titles, the Hawks finished a strong third in the Western B tourney.

And although the Hawks lost some fine performers from that team, they have some standouts back as well. Junior Scarlette Schwindt and senior Jody Detlaff were both District 7B first team All-Conference and All-State B performers, and senior Riley Wilson was named second team 7B.

Elli Pardee is another proven commodity, and Danni VanHuss and Ariana Wood will also be looking to work their way into becoming the next great Lady Hawk net squad.

Kazmierczak was impressed with what she saw last week from her Lady Hawks.

“These girls really want this season, they are thankful to be able to be on the floor together and are super-excited to play,” she said. “With the way things are right now, we are taking nothing for granted, are going to enjoy every chance we get to play.”

Against Great Falls Central, Detlaff put down 11 kills, Schwindt had eight kills and eight digs, Pardee was good for five kills, 13 assists, eight digs and a block, VanHuss had five kills and two blocks, Wilson dished out 16 assists and hit five digs, and Wood hit three service aces.

At Fairfield, Schwindt slammed 17 kills, blocked three shots and hit 13 digs, Detlaff pounded 12 kills and blocked six shots, VanHuss blocked three shots, Wilson passed out 22 set assists, Pardee added 14 assists and three aces and Wood hit 11 digs.

Whatever ends up happening with the season, Kazmierczak is glad to have the chance to work this latest group of Lady Hawk netters. “These kids are pretty scrappy, they never give up on a point,” she said. “They are strong mentally and they play with a lot of heart. We look forward to another fun season.”