Lady Hawks finish third at divisional

Plains and Thompson Falls ended the volleyball season at the divisional tournament last weekend, engaging in epic battles and the teams looked to be one of two from the division to advance to state.

The Lady Hawks finished third at the tournament in Anaconda, bringing home some hardware as they battled Anaconda literally almost to the last point, just missing a trip to state.

The tournament started on Thursday with Florence-Carlton taking St. Ignatius in three sets, 25-14, 25-15 and 25-8. Anaconda took the win over Eureka in three sets as well ,25-19, 25-16 and 25-19.

Then the action started for the Sanders County teams with the Lady Hawks taking on the Powell County Wardens. The Hawks made quick work of the Deer Lodge team, winning in three sets, 25-20, 25-17, and 25-10.

Thompson quickly came out to take a five point lead over the Wardens, holding onto that lead for much of the first set. Deer Lodge would make a slight comeback to tie the game at 14 points, and from there they would take a slight lead over Thompson. But the Hawks kept a level head and were able to take back the lead. The Wardens were always close behind not letting Thompson gain more than two points. With the score 23-19 Thompson was able to only allow Deer Lodge one more point before gaining the final points needed for the first set win.

In the second set the Hawks came out to once again take the first points for themselves, but the Wardens were quick this time to tie the game early. Thompson would take a brief lead before Deer Lodge tied up the game again at just 10 points. The teams would go point for point until the Hawks would take back their lead and put five points between the teams. Thompson would keep the lead, holding the Wardens to just 17 points, while Olivia Fitchett made a perfect set to middle hitter Addy Deal who hammered down the final spike to take the second set.

The Wardens would try early to tie the game but couldn't find their groove against the well organized Thompson team, and soon the Hawks held a massive seven point lead over them. Making their lead even larger the Hawks kept their momentum and soon had the score 21-9. The Hawks only allowed Deer Lodge to gain one more point before holding onto the serve and a Warden mistake allowed the Hawks to take the match win, advancing them forward.

Plains would play their first-round game against the Loyola Breakers, falling in three sets, 25-22, 25-15 and 25-17.

Loyola swiftly took the lead in the first set, having a five point lead over the Trotters. But Plains kept their teamwork and were able to bring the points close together, tying the game at 11 points. From there the Breakers were able to take back their lead, but Plains was close behind. Soon though Loyola had taken a larger lead over Plains, putting the score 19-14. From there the Trotters would gain seven points putting the score 24-22, but they wouldn't be able to take the set win.

It would be Plains who would take the lead in the second set, but Loyola would be swift behind them never letting them get more than two points ahead. Working together like a well oiled machine, the Trotters would keep their lead for much of the set. The Breakers would come back to tie the game at 13 points before taking back the lead. They would hold Plains while gaining points until the score was 20-14. Loyola would only allow the Trotters to gain one more point before taking the second set win.

Plains took the lead in the third set, putting five points between the teams quickly. The Trotters would hold the lead for much of the set, until Loyola was able to make a comeback to tie the game at 10 points. From there the Breakers would once again take the lead, making the Trotters work for their points. Soon the score was 20-13, and Loyola would only let Plains gain four points before taking the match win. That set the Trotters up against the Wardens in a loser out match on Friday. Plains would take the Wardens to four sets before sealing the win, 24-26, 25-17, 25-21 and 26-24.

Deer Lodge would come out to gain the first points in the Wardens vs. Trotters game, but Plains would be close behind. Tying the game at 12 points the Wardens would take the lead, and hold a large five point lead over the Trotters. Plains would gain the serve and be able to come back pushing Deer Lodge and tying the game at 24 points. From there the Wardens gained the final points needed for the set win.

Plains would find their groove in the second set and swiftly take the lead, which was short lived as the Wardens were able to come back and take the lead. The teams would go point for point until the Trotters took back their lead, holding Deer Lodge to just 17 points while taking their first set win.

Coming off the set win the Trotters took the lead in the third set, putting more points between the teams. Plains would keep their lead for much of the set, until the Wardens made a quick comeback to put the points within one. Tied up at 20 points each, the teams would go point for point until the Trotters were able to gain the extra two points needed for the match win. This put them against the Anaconda Copperheads in a loser out game where the Trotters fell in three sets, 25-18, 25-12, and 27-25.

The Copperheads quickly took the lead over the Trotters, and would hold onto their lead for much of the first set. Plains would be able to band together to lessen the score gap, Anaconda already housed a massive lead. Holding the Trotters to just 18 points the Copperheads were able to take the first round.

Coming into the second it was much the same with the Copperheads taking a massive lead over the Trotters, Plains would find their groove and tie the game at 10 points. But from there they wouldn't be able to take the lead and would only gain two more points before Anaconda took the second set.

The Trotters knew they only had one chance and would come out to take the lead over the Copperheads. The teams would go point for point for much of the set, until the Trotters were able to take a brief lead before Anaconda brought it back to tie. Then the Copperheads would take the lead back from Plains, making the Trotters work together until they were tied at 24. From there Plains would gain one more point but it wouldn't be enough to take the match win.

"I am very proud of these girls. They fought to stay in and even though it didn't go our way we stayed competitive until the end," said head Plains coach Kim Lakko. "It's always bittersweet for our seniors and their talents will be missed."

The Lady Hawks went on to face Loyola in the next round, making quick work of the Breakers in three sets, 25-18, 25-17, and 25-13.

The teams would start out going point for point until the Hawks took a three point lead over the Breakers. Holding onto their lead, Thompson would take off from Loyola. With the score 16-8, the Breakers would make a slight comeback, keeping Thompson on their toes. Thompson held a five point lead over the Breakers, 20-15, the Breakers only getting three points before the Hawks took the first set.

It would be the Breakers who would take the lead in the second set, until the Hawks were able to tie. The Breakers would be close behind as the score was 20-17, but Thompson was quick to keep a level head and soon a near perfect block by Addy Deal would allow the Hawks to take the second set.

The Hawks, hot off their win, came out on fire for the final set, quickly taking the lead over Loyola. The Breakers would stay close behind, until Thompson was able to keep the serve and put more points between the teams. Thompson would keep a large lead over the Breakers for the rest of the set, and soon the score was 23-12. The Hawks kept up their groove and were quickly able to gain the last two points needed to push their forward in the tournament.

The win earned Thompson Falls a match in the semifinal round against Florence. It was a tough match for the Hawks, who lost to the Falcons in three sets, 27-25, 25-20, and 25-21.

The teams would go point for point until Florence was able to take the lead. It would be a brief lead, before the Hawks would tie up the game. From there the Falcons would take back the lead. The Hawks would never falter and continued to play their game and would tie the game back up at 22 points before the Falcons would take back the lead and the first set win.

The evenly matched teams would go volley for volley until the Hawks took the lead. Florence was quick behind them and would take back the lead, with the Hawks trailing behind them. The Hawks were able to find their groove and take back the lead, but then the Falcons would come back soaring and take the lead and the match win.

The Hawks weren't giving up, however, and Saturday morning faced the hometown Anaconda Copperheads in the match to determine who would face Florence in the championship. The teams were both hungry for a trip to state, but the Lady Hawks would fall in the fifth and final set, 25-21, 15-25, 19-25, 25-19, 13-15.

The Hawks would start the set gaining the first points and taking a slight lead over the Copperheads. But Anaconda was quick to bring the points back to a tie at 12 points, from there the Copperheads would take the lead. Thompson wouldn't let the points get too far ahead, and would be close behind until Thompson was able to hold Anaconda to just 21 points while taking the set win.

Anaconda came out fired up from their set loss, and would take the lead. Thompson would be close behind and would look to tie the game but couldn't find their groove. Soon the Hawks found their teamwork and came out to tie the game at 13, from there Anaconda would only allow Thompson to gain two points before taking the second set win.

The Copperheads came out to take the lead in the third set, putting more than five points between the teams for much of the set. With the score 22-17 Anaconda would only allow the Hawks to gain two more points before taking the third set win.

Thompson took the lead in the fourth set and would hold ont for much of the set, finding holes in the Copperheads defense. With the score 20-16 the Hawks would only allow Anaconda to gain four points before taking the set win.

The final set proved to be a battle, both teams starting point for point until Thompson was able to take the lead. They would hold onto their lead, but the Copperheads were able to tie the game at eight points each. From there the teams would go point for point, until Anaconda was able to hold the Hawks at 13 while taking the match win.

"There is nothing to be disappointed about with these girls, their goal was state but they gave it their all. I am very proud of not only these athletes but the whole program," said head coach Sandra Kazmiercak. "We were a small team this year but a resilient team, they fought until the very end."

Anaconda went on to place second in the divisional tournament, while Florence would be crowned the division champs.