Fairfield fires past Fort Madison

FAIRFIELD — Things weren’t easy for Fairfield volleyball in Tuesday nights contest against Fort Madison.

The Trojans extinguished deficits in each of the first two sets and blistered the Bloodhounds in the third to complete the sweep, 25-23, 25-21 and 25-12.

In the opening set, Fairfield held an early lead, but Fort Madison stayed within three for much of the match. The Trojan’s largest lead of the set was four points at 13-9.

The script flipped on the Trojans while leading 16-13.

From that point on, Fort Madison scored five straight to take the advantage, 18-16.

Fairfield cut the lead to one, 18-17, but the Bloodhounds put together yet another run, this time of four to make it 22-17, the largest lead of the set.

They did not wavier, as Fairfield answered back with a run of their own. The Trojans scored six unanswered, with Lilly Bergren tallying back-to-back kills, to make it 23-22.

Fort Madison tied it a point later, but the Trojans scored a pair to seal the set victory.

“Our mentality shifted and we focus on execution and smart location,” Fairfield co-head coach Stephanie Herman said. “We wanted to play our game and make sure we were intentional on where we were swinging.”

Set two had a bit of different start than the first.

The Bloodhounds took control of the set in its early stages.

Fort Madison built up a 13-7 point advantage, but the Trojans didn’t hinder as they clawed their way to tie it at 15.

The two teams tied it up four times, before Fairfield made it 20-19. They would never trail again, the rest of the night.

“We were hurting ourselves more than they were hurting us,” Fairfield co-head coach Vicki Rebling said. “Once we cleaned that up, settled down and played our game, we were able to mix hitters up, which we did well thorough the night.”

Everything came together for Fairfield in the final set of the night.

Fairfield raced out to a 7-1 lead and Fort Madison never had an answer. They would cut the lead to three at 8-5, but that was all she wrote.

Lone sophomore Lilly Bergren had a great night on the court.

Bergren finished with a team-high eight kills on the night. Macy Rayburn followed with five kills. Rowen Terrell, Addison Ferrel and Maddie Jones each finished with a pair.

Jones also led Fairfield with 19 assists on the night.

Kiya Robertson led the Trojans in digs department. Robertson had 19 on the night. Jones followed with 17 and Bergren 14.

Ferrel and Bergren also finished with three aces on the night. Jones had two.

With the win, Fairfield improves to 4-5 on the season and is now 2-0 in Southeast Conference play.

Fairfield will head up to Williamsburg for its next competition, competing in the Williamsburg Varsity Volleyball Tournament on Saturday.