In a night filled with large scoring spurts, it was the Lawrence High volleyball team that fell on the short end.

Hosting their second quadrangular of the season, the Lions dropped two of three matches Thursday night. Their only victory was against Sumner Academy, which scored only nine total points in three matches.

“We definitely did not play our best,” senior Morgan McMichael said. “We didn’t push it out as a team. We were just a bunch of individuals.”

The Lions fell to 7-8, after a 2-0 (15-1, 15-0) victory against Sumner and 2-1 losses to Shawnee Mission South (10-15, 15-8, 4-15) and Blue Valley North (11-15, 16-14, 4-15).

Both Shawnee Mission South and Blue Valley North were fueled by 11-point outbursts during the decisive third game, dooming Lawrence.

“Volleyball is a game of momentum,” LHS coach Jo Huntsinger said. “It switches back and forth, and we go in expecting that.”

In the Lions’ final matches, the third game was deadlocked at 4 before both the Mustangs and the Raiders cruised to 15-4 victories, sending Lawrence back to the locker room looking for the momentum that was so quickly sucked out.

“It’s way too late in the season to be consistent,” Huntsinger said. “We have six seniors on the team, and there’s no excuse to be inconsistent this time of year.”

Lawrence High's Bonnie Toplikar, center, and Morgan McMichael block a spike from Shawnee Mission South's Kristen Cunningham. The Lions fell to South on Thursday at LHS.

Blue Valley North was the only team to go 3-0 in the quad. They won six of seven games, losing only the middle game of the match with Lawrence in a long, back-and-forth battle.

“I was pretty happy with that second game,” Huntsinger said. “But at the same rate, we haven’t put a whole match together yet this year, and it’s about time we start doing that.”

McMichael and Kim Davis, both 5-foot-11 middle blockers, led the Lions’ offensive and defensive attacks. McMichael played despite a possible broken toe.

“We really tend to go to our middles a lot because they are our most consistent hitters,” Huntsinger said. “Kim has worked really hard the entire year to make herself a better player.”

Lawrence is back in action next Thursday in yet another quad, this time at Free State High.

“We do have some things to look forward to,” McMichael said. “We just need to look toward the future, and not on tonight.”

LAWRENCE QUADRANGULAR RESULTS

Lawrence 2, KC Sumner Academy 0 (15-1, 15-0)

Shawnee Mission South 2, Lawrence 1 (15-10, 8-15, 15-4)

Blue Valley North 2, Lawrence 1 (15-11, 14-16, 15-4)

Blue Valley North 2, Shawnee Mission South 0 (15-10, 15-13)

Blue Valley North 2, Sumner Academy 0 (15-0, 15-2)

Shawnee Mission South 2, Sumner Academy 0 (15-4, 15-2)