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If there was any doubt before there isn’t any now – the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks are the best team in the District 7B volleyball ranks, and they now have the 2019 championship trophy in hand for proof.

Coach Sandra Kazmirerczak and her talented Lady Hawk netters proved themselves to be the best team in 7B Saturday at the conference tournament in Mission, defeating the host Bulldogs 27-25, 25-16, 19-25, 25-17 in the semifinals and taking down the No. 1 seeded Eureka Lady Lions 25-22, 25-19, 27-25 in the championship.

Eureka reached the title match with a 25-11, 25-15, 23-25, 25-12 win over Bigfork in the other semifinal. Mission went on to claim third place with a 26-24, 13-25, 25-17, 25-23 win over Bigfork in the consolation match.

The Lady Hawks had lost both regular season meetings to Eureka, but obviously solved the Lady Lion puzzle in Mission.

All of which leads us to the next big net thing for the Lady Hawks – the Western B divisional tournament in Eureka this week. The top three teams from the Western B then move on to the State B in Bozeman Nov. 7-9, and coach Kaz and her Hawks definitely want to be one of those three.

These Lady Hawks are good, but just how good are they?

“This is one of the best teams I have ever coached here,” Kazmeirczak, one of the most successful coaches in the Western B division over the past decade or more, said. “These girls play their hearts out every match and they are very resilient. They feel like they are never out of it, no matter what the score is, they have the ability to finish strong.”

The Lady Hawks certainly played, and finished, strong in Mission last week.

Scarlette Schwindt led the Falls win over Mission with 18 kills, four service aces and 15 digs, Jody Detlaff and Brooke Bowlin floored eight kills apiece, Belle Cooper blocked seven shots, Riley Wilson dished out 36 assists and blocked four more shots, Detlaff added 13 digs and Ellie Pardee 11.

Although the Hawks had lost to Eureka twice earlier this season, Kazmierczak knew in her heart of hearts, that her team was the better squad. And they promptly went out and proved it.

Schwindt spanked 16 kills and two aces to pace the Hawk win, Detlaff decked seven kills and six blocks, Cooper collected three blocks and two aces, Pardee hit seven digs and Cheyla Irvine six, and Wilson again served as the trigger-person, passing out 27 set assists.

Kazmierczak said the Lady Hawks are ready for this week’s Western B in Eureka.

“The girls are excited,” she said. “We know this is a tournament and everyone has the same chance but we are playing with confidence right now. We just want to keep on doing what we have been doing and see where that takes us.”

District 7B champion Florence, a perennial power in Western B volleyball, will be favored to win another divisional championship, and the Lady Hawks and Eureka appear to be the best of the rest based on what has gone down so far. Since three teams from the west advance this year, third place would get you to Bozeman, but coach Kaz and company may not want to settle for less third.

The Hawks will open play in the Western B tourney at 10 a.m. Thursday facing off with Deer Lodge, the No. 4 team from District 6B. If the Hawks win that match, they will play the winner of the Anaconda-Mission match at 4:15 Thursday afternoon. The Lady Copperheads are the No. 2 seed from 6B and the Lady Bulldogs the No. 3 team from 7B.

If Thompson Falls wins both of those matches they will have clinched another berth to the State B portion of the Montana All-Class tournament in Bozeman Nov. 14-16, and that is right where the Lady Hawks want to be.

“We have some momentum going,” Kazmierczak said. “Hopefully it will take us where we want to go.”