Olathe ? If Lawrence High and Free State’s volleyball teams meet up, just expect the match to be “special.”

Even in another city Thursday night, inside a foreign gym splashed in orange and blue paint with Olathe East’s Hawk flapping its wings in the background, almost six hours after the two city squads left Lawrence and the only fans left at OEHS were sporting either red or green — the city showdown, of course, lived up to its billing.

“We know how you all are with each other,” quipped the scorekeeper at Thursday’s quadrangular with Roeland Park Miege and O-East, after the Lions-Firebirds match went to a decisive third game. “Why is it that one of you can’t just whip the other one instead of having to always drag it out.”

Responded FSHS coach Nancy Hopkins, “Just your typical Lawrence High match.”

Indeed.

And just like the previous two games, Game 3 was nip and tuck until Free State’s Banaka Okwuone hammered home two straight kills for a 24-20 lead and Sarah Heider ended the match with an ace.

“That was so intense,” said Okwuone, of Free State’s 22-25, 25-23, 25-20 victory in what is likely the city’s lone volleyball showdown this season unless LHS and FSHS meet up in a late-season tournament or sub-state.

“But of course it was Lawrence High, you could just fill the intensity rise up a level in Game 1. This match-up is always a special one.”

Luckily for the Firebirds (12-5) — who fell to Miege, 25-18, 25-16, and defeated O-East, 25-18, 25-19, Thursday — they practiced coming back from deficits all week.

Lawrence High's Bobi Riley (6) returns a serve against Roeland Park Miege during their match. The Lions lost to Miege, 16-25, 25-17, 25-21; were defeated by Olathe East, 21-25, 25-20, 25-20; and fell to Free State, 22-25, 25-23, 25-20, Thursday night at OEHS.

“We’ve been doing that all season, so we just decided to incorporate coming from behind in practice this week,” said Hopkins, whose squad came back three times against LHS.

The Lions (10-7) took a 3-0 lead in a first game that featured 12 ties, before Lawrence hitter Bobi Riley drilled home a line-drive winner.

The Lions — who went three games three times Thursday, falling to O-East, 21-25, 25-20, 25-20, and Miege, 16-25, 25-17, 25-21 — again took a 3-1 lead in the second game en route a 20-15 edge, seemingly ready to walk away with a sweep.

“We came out fine, but we got down in the second game after they called their timeout and couldn’t get back our focus,” Lawrence’s Bonnie Toplikar said.

“We had trouble maintaining our consistency all night.”

The Lions, whose Game 1 victory against Miege was the first time the Stags had lost a game all season, saw the Firebirds fight back with four straight points.

Free State High's Jenny Heppert (20) celebrates a point against Olathe East with teammate Banaka Okwuone. Free State was 2-1 at a quad Thursday at Olathe East.

With a 24-23 advantage, Free State’s Jenny Heppert laced a ball at the feet of a pair of Lions.

Free State finally broke a 20-all tie in Game 3 when Heider unleashed her first ace. After another point on an LHS error, Okwuone had her two kills, giving the ball back to Heider for the game-winner.

“Regardless of the teams we have when these two teams get together it’s always going to be a close match,” Hopkins said. “It’s always going to be intense, the girls are going to have tight nerves. It’s always going to be exciting. Just a little more so for us tonight.”

6Sports video: Firebirds earn intense win over Lions (09-30-04) 6Sports video: Scholar Athlete of the Month (09-30-04)