photo by: Carter Gaskins

Free State's Aubrey Duncan (11) looks to score off a spike over Lawrence High's Gianna Cooper (15) on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019, at FSHS.

Free State’s volleyball team clawed its way back to .500 for the first time all season with a much-needed road sweep at the Shawnee Mission North triangular on Tuesday.

The Firebirds, who are now 4-4 on the year after losing their first four matches of the season, secured a pair of 2-0 victories over Shawnee Mission North and Shawnee Mission West. FSHS recorded a 26-24, 25-20 win over Shawnee Mission North and a 25-18, 25-14 victory over Shawnee Mission West.

Free State has now won four matches in a row, all four of which have been against Sunflower League opponents. The Firebirds, who won a league crown a season ago during Jayme Savage’s first season at the helm, haven’t dropped a single set over the previous four matches.

According to MaxPreps, sophomore Aubrey Duncan is leading Free State’s attack with 44 kills so far this season. Senior Grace Branson and sophomore Sawyer Thomsen each have a team-high nine blocks on the defensive end. Sophomore Rylee Unruh is currently pacing the squad with 105 assists on the year.

LHS volleyball picks up two more wins

Lawrence High’s volleyball team, meanwhile, is above .500 on the year after going 2-2 in a tournament at Lansing High School this past weekend.

The Lions (6-5) secured a 2-0 win over Blue Valley Southwest (25-15, 25-23) and a 2-0 victory over Platte County (27-25, 28-26) on Saturday. LHS also lost in straight sets to Lansing (25-17, 25-12) and Spring Hill (25-15, 25-15) in the same event.

For the season, junior Gianna Cooper had been a force around the net and delivered a team-high 73 kills for the Lions. Senior I’yawa Brewer had produced 62 kills through the first 26 sets of the season. Senior Ozi Ajekwu has a team-high 37 blocks for Lawrence’s defense, while junior Brenna Schwada has 102 assists for the offense.

LHS girls tennis falters in home quad

Lawrence High’s girls tennis team was only able to come away with a trio of victories in a home quadrangular on Monday.

After getting swept by Washburn Rural in the first round, LHS bounced back to pick up two wins against Shawnee Mission South in Round 2. Katie Logan, the team’s top singles player, secured an 8-6 win over Kara Lorenz of Shawnee Mission South. Lilli Derby and Laura Teska then recorded a 7-3 victory over SM South in No. 1 doubles action.

Lawrence’s only other win came in No. 2 doubles against Topeka High in the third and final round.

Free State’s girls tennis team, meanwhile, went just 3-9 during a Shawnee Mission South quadrangular on Tuesday. Keegan VanPelt claimed a second-place finish by going 2-1 in No. 1 singles. Maya Lee and Dayna Steadman secured Free State’s only other win on the day, going 1-2 overall in No. 1 doubles.

Lawrence High quadrangular

Monday at LHS

Round 1: LHS 0, Washburn Rural 4

No. 1 singles: Katie Logan falls, 8-0, to Sheridan Whichman

No. 2 singles: Ryleigh Leon falls, 8-3, to Kayla Peter

No. 1 doubles: Lilli Derby/Laura Teska falls, 8-1, Kate Fritz/Meredith Kucera

No. 2 doubles: Abby Marsh/Bella Kirkwood falls, 8-1, Gwen Clark/Shelby Schmutzler

Round 2: LHS 2, SM South 2

1S: Logan def., 8-6, Kara Lorenz

2S: Marsh falls, 8-4, Lauren Gunter

1D: Derby/Teska def., 7-3, Madison Hanna/Mary Novak

2D: Leon/Kirkwood falls, 8-5, Nelly Hopkins/Madeleine Enko

Round 3: LHS 1, Topeka High 3

1S: Logan falls, 8-3, to THS

2S: Marsh falls, 8-1, to THS

1D: Derby/Teska falls, 8-5, to THS

2D: Leon/Kirkwood def., 8-3, THS.

Local soccer teams in action

Plenty of area soccer programs have been in action early in the week.

Free State actually played two matches in back-to-back days, earning a 4-1 win over De Soto on Monday before suffering a 3-0 loss to Olathe Northwest on Tuesday. The Firebirds, who began their year with a win in the city showdown, are now 2-1 to start the season.

Speaking of LHS, Mike Murphy’s squad dropped its second consecutive match. Lawrence fell to Mill Valley, 3-1, on Tuesday to move to 3-2 on the year. Senior Alec Murphy scored off a corner kick, which was set up by senior Nicholas Davies.

Bishop Seabury’s boys soccer team was on the wrong end of a thrilling match that went to sudden death overtime. Kansas City East handed BSA a 3-2 home loss on Tuesday. Beck Oldridge and Harrison Hartzler knocked in the Seahawks’ two scores.

Eudora earned a 3-1 victory over Atchison on Saturday at EHS. Senior Dylan Meier, senior Jace McCormick and senior Alex Kooken all scored to help the Cardinals improve to 2-2 on the year. Senior goalies Brenten Ormsby and Devon Moncrief combined to post a second-half shutout in the win.