The Lakeland Hawks (7-3, 2-2) defeated the Post Falls Trojans (9-3),(3-0) in four sets, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-19 on Sept. 16.
Junior Landree Simon led the team with 13 kills, and fellow junior Ziya Munyer also had a handful of kills with 11 and 11 blocks. Senior Lila Kiefer also contributed with 17 digs and 3 aces, Senior Ella Terzulli had 25 assists, and junior Addy Hocking had 23 digs.
“I think everyone was on their A-game and ready to win,” Junior Lexi Levesque said.
The Trojans are ranked 6th in the whole state of Idaho after going down to southern Idaho earlier in the season to match up against some of the competition down there. They upset the number one team in the state at the time, the Owyhee Storm (11-3, 3-2).
It was clear that the Hawks came out with a chip on their shoulder after previously falling to the Trojans earlier this year on Aug. 30.
“We worked hard to have the right intensity during practice to imitate what the game setting would be like,” Munyer said.
After losing the first set, it was clear they didn’t want to give up and wanted to win that game badly. After all, the Trojans are the superior team to beat up north.
It took a while for the Hawks offense to get going in the first set, but at the beginning of the second set, the girls were locked in and ready to go.
“We came out with fight and intensity, knowing that we were so close the first set, so we had to level up to win the next three,” Simon said.
The Hawks worked hard to make sure they gave it all they had to do their best.
“We realized that Post Falls was gonna have their good plays, but we didn’t let that affect us. We just had even more intensity the next play and outworked them,” said Munyer.
The Hawks kept a steady pace after winning the second set with the help of Sophomore Alyssa Rykman.
“Alyssa was playing so well that night. Her hitting was on fire, and she never let a ball drop.” Rykman also noted,” said junior Alexis Hanna.
Hanna played incredibly well with amazing defense and aggressive serves. It was a big help to the team and the win.
Powerful and accurate serves were also a big help in the Hawk’s game, as they had tallied 8 total aces.
“We came out prepared and focused to win. We made a few adjustments to our lineup, and everyone stepped up and did their job. We played tough at the net to take the win,” Assistant coach of the Hawks, Jen Weil, said.
The next four games for the Hawks will be the most important as they travel down to Moscow to play the Bears (2-5) and then host the Sandpoint Bulldogs (2-5). Both of these matchups are highly anticipated games for the Hawks as they are league games. These games will determine whether Lakeland has a chance at the state tournament or not.