Hawks, Vals battle

When the Bigfork Valkyries walked into the Thompson Falls High School gym on Saturday, they were undefeated and hadn't even lost a set yet this season. When they left, they were still undefeated, but the Blue Hawks showed they are a force to be reckoned with as the Hawks handed the Vals their first set loss of the season.

Bigfork defeated Thompson Falls in four sets during an intense afternoon of volleyball in Thompson Falls in which the Hawks kept up with the Vals stride for stride. Bigfork won the first two sets 25-23 and 25-19 before Thompson Falls came back and won the third set 25-23. Bigfork sealed the win in the fourth and final set, 25-22.

Against Bigfork, senior Avery Burgess smashed 16 of the Hawks' 39 kills, while freshman Gabby Hannum served up five of the team's 12 aces. Finn Walsh led the team in blocks with three, and Cheyla Irvine had 11 of Thompson Falls' 37 digs. Ellie Baxter led the Hawks in set assists with 21.

The Hawks kicked off last week with a win at Troy in three straight sets, 25-10, 25-12 and 25-15. Burgess led the team against the Trojans with nine of their 28 kills and six of their 15 aces. Walsh had four blocks, Irvine seven digs and Baxter 11 set assists.

This week, the Blue Hawks will travel to Plains Thursday night before hosting Eureka on Saturday.

NOXON

The Red Devils fell to the Superior Bobcats in five sets last Thursday. The two Class C teams alternated sets in the volleyball battle. Superior took an early lead with a 25-22 win in the first set and Noxon answered with a 25-23 second-set win. Superior then took the third set, 25-13. Noxon came back in the fourth to win 27-25 and set the stage for the final fifth match, which Superior won 15-12.

Senior Emily Brown led Noxn with 16 kills, 18 set assists, three blocks, six digs and three aces, while Maygan Swanson added nine kills, seven blocks, four aces and 11 digs. Seanna Richter had 15 set assists, five kills, one ace, one block and 11 digs against the Bobcats, while Aubrey Erwin contributed seven kills and six digs. Callie Cano served up six aces and had eight kills, five set assists and nine digs.

PLAINS

The Trotters had one home match last week, taking on Eureka on Saturday. The Trotters lost in three straight sets, 25-15, 25-10, 25-22, and are looking ahead to this week when they host Thompson Falls on Thursday and then Deer Lodge on Friday.

HOT SPRINGS

The Hot Springs Savage Heat welcomed St. Regis to their home court on Thursday, falling in five sets. Hot Springs came out strong, winning the first two sets 25-16 and 25-21, before St. Regis came back and won three in a row, 25-23, 25-17 and 15-8. The Savage Heat then played host to Noxon for the Hot Springs homecoming game on Saturday. The Savage Heat got a homecoming win in four sets. Hot Springs won the first two sets 25-11 and 25-12 before Noxon came back with a dominating 25-6 win in the third set. Hot Springs brought it home in the fourth with a 25-21 win.