photo by: Mike Yoder

Lawrence High volleyball players Amelia Dunlap (14) and Laurel Bird (4) celebrate a point during a match at a quadrangular tournament Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016, at LHS.

The Jungle has treated Lawrence High’s volleyball team well to start the 2016 campaign, as the Lions rattled off three more wins Tuesday in their home gym by defeating Rossville, Topeka High and Washburn Rural.

The Lions also defeated Basehor-Linwood and Ottawa at home on Thursday after falling to Blue Valley Northwest on the road in their season opener.

“It was a fantastic night. I don’t know how to describe it,” Lawrence High coach Stephanie Magnuson said of Tuesday’s quadrangular. “They showed a lot of grit, and they did last Thursday as well. They’re just showing that they can compete.”

Junior Katelyn Mask led the Lions in their two-set sweep of Rossville (25-14, 25-15). With the first set deadlocked at 12-12 after a 6-0 Rossville run, Mask came up with a kill and two aces as the Lions responded with a 6-0 spurt of their own on the way to winning 13 of the last 15 points.

Mask had a team-high nine kills against the Bulldogs, and was tied with sophomore Baylee Unruh for a LHS-best 23 winners for the quad. Unruh and Mask are both in their first full season of varsity action, and have embraced the challenge to compete at the highest level.

“It really gives you confidence to know that you can step up from JV straight to varsity and starting like we both did,” Mask said. “We played together last year and we’ve both stepped up. It’s been great. It’s helped everyone.”

Unruh and Mask helped build an early lead in the first set against Topeka High as well, but the Lions saw a 20-14 advantage go by the wayside as they lost 11 of the final 14 points. The Lions were able to brush off the first-set collapse, though, as they went on to turn back the Trojans in three sets (23-25, 25-16, 25-22).

Sophomore libero Lauren Maceli came up with back-to-back aces late in the third set against the Trojans and joined Mask and Unruh with double-digit digs in the win over Topeka High with 14.

“We trust her back there. She gets almost everything up,” Unruh said of Maceli said. “She doesn’t let up on balls. She’s pretty much our back row.”

The Lions’ three-set victory over the Trojans set up a tilt against Washburn Rural for the chance to stay undefeated on their home court. Rural entered the season ranked No. 8 in the Kansas Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll, but the young Lawrence High team was not fazed, as the Lions swept the Junior Blues (26-24, 25-21).

“Washburn has always been really good,” Mask said. “It was really nice to beat them.”

Maceli, Mask and Unruh set the tone defensively again with 15, 14 and 12 digs, respectively. Mask and Maceli tied for the team lead in digs in the quad with 40 digs, and Unruh was close behind with 36.

Along with her 12 digs, Unruh also added 12 kills in the Lions’ final match. Magnuson felt the versatile play of the LHS sophomore was indicative of how her team performed as a whole.

“All of our players are well-rounded players. They aren’t just one position,” Magnuson said. “They can play anywhere and they can play anywhere and they can play all around the court.”

Lawrence High and Rural were knotted at 21-21 late in the second set, but the Lions won the final four points — with the final one coming after a block from sophomore Brooke Wroten that rolled across the top of the net and eventually to the Junior Blues side of the floor.

“I think it will help boost our confidence a lot because we’re kind of a smaller and younger team,” Mask said of beating a top-10 ranked team. “Just the fact that we have the confidence and the encouragement of each other as teammates to push each other and do better really helps.”

The Lions will try to carry over their winnings ways on the road on Thursday at the Olathe South quad against the host Falcons, Shawnee Mission West and SM South.