Lady Hawks Sweep Through October, Improve to 11-1 Ahead of Senior Night
By Chad Smith / HLSN Sports
The Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks have kept rolling through the first half of October, picking up three more sweeps to push their season record to 11-1. The lone blemish on the year came in a three-set loss at Belt on Sept. 29, and CJI has responded by taking care of business every time out since.
The Hawks opened the month at home on Oct. 1 with a sweep of the Cascade Badgers, 25-12, 25-16, 25-23, on Pink Night, their annual breast cancer awareness match. This year's beneficiary is Pack the Place in Pink, a Montana non-profit that provides financial support to Montana residents battling breast cancer. Proceeds from the volleyball night and from CJI football's Pink Night on Friday, Oct. 16, will both go to the organization. The CJI gym was buzzing well before first serve, with the Hawks taking the court in pink uniforms and a lights-out, spotlight-style introduction for the starting lineup setting the tone for an electric atmosphere. The goal for the evening was to pack the gym in pink.
Pack the Place in Pink grew out of a volleyball team's show of support for its coach, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003, and became a non-profit in 2013. The organization says it has helped more than 1,200 women and is active in communities across the state.
CJI followed up the Badgers win on the road Oct. 8 with a 25-20, 25-12, 25-18 sweep at Simms, then returned home Oct. 10 for its most decisive win of the stretch, handling Augusta 25-10, 25-8, 25-9 and holding the visitors to single digits in two of the three sets.
Individual stats for the Cascade match were not available as of this writing, but the box scores from Simms and Augusta show a team rolling on all fronts. At Simms, senior Brynn Kammerzell turned in a complete match with 11 kills, 8 aces, 4 blocks, and 12 digs, while sophomore Audrey Young added 13 kills, 5 blocks, and an ace. Junior Scarlet Sundgren was everywhere defensively with 18 digs to go with 2 aces, 2 kills, and a block, and setter Piper Erickson ran the offense with 41 assists, 3 aces, and a block. Sophomore Brooke Streit chipped in 3 kills and 7 digs, senior Brie Mattson added 12 digs in her first game of the season, and sophomore Timber Hull had 2 kills, 3 digs, and an ace. Mercedes Riggin and Kyra Anderson contributed 3 and 4 digs, respectively, and junior Parker Kantorowicz and sophomore Kingslee Horel each had a kill.
Kammerzell was even more dominant from the service line against Augusta, piling up 16 aces to go with 9 kills, 4 blocks, and 2 digs. Young followed with 12 kills and 3 blocks, Erickson again ran the show with 41 assists, 3 aces, and 2 digs, and Sundgren added 4 kills and 5 digs. Hull chipped in 2 kills, 2 aces, and 3 digs, Streit had 2 kills and an ace, Kantorowicz added 2 kills and an ace, Horel had 2 kills, and Anderson and freshman Gwen Sundgren each had 2 digs.
CJI closes out the regular season over the next two weeks. The Hawks travel for a rematch with the Badgers in Cascade on Tuesday, Oct. 13, before returning home Thursday, Oct. 15, to host Fort Benton on Senior Night. Seniors Brynn Kammerzell, Piper Erickson, Mercedes Riggin, Kyra Anderson and Brie Mattson will be recognized before that match. CJI wraps up the regular season Oct. 22 on the road at Sunburst.
For more photos from CJI's Pink Night visit the gallery.
Update, Oct. 17: Coach Jordan Miller has since provided individual statistics from the Oct. 1 Pink Night match against Cascade.
Senior Brynn Kammerzell led the way with 15 kills, 9 aces, 2 blocks, and 10 digs. Sophomore Audrey Young added 13 kills, 3 blocks, an ace, and a dig, and senior setter Piper Erickson ran the offense with 41 assists, 2 aces, and 3 digs.
The back row was just as busy. Senior Brie Mattson picked up 19 digs, junior Scarlet Sundgren had 17 digs to go with 3 kills and an ace, and senior Kyra Anderson added 3 digs. Sophomore Brooke Streit chipped in 2 kills, an ace, a block, and 3 digs, and junior Parker Kantorowicz had a kill.
