Free State senior middle hitter Haley Hippe (20) and her team celebrate a kill. The Firebirds defeated Olathe North 2-1 on Tuesday, Sept. 10.

Free State’s volleyball team picked up a pair of wins at Shawnee Mission West Tuesday night.

The Firebirds swept both of their opponents, taking down Shawnee Mission West (25-17, 25-14) and Olathe West (25-17, 25-14) on the night to stay on a roll. FSHS (16-9) has now won eight of its previous 10 matches.

Many athletes have fueled this recent run by the Firebirds. For the season, senior Kaitlyn Hamilton paced the team with 102 kills. She was even named to the all-tournament team at the Seaman Invitational this past weekend.

Freshman Aubrey Duncan is leading the team with 37 total blocks, though both senior Haley Hippe (27) and Hamilton (20) have also been forces at the net. Rylee Unruh has registered a team-high 104 digs in 29 sets played. Unruh and senior Mya Gleason each have 12 aces on the year.

Gleason is leading the team with 127 assists, while senior Emily Arensberg also has 108 assists this fall.

Free State will take on Lawrence High at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

LHS volleyball suffers two defeats

Lawrence’s volleyball team dropped a pair of hard-fought matches on the road Tuesday night.

The Lions fell in straight sets against Olathe North (25-21, 25-17) and Olathe Northwest (25-22, 25-15) at Olathe Northwest. The Lions are now 5-12 on the year, while posting a 4-4 clip over their previous eight matches.

Entering Tuesday, both Asjah Harris and Gianna Cooper led the team with 68 kills. Keely English is pacing the squad with 111 assists, while Brenna Schwada has 107 assists on the year.

Lawrence will play host to Shawnee Mission East on Thursday.

LHS soccer falls at home

Lawrence’s boys soccer team dropped a 3-0 decision to Olathe South Tuesday night at LHS.

The Lions surrendered all three scores in the first half in the loss. Olathe South scored the first goal with 17 minutes remaining in the first half. The Falcons then scored two more times in the final seven-plus minutes of the first half. LHS still managed to fire off 14 shot attempts in the loss.

Lawrence (4-3-2) will travel to Shawnee Mission North at 7 p.m. Thursday.

THS surrenders early lead

Despite leading by two scores, Tonganoxie’s boys soccer suffered a 3-2 road loss to Louisburg Tuesday night.

The Chieftains scored both of their goals in the first half, with each coming off the foot of Javi Trujillo. Louisburg, which scored once in the first half, forced overtime with a second-half score. LHS then delivered the game-winning goal in overtime.

Regional assignments announced

With the postseason just around the corner, KSHSAA has released multiple regional assignments this week.

For cross-country, all regional meets will take place on Saturday, Oct. 26. Lawrence High and Free State will both be in the same 6A regional meet at Milford State Park. Baldwin will host a 4A regional meet, which will include both Eudora and Tonganoxie.

Perry-Lecompton, which is a 3A program, will participate in a meet at Leonardville Golf Course. Bishop Seabury will compete in a 2A regional meet at Richmond Central Heights.

In volleyball, Perry-Lecompton will host a 3A sub-state bracket on Saturday, Oct. 26. Bishop Seabury will compete in a Class 2A sub-state bracket at Wabaunsee. For soccer, Baldwin, Eudora, Bishop Seabury and Tonganoxie are all slated to compete in the 4-1A east region.