The Lawrence High and Free State volleyball matchup could be summed up in one word: messy.

The very first point of the match was won on an error by LHS. Game two was taken by the Lions on an error by the Firebirds off the LHS serve for game-point. Game three, which had two controversial calls that favored the Lions, was decided on an error by Free State.

Add it up and the final result was a a 25-27, 25-17, 25-20 victory for the Lions as part of a quadrangular Thursday at LHS.

It was the first win for new LHS coach Molly LaMere in the intracity rivalry.

“Molly took us out into the hallway after we had lost (the first game), because we were all really bummed about that,” senior Kayla Nolte said. “We just got pumped up, and we were all screaming what we were going to do, and then we came in and got ‘er done.”

In the first game, Free State held a 14-7 lead before giving up five consecutive points. But LHS never closed the rally, giving the Firebirds the first game.

In game two, Free State attempted to rally back from a 21-11 deficit, using three straight errors by the Lions, but could not finish off the match. An error by the Firebirds off a Sydney Wilson serve brought the match to one game apiece.

“We finished the first (game) pretty good,” said Free State junior Kelsey Harrison, who led the team in kills (15) and service aces (11) in the Firebirds’ three matches, “and then I think we just ended up getting down a few points and getting down on ourselves.”

Game three was about controversial calls. The first came with Free State up 4-1, when a ball that many Free State players and fans thought was out was called in for a point for LHS.

With the score 11-10 in favor of the Lions, there was a controversy over who was supposed to be serving for LHS.

“We had a lot of momentum going into the third game until the screw up with the scorebook,” Free State coach Nancy Hopkins said about the serving mistake. “That wasn’t corrected, which was a two-point differential, and it kind of blew our momentum.”

The serve had resulted in a point for LHS, but was supposedly served by a player out of turn. The five-minute delay trying to clear up the mess actually worked in favor of Free State as it took the next three points.

However, with the score tied at 18, the Lions won seven of the final nine points.

Free State swept Shawnee Mission North 25-23, 25-16, and Olathe North 25-7, 25-17 in its first two matches of the night.

LHS split its matches against the same two schools. The Lions swept Olathe North 25-19, 25-13, but lost to Shawnee Mission North 25-22, 26-28, 19-25.