Nothing like a pair of wins to make the sun seem brighter and the air crisper.

And for the Thompson Falls Lady Hawk volleyball, the sun must be shining brighter and the air has a new crispness to it following T Falls’ double-sweep this week.

And if one of those wins is against a long-time rival, its all that much sweeter and brighter.

To accomplish this elevation of mood the Lady Hawks had to first sweep Sanders County rival Plains on the Trotters home court, which they did 3-0 Thursday evening.

Then to cap it off, they had to pull out the brooms a second time and pitch another shutout, this time against a longtime conference rival.

No problem.

Nothing like a double sweep to help get re-focused on the upcoming Montana Western B volleyball post-season.

The Lady Hawks began their run with a crisp and clean victory over rival Plains on the Trotters home court this past Thursday.

The always solid T Falls line-up looked to be in playoff-ready form as they blasted out of the gate and built an early, commanding lead on the Trotters on their way to a 25-7 first set win and a 1-0 match lead.

And although Plains found a way to reach deeper for set two, it was still a lopsided win for the Lady Hawks, 25-14, and it gave them a rock-solid 2-0 set lead.

They kept up the pressure and went on to sweep the Trotters when they locked up the match on the strength of a 25-17 win in the match-clinching game three.

Senior Avery Burgess paced the visitors with a very solid 17-assist performance. She got plenty of support from teammate Cheyla Irvine who racked up six service aces and scratched out seven digs for the game. Seniors Natalie Roberts and Ellie Baxter also helped out, with seven kills and 8 kills respectively.

The win lifted T Falls to 4-1 in Western 7B play this year, and pushed them to 7-3 on the year overall.

The loss left Plains still looking for its first victory of the year.

Next up for T Falls was a home court encounter with another Western 7B foe, Eureka. And although the match itself was much tighter, the results were the same as the Lady Hawks got out the brooms and swept Eureka 3-0.

T Falls won the first set 25-21, took set two 25-22, and completed the sweep with a 25-16 game three win to clinch the 3-0 victory.

That win left T Falls with a 5-1 7B mark and an 8-3 overall record for the year. Once again, Burgess had a standout game, chalking up 17 kills on the evening. She was joined in double-figure stats by Baxter, who had 13 assists to go with her three blocked shots as the Lady Hawks dominated net play throughout the evening.

Next up for Thompson Falls is a rematch week, with the Hawks taking on Eureka at home this Tuesday, then hosting Plains Thursday evening.

Plains is scheduled to face play at Superior this Tuesday (Oct 11), then host travel to Mission Thursday evening.