Lady Hawks rally for win on senior night

Last Thursday's volleyball game between Thompson Falls and Mission was filled with emotion as the Blue Hawks honored their seniors during their senior night celebration. The athletes were given bouquets of flowers and recognized one by one as they were surrounded by their friends and family members. Adding another layer of emotion, Thompson Falls players and fans were decked out in pink to honor those who have been affected by breast cancer and to raise awareness for the ongoing fight against the dreaded disease.

Once the pregame ceremonies concluded, it was back to business as Thompson Falls jumped out to a quick 11-3 lead in the opening set. The initial run was powered by two of Mckenzie Robins' team leading three aces. Robins, a senior who has stepped up this season after not playing varsity last year, was recognized post-game by head coach Sandra Kazmierczak. "McKenzie has been incredibly consistent this year with her serving and playing the back row."

Mission was able to temporarily recover from the early Thompson Falls run, however, and appeared to have the momentum in hand as they brought the score to 12-7. Mission's defense had stiffened during their mini-run as they were able to dig multiple big spikes from the Blue Hawks. The Blue Hawks kept pounding away though and were able to eventually overpower the Mission Bulldogs and win the set 25-9 due to kills from junior Natalie Roberts and senior Scarlette Schwindt.

The second set saw Mission take a two point lead until Schwindt delivered a momentum shifting kill. The senior's recent re-entry into the Blue hawks lineup seems to have given Thompson Falls another gear. Schwindt, who thanked her head coach for "never giving up on her" in a pre-game written statement, led Thompson Falls with ten kills. Robins tacked on another ace to bring the score to 8-2 and prompted Mission head coach Dakota Peterson to call a timeout. The Bulldogs battled hard after the timeout to bring the score 13-6, but were ultimately outdone by the Blue Hawks after aces from juniors Avery Burgess and Cheyla Irvine and kills from seniors Abbigayle Lane and Schwindt. The Blue Hawks took the set 25-10.

The third set couldn't have started better for Thompson Falls as they took a quick 10-1 lead highlighted by another big kill from Schwindt. Mission did not accept defeat and went on a four point run to bring the score to 10-5. With the momentum shifting towards Mission, Blue Hawks senior Danni Van Huss delivered a huge kill that slowed the Bulldogs charge. Thompson Falls maintained their lead throughout the remainder of the set with kills from juniors Veronica Bewick and Burgess as well as an impressive ace from junior Cheyla Irvine. One final big kill from Van Huss brought the score to 25-18, sealing the victory for Thompson Falls.

On a night where coach Kazmierczak started all of her seniors, she was asked if this season was special compared to seasons past due to the challenges Covid has presented: "This season has been special. Everyone has continued to show up and do everything they can one day at a time. They really want to be able to finish the season and are playing each game as if it were their last."

The Blue Hawks picked up an additional win last week as they once again defeated Bigfork last Tuesday in four sets with scores of 25-21, 18-25, 25-14, 25-18. Schwindt recorded a "triple double" for Thompson Falls, leading the team with 18 assists, 10 digs and 11 kills in the hard-fought victory. Also providing valuable contributions was Irvine (8 digs), Burgess (9 kills), Pardee (3 blocks) and junior Natalie Roberts (2 aces). Coach Kazmierczak was again quick to praise Bigfork's program: "They always provide a tough test. They have a really good program and they did a really good job with digs."

Up next for the Blue Hawks was a scheduled match at Troy on Tuesday and a showdown at Plains on Friday.