Free State High senior Naomi Hickman (29) hits the ball away from Bishop Miege blockers Brianna Moylan (8) and Maggie Smardo (11) during their match Thursday evening at FSHS.

After splitting matches in a triangular Tuesday, the mindset of Free State High’s volleyball players has changed.

Now, the Firebirds — who beat Bishop Miege (25-13, 20-25, 25-13) and Topeka Hayden (25-17, 25-19) in a home triangular on Thursday — expect to win when they take the court.

“We had a conversation in practice about it,” FSHS coach Amy Hoffsommer said. “We talked about now that we have met the challenge. We expect to win. This is now where we are at. We play the tough opponents and there is no excuse, this is all for the win at this point.”

On Tuesday, Free State (24-6, ranked No. 4 in Class 6A) split against two top-tier opponents in Shawnee Heights and St. Teresa’s Academy.

And after going toe-to-toe with two of the toughest foes they will face all season, the Firebirds feel confident about coming out on the winning side.

Even when they don’t play their best.

“We didn’t play our hardest,” senior middle hitter Natalie Clarke said. “These weren’t the hardest teams we have played recently. So we kind of backed off a bit. But we still won, so it’s a good thing.”

On Thursday, Free State struggled at times against two smart teams, who knew how to take advantage of scoring opportunities.

The Firebirds began the night as strong as ever, cruising to a 25-13 victory in the first set over the Stags. Bishop Miege struggled to defend senior middle hitter Naomi Hickman, who logged 13 kills in the first match.

But the Stags would respond and claimed the second set by five points.

“Anytime you go up against an opponent you have to figure out what they do and make your adjustments,” Hoffsommer said. “Our team does really well at that.”

Once the Firebirds figured out how to attack their opponents they dominated the final set. To complement Naomi Hickman’s play, the duo of sophomore Rachel Hickman and senior Payton Gannaway anchored the offensive attack with 15 combined kills.

Free State led nearly every point of the third set as freshman Mya Gleason and senior Jenalee Dickson recorded 17 and 13 assists, respectively for the first match.

In the second match, the Firebirds once again started off sluggish. Hayden traded punches with Free State in the first set ultimately working to a 16-16 tie, leading Hoffsommer to call a timeout.

“She just told us to calm down,” Clarke said. “They were not doing anything crazy hard. We know how to dig. We know how to block. Just do it. (Coach) just told us to relax a bit and we got it.”

Following the message, Free State strung five consecutive points together and closed out the first set on a 9-1 run, sealing a 25-17 victory.

With the added emphasis to get the middle hitters involved, the Firebirds controlled much of the second set. In fact, they led by as many as 10 points before clinching the 25-19 win to finish the evening with a 2-0 record.

The Hickman sisters led the way with 25 combined kills, while Gannaway (six kills) and freshman Kaitlyn Hamilton (four) were not far behind them. Clarke had four blocks and also notched a pair of kills.

“We did not bring the same level of play we did on Tuesday night,” Hoffsommer said. “But we brought a fairly focused level of play. The fact that we handled it pretty well is good.”

Free State will travel to Emporia for a tournament on Saturday at 8:30 a.m.