Free State's Kelsey Harrison jumps to serve. The Firebirds defeated St. James, Olathe East and Leavenworth when they played host to a quad meet Thursday.

You can typically find Kelsey Harrison at a familiar spot on the volleyball court. The senior outside hitter is usually close to the net, leaping up and pounding kills past the opposition.

On Thursday night, Harrison made her presence felt away from the net – serving. Her serves were a critical part of Free State’s (17-5) victory against Leavenworth (3-13), 25-15, 25-15. Free State completed the sweep in its home quad against St. James Academy (13-6) and Olathe North (7-14).

Harrison served differently than everyone else on the floor. She jumped before she served the ball, creating more power in the offering. In the second game against Leavenworth, Harrison’s serving was so effective that it factored into six straight FSHS points. Four of these six points bounced off Pioneers players and out of bounds.

“You always want to serve aggressive, so you can get the other team out of its system, so they can’t put a ball away on you,” Harrison said.

Harrison said she practiced the jump serve for many years. She said there was more potential for error if you had a bad toss or hit the ball too low, but there is also a greater reward involved.

“Your toss is key in the jump serve,” Harrison explained. “Your toss has to be high enough to where you’re not hitting it low, and then it has to be effective enough to where you’re hitting it above the plane of the net. It floats more. It moves more, as opposed to the standing serve, which moves, but it’s not as effective.”

Harrison brought the Free State faithful to its feet in the third game against St. James Academy, when she generated a kill so hard that it bounced over the St. James Academy bench and into the crowd. Among the most popular of the Firebird faithful was senior Nick Goldring, who decorated his entire upper body in green paint. Goldring said he was a regular – paint and all – at Free State football and volleyball games. Harrison finished the night with 14 kills.

Firebirds Jessica Scott makes a dig on a spike by a St. James Academy opponent during a FSHS varsity volleyball quad meet at FSHS Thursday against St. James Academy, Olathe East and Leavenworth.

Despite the crowd’s energy in the FSHS sweep, coach Nancy Hopkins said her team failed to play with the intensity she wanted.

“It wasn’t a pretty night, but we came out with three victories, so I guess I have to be happy about that,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins attributed the lack of intensity to several factors. A few members on the team, including senior Ally Oliver, have been coping with flu-like symptoms the last few days. There were also on-the-court improvements for FSHS.

“They’re just not communicating real well right now, and I think part of it is they just get lethargic because they don’t feel very well,” Hopkins said. “We’re going to give them the day off tomorrow, and watch film of the Seaman tournament and look at some things that we did well.”

An individual who did not look lethargic on the court was senior Jessica Scott. The outside hitter dove for loose balls, produced blocks, kills, and even tipped a few floaters for points. Most notably, she produced both of the game-ending points against St. James Academy.

“I always want to be the one who gets that last kill or that last ace,” Scott said. “Everybody should feel that way. I love it. It’s a good point to end on because that’s the one everyone remembers.”