By MARK NELKE

Sports editor

Junior outside hitter Landree Simon wore it during timeouts, and between sets.

Junior Ziya Munyer strapped it on during the three rotations the middle blocker was out of the match.

“At one point we had four players with shoulder injuries, so I did some research and found this,” Lakeland coach Kelsie Badger said of the heating and vibrating shoulder brace wrap that showed up in Rathdrum just in time for the Hawks’ 4A Region 1 volleyball championship match vs. Sandpoint last week.

The wrap “helps relieve shoulder pain and relax muscles. Helps reduce rotator cuff injuries or shoulder dislocations and speed up the recovery from injury.”

The Hawks didn’t need the heat part; the vibrating part worked just fine.

“It warms up your shoulder when you’re out, so when you go back in it’s still warm,” Simon said.

How’d it work?

Both Hawks played key roles at the net, and Simon slammed down the final three kills of the match as Lakeland beat Sandpoint in four sets to advance to state for the first time since 2020.

“I’m out for three rotations, and my shoulder gets really cold, so when I go back out it’s all stiff,” Munyer said. “So it’s like a vibrating thing, and it helps my shoulder stay warm. It was very effective; I almost forgot to take it off when I went back in one time — stressed my coach out a little, but it was good.”

The second-seeded Hawks (22-7) face No. 7 Canyon Ridge (16-5) of Twin Falls in their opening match at state Friday at 9 a.m. at Post Falls High.

AFTER TWO near misses, following the program’s first state title in 2020, the Lakeland players knew something had to change.

“So we changed a lot of things, so we’d work well together,” said outside/right side hitter Lila Kiefer, one of two seniors on the team. She was a “floater” in 2020, but did not see action at state. “Like the way we practice, how we do team-bonding stuff. And we’re all friends, so that helps too.”

Granted, the Hawks weren’t bad the last two years — 19-14 and 17-9, and one of the top teams in the combined 5A/4A Inland Empire League each season. But in the one match to go to state — the regional final — Lakeland fell to Moscow both years. At home.

“It lit a fire,” said Munyer, who is considering Weber State, Wichita State, Eastern Washington and Utah State to continue her volleyball career. “Every time we had a little dip in our play, I was just thinking about last year, and I didn’t want to feel like that again.”

PERHAPS THE effects of the shoulder brace wrap could be used on other parts of the bodies of the Hawks players.

Junior libero Addy Jo Hocking separated AC joints in both shoulders, and missed most of the Linda Sheridan Classic, but is back playing.

“I dove,” she said, “and my head hit it and I … it just heals over time, so I just tape it back.”

Alexis Hanna, a junior defensive specialist, is out for the season with a torn labrum.

So sophomore Chloe Neff became the libero for the Sheridan tournament.

Sophomore Olivia Zazuetta, one of the Hawks’ two setters in a 6-2 offense, missed some time with a shoulder injury. Simon was out with a shoulder; sickness has run through most of the players.

Junior Ashleigh Feld, a starting middle blocker, rolled her ankle a few weeks back, and looks like she might not be able to play this weekend, Badger said.

“The official tonight (for the regional final), Veronica, she asked me, ‘Is everyone healthy?’, because the last time she saw me I had six injured,” Badger said.

When Zazuetta was out, senior Ella Terzulli set a 5-1.

“She (Terzulli) got us here, with a lot of those league-play wins,” Badger said. “She has been just a rock star; hadn’t missed anything, she’s battled through sickness. I’m sure she’s been sore, but she doesn’t complain. She’s just been a go-getter.”

“I really stepped up and I was proud of myself,” Terzulli said. “But It’s fun to have Liv back on the court with me.”

Badger said she is excited to see how her varsity newcomers this year, including sophomore outside/right side hitter Alyssa Ryckman, perform at state.

Injuries or not, Terzulli has setting options.

“I don’t think I could have more confidence in these people,” she said. “Every single one of them, I trust them on every single ball, and I just know they’re going to make the smart play; they’re going to score, and it’s going to go our way.”

BEFORE THE arrival of Badger, who played at Freeman High, the Hawks hadn’t had much success getting to state this century.

In 2019, her second season in Rathdrum, Badger guided Lakeland to state for the first time since 2005. The Hawks finished fourth four years ago, then won it all the following season.

“Kelsie puts in a lot of hard work,” Simon said. “We’re all close with Kelsie. She’s honestly like family to all of us.”

“There were some points in the season where they (Badger and assistant Jen Weil) wanted it more than us,” Munyer said. “And they had to remind us, 'Hey, we all need to be on the same page and fighting for the same goal.' And in the postseason we were able to come together and do that. I’m really grateful for Kelsie and Jen to be able to bring us together.”