photo by: Grady Johnson/Special to the Journal-World

The Free State volleyball team poses with a plaque after winning a substate championship on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Lawrence.

Free State volleyball’s biggest goal in 2026 was a simple one: get back to the state tournament.

With that goal now accomplished, an even larger one awaits. After going 0-3 in last year’s Class 6A tournament as the No. 8 seed, the Firebirds are looking to improve upon those results with a mission to advance past pool play and into the state semifinals.

“It’s going to be super fun,” senior Anniston Clark said. “We’re definitely going to enjoy it the rest of the weekend and have the weight of substate off our shoulders.”

The Firebirds (25-7) were able to punch their ticket to the state tournament for a second year in a row, the first time the program has accomplished the feat since 2022, with a sweep of Wichita Northwest (25-16, 25-13) in the championship match.

The experience of playing in the Sunflower League, which has produced two of the last three 6A state championships (both won by Mill Valley), was very influential throughout the season for Free State, which will likely see some of those familiar foes again at state.

“Obviously, playing in a tough Sunflower League, you’re going to take your bumps, and we play a pretty rigorous schedule against really good opponents,” head coach Joel Grillot said. “Throughout the season, anytime things were good (or when) we took some hits, we just reminded them, no matter what, our goal is still out there for us to achieve, and that’s to make it back and compete at state.”

Hosting a substate tournament for the first time since 2021, the Firebirds began the championship match trailing 3-1 before a pair of kills by Clark and back-to-back aces by her younger sister, Bryna, pushed the hosts ahead 8-3.

“She’s just been our leader all season long,” Grillot said of Anniston Clark. “Last I checked, she’s leading Class 6A in blocks by a wide margin (24 to be exact), and then just her emotion. She’s our emotional leader, as well, and when she’s on, she plays with fire. The rest of the team tends to follow.”

The elder Clark takes her role seriously as a leader both on and off the court, often encouraging her teammates when things tend to go downhill, and being the first one to hug a teammate after a big point.

“I know (the younger players) look up a lot to me,” Anniston Clark said, “So just making sure that we give eye contact and I make eye contact with everyone on the court is really important, too.”

After the timeout, the Firebirds slowly began to pull away, leading by as many as 10 points. The Grizzlies cut the lead down to six, forcing a timeout, but Free State stepped right back on the gas, taking the opening set 25-16 after another kill by Anniston Clark.

That momentum carried over into the first set as in the blink of an eye, Free State had a 12-1 advantage thanks to kills by both Clark sisters and an impressive serving run by senior setter Tessa Nover-Estes that included two aces.

“We are such a good team when we can apply pressure at the service line, and when we keep teams out of system, we feel very strong in our ability,” Grillot said. “We’ve got a strong block at the net, and obviously we have some good attackers, but it starts with serve and pass.”

The lead only continued to grow thanks to more kills from the Clark sisters, as well as a kill from senior Daisy Devlin before junior middle blocker Marlea Copeland sent the Firebirds back to the state tournament with a kill on an overpass to win the match in two sets.

“The biggest thing for this group is like, you know, making it back (to state), yes, that’s our goal,” Grillot said, “But I think we feel like this is a team that not only made it back to state, but can go and compete. And again, we just had to get through this hurdle today, but I feel like they believe that they can go to the state tournament next week and compete with the hope to maybe make it to that second day.”

It will be a tough road ahead for the Firebirds, but playing familiar opponents at the state tournament could provide some comfort from a scouting perspective.

Pool play will begin on Thursday at the AdventHealth Sports Park at Bluhawk in Overland Park, with the semifinal and championship rounds to be played on Saturday.

“We’re going for the state title,” Devlin said. “That’s what we want to do. That’s what we’re here for.”

FIREBIRDS TAKE CARE OF WICHITA-HAYSVILLE CAMPUS IN SEMIFINAL

Free State started off the afternoon strong with a dominant first set of its semifinal match, using long scoring stretches of eight and 11 points, ending the game with back-to-back aces by Clark to take the first 25-3.

The second set was much more competitive, as the Colts led by as many as two thanks to some errors by the Firebirds.

Trailing 10-8, Free State rallied off six straight points to take a commanding lead in the second game. Campus got as close as three, but the Firebirds held off a late rally sparked by three kills from Grace Toner to take the set, 25-21, and finish off the sweep.