Leavenworth ? It has been an up-and-down year for both the Lawrence High and Free State High volleyball teams.

Now it’s either up or home.

The Lions and Firebirds will play in the same Class 6A sub-state today at Leavenworth High.

“This is the week we’ve been looking forward to,” LHS coach Jo Huntsinger said. “We really like our chances, and we’re just ready to play.”

Huntsinger’s Lions (11-25) will face a tough task right away  Sunflower League foe Olathe South. The Falcons come into today’s 3 p.m. match with a 23-12 record, giving LHS the underdog card.

“We played them the very first day of competition,” Huntsinger said. “Half of our team has changed since then. We are a totally different group.”

Free State (13-19) will face Shawnee Mission Northwest, also at 3 p.m. today, in the first round. The Cougars, with a 17-16 mark, are almost too familiar to Firebirds coach Nancy Hopkins.

“We’ve actually seen them three times in the last week,” Hopkins said. “Every time we’ve played them, it’s been really close.”

Seven of the eight teams in Lawrence and Free State’s bracket come out of the Sunflower League. The eighth, Overland Park Aquinas, is a squad each city team has seen at some point this season.

The familiarity is a strength, Huntsinger said.

“We always set up our schedule so we meet everyone we see in sub-state,” Huntsinger said. “We are familiar with them. We take notes on them as we play them, and we are watching video on them. We can actually practice and focus on their weaknesses.”

Hopkins agreed that recurring opponents isn’t a bad thing, but says it’s not all that important.

“It doesn’t really matter,” she said, “because it depends on who is playing good at that moment.”

The Firebirds own a 1-2 mark against Shawnee Mission Northwest this year, but will carry a three-match winning streak to Leavenworth.