Hawks Honor Five Seniors with Sweep of Rival Fort Benton on Senior Night

Chad Smith

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Hawks Honor Five Seniors with Sweep of Rival Fort Benton on Senior Night
CJI's five seniors, Mercedes Riggin, Brynn Kammerzell, Brie Mattson, Piper Erickson and Kyra Anderson stand with their families during the pre-game Senior Night recognition. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.

By Chad Smith / HLSN Sports

The Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks sent their five seniors out in style Thursday, sweeping longtime rival Fort Benton 25-17, 25-9, 25-13 on Senior Night in the CJI gym. The win moves CJI to 13-1 on the season. The CJI C-team also won its match against the Longhorns in five sets, while the Fort Benton JV took a four-set win.

The night began with a tribute to seniors Kyra Anderson, Piper Erickson, Brie Mattson, Brynn Kammerzell and Mercedes Riggin, who were honored before the match. Both teams then warmed up, and the Hawks followed with a spotlight-style introduction of the starting lineup. The gym was packed with fans from both schools, and the CJI student section turned out in a USA theme to match the atmosphere.

The Hawks applaud from the baseline as the starting lineup is introduced under the spotlights. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.
The CJI student section turned out in red, white and blue for Senior Night, adding a USA theme to the atmosphere in the Hawks’ Nest. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.

The Fort Benton Lady Longhorns have long been a rival of the Hawks. Fort Benton moved up to Class B two years ago, while CJI competes in Class C. Before the move, the Longhorns won back-to-back Northern C divisional titles in 2020 and 2021. Fort Benton now plays in Class B District 1 and entered the matchup at 8-4.

On the court, CJI opened with a 25-17 first set, then held the Longhorns to nine points in a 25-9 second set before closing out the sweep, 25-13.

Kammerzell hammers the final kill of the night for match point. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.
The Hawks celebrate the sweep as the bench joins them on the court. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.

Two Hawks had monster nights at the net. Sophomore Audrey Young led the team with 19 kills and added 3 blocks and an ace, and Kammerzell, the senior all-state standout, finished with 17 kills, 4 blocks, 6 aces, and 11 digs. Erickson ran the offense with 45 assists to go with 4 digs and 2 aces.

Sophomore Audrey Young rises for a kill against Fort Benton. Young led the Hawks with 19 kills. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.
Senior Brynn Kammerzell goes up for a jump serve. She finished with six aces. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.
Senior setter Piper Erickson delivers a set to Audrey Young in the third set. Erickson had 45 assists on the night. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.

The back row was just as strong. Mattson picked up 21 digs, junior Scarlet Sundgren had 17 digs along with 3 kills and an ace, and Anderson added 7 digs. Sophomore Brooke Streit chipped in 5 kills, an ace, a block, and 3 digs.

Senior Brie Mattson digs a Fort Benton attack. Mattson finished with 21 digs. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.
Kammerzell gets low late in the third set for one of her 11 digs on the night. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.

The Hawks' younger squads were in action as well. The C-team opened with a 25-18 win, dropped the second set 23-25, then won the third, fell 12-15 in the fourth, and closed out the match with a 15-11 win in the fifth. The JV team took the second set 25-23 and pushed the third set to 14-16 before Fort Benton finished the match in four sets.

Senior Night came two days after the Hawks took care of business on the road, sweeping the Cascade Badgers in a three-set rematch Tuesday, Oct. 13. The Lady Hawks have only lost 3 sets all season, and are currently leading the 10C.

The District Tournament will be held at CJI on October 29-31, with matches starting at 11am on the 29th. The participating schools are: Augusta, Cascade, CJI, Heart Butte, PDB, Simms and Sunburst.

Young swings against the Fort Benton block. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.
Young goes up for a block at the net as the Hawks defend. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.
Young climbs for another kill as the Longhorns scramble to defend. Photo by Chad Smith Photography.

CJI wraps up the regular season on the road Thursday, Oct. 22, at Sunburst. View the complete gallery of photos here.

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