MAIZE ? The Lawrence High girls volleyball team placed first out of seven teams Saturday at a Maize tournament.

The Lions won five of six matches in pool play on the afternoon, with their lone loss coming in the second round against Manhattan.

“We got a whole lot better after that match,” Lawrence coach Jo Huntsinger said. “We talked a lot about mental toughness. It is a tough day, but something we needed to be able to get through.”

Huntsinger said the biggest key for her team in the tournament was its passing and cited Bobi Riley, Bonnie Toplikar, Drew DeBiasse and Kayla Nolte for solid play.

Lawrence was one of three schools to go 5-1, along with Newton and Manhattan. A tiebreaker decided on defensive points gave LHS first place.

LHS will play host Thursday to a quad with Shawnee Mission South, Olathe Northwest and Shawnee Maranatha.