Fairfield foils FM in four

FAIRFIELD - The biggest current rivalry in Southeast Conference volleyball added another chapter on Tuesday night, and the final page concluded with a four-set win for the Trojans.

No. 13 Fairfield came back from a 1-0 deficit to win three sets in a row and upend Ft. Madison 3-1 in the SEC opener, taking the match 18-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-21.

'This game was so exciting,” said head coach Diana Drish. 'The stands were wonderful, my bench was wonderful, the kids on the floor were wonderful. It was a full effort tonight.”

The Trojans and Bloodhounds were neck-and-neck late in the first set. The set was tied 17-17, but the Bloodhounds went on a 7-0 run to take a commanding 24-17 advantage, and ended it two points later.

Ft. Madison seemed to be in control of the second set early on, scoring the first four points. The Trojans, however, rallied back with the next four. The teams traded blows throughout the match, but the last lead change was when the Trojans took a 29-18 advantage. They'd go on to score six of the final nine points.

Set three was the swing set, and the pendulum went Fairfield's way at the exact right time. Ft. Madison held a 17-12 lead at one point, but the Trojans clawed back to eventually tie the game at 20-20 on a kill by Carly Ferrel, and take the lead for good on the next point when Olivia Jones sent one to the floor. The Trojans ended the third set on a 7-1 run.

'We knew right out of the gate that it was going to be a tough game,” Jones said. 'Ft. Madison always comes out with a lot of fire. I think we prepared well for that, and knew that we had to come out with a lot of intensity.”

Fairfield was down big again in the fourth set, trailing 9-3, but once again the Trojans answered. They went on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 9-9, took the lead for good midway through the set, and eventually finished off the conference win when Ellie Anderson stuffed a Bloodhound spike attempt on the 25th point.

The Trojans moved to 2-2 overall with the win, but more importantly 1-0 in conference, and against their fellow co-champions from last season and fellow co-favorite to win the SEC this year.

'It's always more nerve-wracking when we go against these guys,” Coach Drish said in closing. 'Honestly, today, I think I've been doing this for so long that I didn't get myself all worked up or anything. I started to get a little queezy in the stomach when they were doing the national anthem, and then I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, we're playing Ft. Madison.'”

Jones led the squad with 10 kills on the day. Ferrel and Grace Stever had six apiece. Lily Hoskins led the way with 24 assists.

Olivia McClaran had a big game serving and on defense. She was 13-14 serving with two aces, and paced the Trojans with 28 digs.

Fairfield will play their first road game on Tuesday, Sept. 10, when they head to Washington to take on the Demons.