photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State's Annika Lintecum, left, Tessa Nover-Estes, middle, and Anniston Clark talk before a serve in a 3-1 win over Lawrence on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, at Free State High School in Lawrence.

Free State junior setter Tessa Nover-Estes looks around the court to make sure she knows who is where before each serve. For most of her playing career, she’s had Anniston Clark next to her.

“I always know where she is,” Nover-Estes said. “I know exactly where to put the ball for her. I know if it’s too high or too low or how to adjust to her.”

When the two got to high school, they met Annika Lintecum, an outside hitter a grade above them. The chemistry that Clark and Nover-Estes built immediately coalesced around Lintecum.

“With Annika, I feel like we just figured it out real quickly,” Nover-Estes said.

“I think our chemistry was just there from the beginning,” Linctecum added. “We have a good way of communicating, and it just clicked.”

The three are leading Free State’s offense as the team stands at fifth in the 6A West region at 13-8. Their ability to play off each other and understand what they are each thinking has helped them become so potent.

When Nover-Estes is taking stock of who is where before a play, she looks for her options, thinks about who has been hitting better and where the block is so she can shift and give her hitters a better window to make a play. She says with the preplay process, “a lot of it is peripherals and knowing who you have and your strong hitters.”

Sometimes, the decision on who to set the ball to is a lot less complicated. Sometimes, she gets a look, a specific look from Clark that means to give her the ball. If Clark gets blocked or commits an error, she lets Nover-Estes know to set the ball her way again.

“As a setter, I know how to read faces well, so I can tell with both (Clark and Lintecum) when they want the next ball,” Nover-Estes said. “I can see if they’re frustrated or if they’re ready to get the ball again.”

For both Clark and Lintecum, that usually means to get the ball again. With Clark in particular, she likes to make it known that she’s ready to go. When she does get the ball and she spikes it, she mean mugs her opponents to celebrate.

“It’s just in the moment, I can’t control myself,” Clark said. “It just happens, and that’s just me as a player and a person.”

Her teammates love it, because it’s part of the swagger and confidence that makes Clark such an effective hitter. It’s a confidence that is palpable for the rest of the team, and others can play off of it, too.

So much of their ability to feed and play off each other comes from a friendship they have built beyond volleyball. They can be honest, they can problem solve and they can lift each other up. No matter what, they know how to get the best out of each other.

“Being friends on and off the court is important because we can carry those friendships and that love through the team,” Lintecum said. “We’re able to give each other toughness and critiques we need and we never take it in a bad way.”

Free State coach Jayme Savage said she trusts Nover-Estes to run the offense, and when a setter has the kind of chemistry with her hitters like she does with Clark and Lintecum, it means good things for a team.

“When you have a good defense to back it up, a lot of good things are going to unfold,” Savage said.

After a small losing streak, the Firebirds have found some rhythm with back-to-back wins, including a 3-1 win over Lawrence during the City Showdown on Thursday. For the team, it was important to mentally pick themselves up and not let mistakes compound both in games and across weeks. Having a bond like the one that Clark, Lintecum and Nover-Estes have helps the team avoid slumping.

“This week, not only this game, brought back our groove,” Clark said. “We did have that rough patch and that season low, but I think from now all we can go is up.”

To keep the team rolling as the postseason comes, the Firebirds need to stick together and compete as one, and that starts with the offensive trio of Clark, Lintecum and Nover-Estes.

“We have some tough in-conference games coming up now, but our energy and connection is back where it needs to be, and I’m confident we can go where we need to go,” Clark said. “It’s a good time to get that back.”