photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State junior middle hitter Marlea Copeland celebrates a block in a City Showdown win over Lawrence High on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Lawrence. The Firebirds won all three sets in the match and never played from behind. That didn't stop Lawrence High from staying in each set with runs of its own, but the Firebirds made the plays at the end of each set to win.

The Free State and Lawrence volleyball teams circle the City Showdown every year, and for the third year in a row, the Firebirds were the ones to get the glory.

Free State never trailed against Lawrence as the Firebirds went into Lawrence High and came away with a 3-0 win.

“We did a nice job of not letting our mistakes turn into multiple points,” Free State coach Joel Grillot said. “We fell into that trap a little bit on Tuesday at Olathe West. It was nice to rebound in that fashion and realize that other teams are going to score points — our goal is to make sure it doesn’t turn into runs.”

The Firebirds did just that against Lawrence on Thursday. Lawrence made plays and scored points. The home Lions fed off the crowd and never backed down. But the Lions had a harder time stringing momentum from one play to the next and didn’t have a run of more than five points all night.

The emotions of the match were apparent from the start. Both teams suffered from a higher number of service errors than usual, although both teams got a little more settled. Grillot said that for Free State, the issue came more from the team trying to avoid mistakes, adding that serving lightly “isn’t going to bode well for us.”

“In this game, they’re always all amped up and trying to do too much,” Grillot said. “We worked on just trying to get it in. They were so worried about making mistakes… but we’ve got to be aggressive in the service line. I can live with some mistakes, as long as they’re minimal. We’ve got to stay aggressive.”

Free State senior setter Tessa Nover-Estes got the first point of the night on a kill, and the Firebirds jumped out to a 6-3 lead with a kill from senior middle hitter Anniston Clark. The Lions kept the margin within three points, thanks to timely kills from junior middle hitter Madison Glasgow and junior middle hitter Kate Lewis.

The Firebirds began to pull away and built a 15-7 lead that was emphasized by kills from Clark and her freshman sister Bryna Clark. Those kills led to Lawrence timeout, but the Firebirds were the ones to go on a run out of the break, taking a 20-7 lead. The final 10 points were split between the two squads, giving Free State the 25-12 set win.

Free State started with the lead once again in the second set, jumping out to a 9-2 advantage that forced a Lawrence timeout. Lawrence got the first point out of the break on a Free State service error, but a service error on Lawrence got Free State the ball back. Senior outside hitter Daisy Devlin’s kill and junior middle hitter Marlea Copeland’s block got the Free State offense moving, building a double-digit lead.

The Firebirds were only three points away from a set win with Lawrence down by nine, but the Lions put together their best run of the night. Lewis and Glasgow were aided by junior Mya Monroe in scoring, while the defense of senior defensive specialist Jane Platt and sophomore libero Katelyn Valbuena kept the offense in rhythm during the five-point run, but Free State settled in and closed out the run with a Devlin kill. The Firebirds took the rest of the set 25-18.

Free State got off to a similar fast start in the third set with an 8-2 lead before Lawrence called timeout. The Lions cut the lead down out of the break, but Free State regained the momentum and built a 10-point cushion before Lawrence called its second timeout with the Firebirds up 19-9.

Free State closed out with a 6-4 advantage, with sophomore middle hitter Grace Toner’s kill serving as the exclamation point to take the set 25-13 and win the match 3-0.

The City Showdown always takes up a little more attention in the days prior than a typical match, so the win for the Firebirds gives them some momentum as they focus on the final month of the regular season.

“It’s kind of that grind part where maybe we’re not feeling as fresh, maybe we’re a little sore and banged up, and maybe we’ve spent a little too much time together in the gym,” Grillot said. “It’s nice to push through some of these matches in this part of the season so that we can make sure we’re playing our best volleyball down the stretch.”

The Lions still have a lot of matches left to build on after a strong showing in the City Showdown. Lawrence has six Sunflower League matches left on the schedule before a tournament in Emporia on the final Saturday of the regular season.

Free State will host Olathe North on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., while Lawrence will host Olathe Northwest on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore libero Katelyn Valbuena gets low for a dig in the City Showdown against Free State on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Lawrence. The Lions stayed aggressive in the match and put up runs in each set, but the Firebirds were able to hold onto a lead throughout the match and won 3-0 over Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence senior defensive specialist Jane Platt goes for a dig in a 3-0 City Showdown loss to Free State on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State senior middle hitter Anniston Clark digs for the ball in a 3-0 City Showdown win over Lawrence on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence celebrates a point in a 3-0 City Showdown loss to Free State on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State freshman outside hitter Devyn Copeland runs across the court in a 3-0 City Showdown win over Lawrence on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore libero Katelyn Valbuena serves the ball in a 3-0 City Showdown loss to Free State on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State senior middle hitter Anniston Clark, left, and freshman outside hitter Bryna Clark prepare for the serve in a 3-0 City Showdown win over Lawrence on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior setter Libby English eyes the ball in a 3-0 City Showdown loss to Free State on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State senior defensive specialist Aiyanna Moss bumps the ball in a 3-0 City Showdown win over Lawrence on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore libero Katelyn Valbuena bumps the ball in a 3-0 City Showdown loss to Free State on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State junior setter Makayla Ingersoll serves the ball in a 3-0 City Showdown win over Lawrence on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence junior setter Libby English, left, and junior middle hitter Kate Saunders prepare for the serve in a 3-0 City Showdown loss to Free State on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Lawrence.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State senior setter Tessa Nover-Estes sets the ball in a 3-0 City Showdown win over Lawrence on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Lawrence.