Lawrence High junior Brooke Wroten (13) drills a spike against Free State blocker Haylee Kern during the City Showdown dual Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017 at LHS.

A few minutes following a five-set victory in the City Showdown, Lawrence High senior Katelyn Mask was hugging teammates and trying to fight back tears.

She helped set up the happy ending for the LHS volleyball team, breaking a 12-all tie against Free State in the fifth set with a key kill.

The Lions scored the final two points, securing a hard-fought 25-21, 25-20, 19-25, 14-25, 15-12 victory at LHS on Senior Night in a battle between two ranked teams. Lawrence won in an earlier matchup two weeks ago.

“I was just in my head saying this is my last Free State game,” said Mask, who had two kills in the fifth set. “I just wanted to win really bad. That’s all I could think of.

“It’s exciting and sad at the same time.”

After dropping two straight sets, Lawrence (24-11, ranked No. 7 in Class 6A) players met in their huddle and said they needed to clear their minds in the fifth and final set. They didn’t believe they were playing to their potential while the Firebirds ripped away momentum.

The Lions scored three straight points midway through the fifth set via a kill from junior Baylee Unruh, a block by junior Sammy Williams and a service ace by Unruh for a 10-7 lead.

Free State (25-14, ranked No. 8) responded with kills from senior Cameryn Thomas, junior Rachel Hickman and sophomore Kaitlyn Hamilton to eventually tie up the score, setting up the dramatic finish with the crowd growing louder with every point.

“Game 5 is a fresh start,” Lawrence coach Stephanie Scarbrough said of the message in the huddle. “We just go at them aggressive. They’re playing aggressive, as well, so we have to counter that with our defense.”

The Lions started fast in their first set victory, opening with a 9-4 lead. They featured a balanced offense from Unruh, Williams, Mask, Michaela Cordova and Brooke Wroten. Setters Laurel Bird and Laura Willoughby each recorded seven assists.

In the second set, senior Olivia Morgan and Cordova helped spark a 7-3 run with key kills against Free State’s defense, which registered 11.5 total blocks in the match (seven from Haylee Kern).

“I think there was a little bit of nerves,” Free State coach Keely Hammontree said. “It’s loud in that gym. It’s a fun environment to play in, but it’s also sometimes intimidating, I think.”

With their backs against the wall, the Firebirds, who won a Sunflower League title, pulled away with an 8-3 run in the middle of the third set and an 8-0 stretch in the fourth set. Hickman and Hamilton led the team with 13 kills apiece, while setter Mya Gleason had 40 assists. Behind a strong block, senior libero Erin Cushing had a team-high 24 digs.

“I think we became a little more comfortable with our surroundings,” said Thomas, who had 12 kills and 23 digs.

Lawrence libero Lauren Maceli added: “We just kind of let them take over and take our energy.”

With a fresh start in the fifth set, the Lions made sure to end their regular season exactly the way they wanted. Six different players recorded a kill in the fifth set, while Bird and Willougby combined on seven assists.

“It was just really exciting to finish out the (regular) season beating Free State on Senior Night, playing as a team and coming together,” Mask said. “We did really good tonight.”

Both schools will learn of their sub-state schedules today.