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Lawrence High’s Anabel Berger and Selah Simien hug at the end of the Lions’ senior night match against Tonganoxie on Oct. 21, 2025 at Lawrence High School.

Tuesday evening’s topsy-turvy Senior Night victory over the visiting Tonganoxie seemed to perfectly encapsulate the Lawrence High volleyball team’s adversity-filled season.

“There were moments tonight where it was absolutely some of the best volleyball we’ve put on the floor this season,” said Lawrence head coach Deborah Newkirk. “And we had other moments where the struggle was real.”

Lawrence (10-22, 4-10 Sunflower League) emerged victorious in a seesaw opening set, 25-23. The Lions trailed by margins of 12-6 and 16-10 in the second set — ultimately reeling off 15 of the final 19 points to seize a 2-0 lead. During the second set comeback, the Lions received strong play on the front row from senior Anabel Berger and sophomore Macy Saunders, as the duo came up with numerous blocks to key the run.

Tonganoxie (15-18-3) opened the third set on a 14-2 spree en route to a decisive 25-7 win. The Lions regrouped in the fourth set, leading throughout. Tonganoxie didn’t go quietly, using a 5-0 blitz to knot the contest at 23-all. But the Lions held off Tonganoxie’s late surge by tallying the final two points for the three sets to one triumph.

Newkirk said she was pleased with her squad’s ability to “dust ourselves off” after trailing big for the entirety of the third set.

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Lawrence High’s Anabel Berger goes up for a spike during her team’s match against Tonganoxie.

“I was proud of how we faced adversity and just moved on,” she said. “They truly play to defend this floor and proved that tonight. I just don’t think there was any way they were going to walk out with a loss tonight.”

The Lions’ winding journey included a 10-game losing skid to open the season, while also grappling with an injury to star senior libero Kennedy “K Jo” Glasgow. And while she’s been rehabbing the injury for the vast majority of the season, Glasgow said she couldn’t be prouder of her teammates for getting on the right track. The team’s first victory came on Sept. 18 in a 3-0 sweep of Shawnee Mission North.

“We needed that one win to really flip the dynamic — to flip everything mentally,” said Glasgow, who has inked to continue her volleyball career with NCAA D1 Indiana State University.

Glasgow also noted that the team is mostly a blend of seniors and sophomores, and that the underclassmen started to gel with the seniors after gaining valuable experience against stiffer league competition.

“Some of them had never played against the [Class] 6A part of our league, so I knew it was going to be difficult early on,” she said. “We knew that going into October we had to flip the switch and work harder than we ever had before.”

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Lawrence High’s Selah Simien elevates for a serve during her team’s match against Tonganoxie.

Senior setter Nyah Everhart pointed to the team’s competitiveness in absorbing tough losses in hard-fought matches. “We’re always focused on sticking together and not worrying about the last point — and just have a ‘next-ball’ mentality. We definitely stayed competitive, even though we were down sometimes.”

Senior libero Selah Simien said she thoroughly enjoyed playing the role of mentor to underclassmen who were thrown into the fire.

“Just getting to teach them the game I love so much and helping them find that love for the game as well,” said Simien, who has committed to play for NCAA D1 Jacksonville University.

Berger, a senior middle blocker, echoed Simein’s sentiments. Newkirk, meanwhile, called it a “true mentor program.”

“We have a beautiful group of girls that have meshed really well together, and I think you can really see that on the court,” said Berger, who has committed to play volleyball with Bellevue University, an NAIA school in Nebraska.

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Lawrence High players huddle up between points during the team’s match against Tonganoxie.

“Even when we’re down by a lot, we’re never a negative team and are very uplifting.”

The Lions are set to clash with Olathe Northwest in their opening-round match of Sub-State on Saturday, Oct. 25 at Olathe Northwest High School.

“After tonight’s big win, I think we’re coming into the postseason hot,” Simien said.

Newkirk also believes that the Lions are peeking at the right time.

“We’ve had seven wins over the last two weeks, and two wins in a tournament last weekend.”

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Lawrence High’s Libby English (15) awaits the swarm of her teammates after a point in match against Tonganoxie.

Nate Wolfe/N8W Photos

Lawrence High’s Rael Simien and Madi Glasgow attempt to block a spike by a Tonganoxie player during the Lions’ senior night match on Oct. 21, 2025.