Lady Hawks Take The East

Since the beginning of the season Broadus Head Volleyball Coach Monica Smith has preached mental toughness to her squad – that ability to not become distraught when the game isn't going their way, and the ability to push through those low points and give it their all.

Last weekend at the Eastern C Divisional Tournament, that lesson was put to the test. Broadus first won a three set match against Froid/Medicine Lake, avenging their loss at Divisionals last season.

The Lady Hawks next found themselves in a do or die fifth set against the tenacious Plentywood Wildcats.

At one moment in the set Broadus was down 11-6, and the pressure was on. During a time-out, Smith reminded the girls of their mental training, and told them "Don't be afraid to fail – hit it as hard as you can, and if it goes out then so be it, but at least you'll know you went down swinging."

The Lady Hawks took that speech to heart, and came out swinging. At one point the score was 14-12, with Plentywood within one point of a win, but Broadus kept hitting and went on to prevail, 16-14.

Broadus carried that confidence through into the next match against their old nemesis, Circle. In the regular season Broadus had lost two matches to Circle, and seemed to have a bit of a mental block about beating the fellow 2C team. That block was no more at Sidney, as the Lady Hawks trounced the Lady Wildcats, 25-15, 25-15, and 25-17.

"I think at Sidney the girls saw how good they can be when they bring the intensity as a team and all play together," Smith told us.

The team kept that intense play as a theme as they went on to the championship on Saturday, against the North Country Mavericks.

North Country is a co-op program consisting of students from Saco, Whitewater, and Hinsdale, along the Hi-Line in North Central Montana.

The Mavericks are a tall team, with four girls at 5'10" or more in height, including Teagan Erickson, a lanky Senior listed at 6'2" (and who seems taller in person). Erickson is perhaps best known for her basketball skills, and has committed to play for MSU-Bozeman next year. North Country won the Class C state basketball title last year.

A contingent of boisterous Broadus fans was on hand to cheer on their team, aided by volleyball players from at least one other team. Though Broadus fans were not as numerous as North Country fans (likely due in part to the 200 mile drive for Broadus fans), the green and gold group certainly made the most noise throughout the match.

During the first set, Broadus and North Country battled back and forth at the end of the match; each team trying to go two points ahead as they crossed the 25 point barrier. Broadus finally prevailed with a 32-30 win. In the second set, North Country got out to an early lead and Broadus was not able to come back, with the Mavericks winning 25-21 to even the match at one set a piece.

From there on out, Broadus seemed to gain momentum while North Country sputtered. In the third set Broadus won handily, 25-15, and in the fourth set it was all Lady Hawks, as any offensive maneuver by North Country, including attempted kills by Erickson and her team, were met with solid defense from Broadus.

At one point, an attempted kill from North Country was deflected on the dig, with the ball traveling high up into the air and taking an odd bounce off the raised basketball hoop. Despite the deflection, Broadus produced a save and casually blooped the ball back over the net, to fall and score yet another point for Broadus. The Lady Hawks dominated that fourth set, winning 25-9 and bringing home the Eastern Divisional 1st place plaque.

When we spoke to Coach Smith on Monday, she was busy scouting the competition for State, coming up this Thursday through Saturday at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman.

The all-conference affair features the top two teams from the four corners of Montana, and Broadus' first test will come against the South's 2nd place team, Roy-Winifred. Broadus beat the South's #1 seed, Bridger earlier this year, and Bridger beat Roy-Winifred in the Southern C last weekend.

Other teams in the bracket include Western #1 Manhattan Christian (the defending state champs), Western #2 Twin Bridges, the Southern teams previously mentioned, the North's #1 Belt and #2 Chester-Joplin-Inverness, and the Eastern #2 North Country.

Please see the November 9, 2023 photo album for more pics from the tournament.