Gardner-Edgerton hadn't beaten Lawrence Free State on the road since October 9, 2021 but that history sure didn't bother them on Thursday. The Trailblazers came out on top against the Firebirds by a score of 3-1. This was a revenge game for the Trailblazers: when they faced off against the Firebirds back in August, they had to take a 2-0 loss.
Gardner-Edgerton had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 23-25, 26-24, 25-13, 25-19.

Bella Garcia
10/09/25 @ Lawrence Free State | 13 |
09/25/25 vs Olathe East | 12 |
10/07/25 @ Shawnee Mission East | 10 |
09/09/25 @ Shawnee Mission West | 10 |
08/30/25 @ Clearwater | 10 |
Gardner-Edgerton was led to victory by Bella Garcia and Player #1. Garcia had 13 digs and two aces, while Player #1 had 18 digs. Those 13 digs gave Garcia a new career-high.
They weren't the only good servers: Gardner-Edgerton was lethal from the service line and finished the match with ten aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least five aces in five consecutive contests.
Despite the defeat, Lawrence Free State saw an underclassman step up: freshman Brinley Whitney had nine digs and two aces. Whitney is on a roll when it comes to aces, as she's now served two or more in each of the last three games she's played.
Gardner-Edgerton's record is now 19-8. As for Lawrence Free State, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 13-10.
The teams didn't have to wait long for a rematch: Gardner-Edgerton beat the Firebirds by a score of 2-0 on Saturday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps