FSHS volleyball battles top teams, splits triangular

Free State junior Murphy O'Malley, left, congratulates freshman teammate Mya Gleason (10) after a point against St. Teresa's on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016 at FSHS.

In a battle between two heavyweights, Free State High and Shawnee Heights volleyball teams swung hard and launched big hit after big hit Tuesday at FSHS.

With plenty of twists and turns, Shawnee Heights outlasted the Firebirds in a three-set thriller, 26-24, 20-25, 25-23.

The Thunderbirds led by as many as eight points in the final set, 16-8, before the Firebirds rallied back with big blocks and kills from Naomi Hickman, Rachel Hickman and Larissa Gaumer.

?It was tied 18-all and 21-all before the Thunderbirds (31-6, ranked No. 1 in Class 5A) delivered a couple of big kills to pull away. On the final point, Free State junior libero Erin Cushing crashed into the stands to try to keep the play alive.

“It’s hard to lose, but it’s fun to play,” FSHS senior Natalie Clarke said. “It’s a good game. It makes us better. But it always sucks to lose games like that.”

Facing one of the top teams in the state, the Firebirds led, 23-18, in the first set before watching the Thunderbirds storm back to steal the set away. Led by 6-foot-3 senior Jazz Sweet (Nebraska commit) and 6-4 senior Megan Cooney (Illinois commit), the Thunderbirds fired shots over Free State blockers.

But that changed in the second set. After trailing by as many as six points, the Firebirds found a rhythm with their blocks from Clarke, Naomi Hickman, Cameryn Thomas and Payton Gannaway.

“Our blocking was very good this game, especially in the second and third set,” Gaumer said. “We really stepped it up.”

The Firebirds (22-6, ranked No. 4 in Class 6A) opened their triangular with a 25-22, 20-25, 25-16 victory over St. Teresa’s Academy.

Against a strong defensive team — the Stars are one of the top teams in Missouri with a 19-6 record — the Firebirds relied on their block to help score points.

“We have a hard schedule this whole week,” Free State coach Amy Hoffsommer said. “I’ve kind of looked at that in the past and thought, ‘Is that what we need? Do we need to put losses on our record right before sub-state?’ But we also need to know where we’re at and be challenged. It’s good to be good challenged.”

Against St. Teresa’s, Gannaway led with seven kills while Naomi Hickman had five kills and nine blocks. Rachel Hickman added four kills and seven blocks, and Clarke had three blocks.

“It’s good to play teams that are your caliber or better because they are only going to make you better,” Clarke said. “You’re never not going to benefit from playing good teams. It’s preparing us for sub-state.”

The Firebirds will play host to Bishop Miege and Topeka Hayden in a triangular at 5 p.m. Thursday.