From front to back: Lawrence High seniors Amelia Dunlap, Lexi Anglin and Abby Percich lead the Lions through the high-five line before their match against Topeka Hayden. The LHS trio celebrated their senior night, as the Lions defeated Manhattan, and lost to Washburn Rural and Hayden.

Lawrence High seniors Abby Percich, Amelia Dunlap and Lexi Anglin have only played one volleyball season together at the varsity level, and they got a chance to cherish it a little bit on Tuesday night during their final quadrangular at LHS.

The trio led the Lions to a record of 1-2 on senior night, as LHS swept Manhattan (26-24, 25-21) and lost in straight sets to Washburn Rural (25-16, 25-21) and Hayden (25-21, 27-25).

Although the three seniors had a few frustrating moments down the stretch in the Lions’ final match against Hayden, they all agreed that the night as a whole was a fun experience.

“We had a lot of energy on the court and off the court. Before the game, the underclassmen decorated the locker room with streamers and balloons,” Dunlap said. “It was just really cool to walk in and have it all decorated for us. I thought our team had really good chemistry tonight, and the underclassmen from JV that we brought up did really well tonight.”

The future of LHS volleyball was apparent with sophomores Lauren Maceli, Hannah Stewart and Baylee Unruh being core pieces of the back row, but the three LHS seniors enjoyed being front and center at the net when they were in the same rotations together.

“It’s awesome because we can just do our own thing,” Percich said of playing on the front row with Anglin and Dunlap. “We trust each other, and it’s just good with us all being together on the front row and just knowing that we can put it down and have fun.”

The LHS seniors are well aware that there are likely brighter days ahead for the program with the talented sophomore class getting its first varsity season under its belt. However, Anglin was happy to be at the center of attention with Dunlap and Percich on Tuesday, and get recognized for their efforts over the past four years.

“It was really nice just to get a night to ourselves because I feel like as a team, we’ve all been encouraging each other,” Anglin said. “I feel like some of the underclassmen have gotten the spotlight for a little bit, but it was nice to have some lights on us tonight.”

Along with joining Percich in anchoring the Lions’ front row, Anglin and Dunlap also got to sing the national anthem with junior Laurel Bird and Laura Willoughby before the Lions’ match against Hayden. Dunlap and Anglin are both in choir, and have enjoyed being able to participate in multiple extracurricular activities at LHS.

“It’s so fun,” Dunlap said. “I’m in lots of choirs and volleyball, so that takes up a lot of my time during the fall and it can get stressful. It’s worth every second.”

Dunlap helped get some of the jitters out of the way in the match against the Wildcats by recording the first kill of the match. Anglin and Dunlap also sparked a rally in the middle of the second set against Hayden before the Wildcats eventually prevailed.

Anglin and Dunlap helped the LHS underclassmen along this season, and have also welcomed Percich to the varsity squad with opened arms. Percich said the transition to the varsity level has been a seamless one because of how she’s been able to fit right in to the front row with the likes of her two senior teammates.

“This is my first year playing on varsity, so this is my first year playing with Amelia and Lexi,” Percich said. “It was just really great to be with them on senior night. We all work well together. We meshed really well together instantly.”

The Lions (9-21) will play in the Emporia tournament Saturday before hosting the City Showdown against Free State on Tuesday.