Olathe ? The Free State volleyball team lost three matches on Wednesday at Olathe Northwest.

The Firebirds (4-9) fell to Shawnee Mission East (24-26, 12-25), Blue Valley North (20-25, 20-25) and Olathe Northwest (25-22, 16-25, 20-25).

Free State coach Nancy Hopkins cited the solid play of sophomore Adele Loney, who earned a spot start in the place of a teammate who was sick.

We’re trying to get everybody up to speed,” Hopkins said. “In the long run, we’ll be OK. We did a lot of good things tonight, which is positive against tough teams.”

FSHS will play in the Topeka Seaman Invite on Saturday.