photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Sophomore outside hitter Tessa Nover-Estes rises up to pass the ball to a teammate during a volleyball triangular against Manhattan on Monday, September 9, 2024 at Free State High School.

No matter the situation, the Free State volleyball team could rally around each other. At various points in the team’s win against Manhattan during a Monday night volleyball triangular at Free State High School, the Firebirds were facing a deficit with the momentum on their opponent’s side.

It didn’t matter. The Firebirds played sound volleyball and were largely mistake-free during the clutch moments of the game, and they won in two sets, 25-22 and 25-23.

In Free State’s second game of the night, things were a little different. The Firebirds couldn’t finish strong in their final two sets against Blue Valley Northwest and lost 2-1.

It’s an up-and-down result that is understandable for a start of the season. The results showed what the Firebirds have to keep fixing in order to achieve their season goals.

“I like how mentally tough we are,” coach Jayme Savage said. “This is a tough group and we don’t get rattled easily. I thought we served aggressively, we did a lot of good things defensively — we didn’t let a lot hit the ground.”

What stands out about the Firebirds is their defense. Many players at the high school level can get under the ball after an attack, but players often don’t put it back in play where a teammate can get to it. That’s not the case with the Firebirds. Their defense not only secures the ball to prevent a kill, but the back line puts it in a position for the setters and hitters to make a play.

“We practice a lot of different variations of out-of-system balls to ensure that they’re comfortable with what to do,” Savage said. “A lot of that is established trust: They have to trust each other in their roles and execute those rules in each rotation.”

The Firebirds started slow in their first set against Manhattan, going down 5-2 and later 11-5. A timeout regrouped the team and they fought back to take a 14-12 lead before both teams began scoring equally. The Firebirds fell behind 20-16 late, but finished on a 9-2 run to win the first set.

The second set started evenly, but Manhattan held a slight advantage that the Firebirds were trying to catch up to. After going down 15-11, the Firebirds tied the set at 18 each before outscoring Manhattan 7-5 to win the match.

Despite having over an hour of a break while Manhattan and Blue Valley Northwest played each other, the Firebirds started their game against the Huskies quickly and aggressively. The Firebirds started with a 7-0 run which stretched to a 12-5 lead before the Huskies called their second timeout.

The team felt some adversity soon after. Free State did push the lead to 16-6, but Blue Valley Northwest clawed back into the set with a 10-4 run to make it a 20-16 game. The Firebirds regrouped with a timeout and finished with a 25-17 win in the first set.

Blue Valley Northwest started the second set with the same momentum by scoring the first 5 points of the set. The moments where the Huskies gained some momentum coincided with Free State’s back line failing to accurately keep the ball close in play for its teammates. While the Firebirds made a few pushes in the second set, they were unable to overcome the Huskies momentum and lost 25-15.

In the final set of the night, the game was close but the Huskies maintained control for the majority of it. After an 11-11 tie, the Huskies finished the set with a 14-8 run to win the set and the game.

“The biggest problem in that last set was we gave too many free ball opportunities, which at this level nine out of 10 times a team will convert,” Savage said. “Moving forward we just need to work on those small, finite things in order to ensure we finish a set consistently.”

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Junior middle blocker Kennedy Flachsbarth looks in a the ball during Free State’s match against Manhattan on Monday, September 9, 2024 at Free State High School.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Senior Lilly Wall gets low for a dig against Manhattan during a volleyball triangular at Free State High School on Monday, September 9, 2024.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Sophomore middle blocker Tessa Nover-Estes passes the ball behind her to teammate Ainsley Linhos during a game against Manhattan in a volleyball triangular at Free State High School on Monday, September 9, 2024.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Senior libero Karsen Chapman dives for a dig against Manhattan during a volleyball triangular at Free State High School on Monday, September 9, 2024.