Jo Huntsinger’s body language said it all.

The Lawrence High volleyball coach was an emotional mess by the time her team finally defeated intracity foe Free State, 2-1 (26-24, 25-27, 26-24), in one of the most thrilling matches of pool play at the Class 6A state tournament at Kansas Expocentre.

It took her a solid 10 minutes to catch her breath and slow her heart rate after her eighth-seeded Lions advanced to today’s semifinals along with the top three seeds in the tournament. During the previous 75 minutes, she had watched the Lions get to the brink of eliminating the fifth-seeded Firebirds, nearly collapsed — twice — and at one point even had to yank her emotional assistant coach, Molly Lamere, to prevent her from running onto the court.

But the Lions continue to defy the odds, and the attitude that comes with that is one that Huntsinger is glad her girls have going into today’s semifinal matchup with No. 2 seed Overland Park Aquinas.

“It’s so much more difficult being a higher seed in this tournament because you’re playing not to lose in those situations,” she said. “When you’re a No. 8 seed, there’s nothing to lose and nobody expects anything of you, and all that matters is you and your people. And these girls believe that and believe in themselves. That’s what got them here.”

The match already was significant because of the rivalry, but when both teams went 1-1 in their earlier matches it meant the winner would advance with Washburn Rural from their pool.

Lawrence was the first to break free in game one. Trailing 6-4, the Lions scored six unanswered points to grab the game’s first dominating lead. Behind some huge hits by senior Jennifer Heppert, Free State battled back to tie the game at 24-all. LHS senior Bobi Riley had an emphatic kill to put Lawrence up 25-24, and a net violation by Free State gave the first game to the Lions.

The intensity level increased in game two, as Lawrence muscled its way to a commanding 23-16 lead, and Free State’s season was on the ropes.

Two kills by junior Sarah Heider pulled the Firebirds within 24-22. On the ensuing point, Lawrence junior Lindsey Lawrence nearly won the game with a spike on the baseline, but it was ruled out, and gave the Firebirds one last breath. Free State senior Katelin Karlin then registered a huge block and a late kill that helped the Firebirds prevail 27-25 gain momentum.

“We’ve kinda been doing that all year, digging ourselves in a hole and then crawling back,” Free State coach Nancy Hopkins said. “The second game was our sheer determination and our want for the season not be done.”

Surprisingly, though, the Lawrence players showed no signs of letdown or frustration.

“Honestly, the girls were in each other’s faces saying they were gonna win this thing,” Lamere said. “No one was gonna take it from them, and they knew they deserved to win.”

In game three, the Firebirds once again had to rally late, and again tied the game at 24. This time, though, there was no denying Riley, who ended the match with two consecutive booming spikes. Riley, who has been the team’s leader down the stretch, had an outstanding afternoon highlighted by 12 kills against Free State.

6Sports video: Lions bring down Firebirds (10-30-04)

The victory let everyone in the Kansas Expocentre know that even though Lawrence faces another daunting task today beginning with Aquinas at 10 a.m., the Lions are not necessarily ready to remove their Nike glass slippers.

“We knew we could do it the whole time, there was no question,” Riley said. “There wasn’t a point in my mind where I ever thought that we were gonna lose (game three). I knew we could pull it out.”