An incredible season for the Thompson Falls Lady Hawks volleyball team came to an end last week at the State B tournament in Bozeman.

The Hawks headed to the state tournament at Montana State University fresh off a division title win on their home court the weekend before. It was the second straight state appearance for Thompson Falls.

"This team is so resilient," Coach Sandra Kazmierczak said. "They don't give up. We were behind many times during the season and they would come back for wins." Though the Hawks did not win any matches at state, they played hard and stepped up as a team, Kazmierczak added.

First up for the Hawks in Bozeman was Broadwater High School. Thompson Falls battled Bulldogs out of Townsend for four sets, but came up short in the end. The Hawks had a strong start with a 25-18 win in the first set, but the Bulldogs came back for three straight wins against the Hawks, 25-13, 25-12, 25-21. Cheyla Irvine led Thompson Falls with 16 digs and two aces, senior Abbi Lane offered up one ace, seven kills and five blocks, and juniors Natalie Roberts and Avery Burgess added 11 kills apiece. Senior Scarlette Schwindt led in set assists with 26, and classmate Elli Pardee added five. Ellie Baxter and Burgess each had two blocks, Burgess added seven digs in the Hawks' effort and Schwindt six. Pardee, who sprained her ankle during the divisional tournament a week earlier, was unable to continue play with the Hawks. "It was a pretty serious sprain," Kazmierczak said. "Elli tried and played a match and she really gave it her all."

The Hawks then met Jefferson High School in the consolation bracket. The Panthers proved to be a worthy opponent, beating Thompson Falls in three straight sets, 25-19, 25-19, 25-16. Schwindt and Roberts worked hard to stop the Panthers at the net, racking up 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Roberts also added 14 digs to the Hawks' effort against Jefferson, adding to Schwindt's 12 digs and McKenzie Robins' five. With the loss of Pardee, junior Irvine stepped up as setter and contributed 23 of the team's 26 set assists. Lane led Thompson Falls in blocks with four, and Schwindt had one. Irvine and Roberts each served one ace for the Hawks.

"Elli was missed in her position," Kazmierczak said. "She plays so many roles and does so much for the team. But everybody stepped up and contributed at state. That's why our team works. They enjoy what they do and going to state was an honor for them. They were so excited to be there."

Burgess also was injured against Townsend. Kazmierczak said she went up for a block and rolled her ankle. "Unfortunately, injuries plagued us," Kazmierczak said. "This team is so strong physically and mentally, but injuries do have an effect." The whole team played hard to help and Kazmierczak said the girls had each other's backs. "That shows how much character they each have. They are just such a wonderful team."

After the state tournament, Kazmierczak looked back at the team's record and realized they had an 18-match winning streak. "We usually don't talk about our record," the coach said. "We are focused on one game at a time."

Kazmierczak said the competition was tough at state, but this season will go down in history as one of her best, noting that all 10 varsity players worked together and played in sync.

The coach was also proud of her team as half of the varsity players were named to the all-state or all-conference teams. Schwindt and Burgess were voted first team all-state, with Pardee being named first team all-conference and Roberts and Lane making the second team all-conference list.

Sunny Pardee

STATE ACTION - Cheyla Irvine sets the ball against Jefferson during the Hawks' final match at state.

Though Kazmierczak will be losing some strong senior leaders, she said the group of juniors had good role models and saw a passionate group of seniors who loved to play the game, and she expects the leaders coming up for next season will do the same.