Fairfield-Mt. Pleasant set for postseason battle

FAIRFIELD — One of the biggest rivalries in Southeast Iowa will write a new chapter on Tuesday night, and when it does, one school’s book will be closed for the 2021 volleyball season.

Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant will do battle on Tuesday night at Fairfield High School the site of two of the three teams’ previous showdowns this season.

The Trojans and Panthers will be playing in one of two opening round games in the Class 4A Region 3 tournament. The winner will move on to face Oskaloosa in the regional semifinal two nights later.

The Fairfield-Mt. Pleasant volleyball rivalry has been red-hot in the last few years. While neither program has had much success in making long postseason runs, when the two teams meet up, it’s bound to be a slugfest.

In the last 10 matchups between the Trojans and Panthers on the volleyball court, the two teams have split the matches even, five wins for Fairfield and five wins for Mt. Pleasant.

The Trojans have taken two of three from the Panthers this year, and both of those wins came at Fairfield High School, which just so happens to be the site of Tuesday’s clash.

The first matchup of the year took place on Aug. 31. The Trojans welcomed in a Mt. Pleasant squad that had won the Southeast Conference championship one year prior, and the two teams did battle in a conference game in Fairfield.

The Trojans had the upper hand on that night. Fairfield won in four sets (25-17, 25-22, 15-25, 25-17), storming back from a deficit in the fourth to do so. A long serve streak by Maddie Jones helped Fairfield pull off that win, and the Trojans were led by Macy Rayburn’s nine kills.

Despite the loss, Mt. Pleasant’s Kenna Lamm had 10 kills to lead all hitters in the first showdown of the year.

Just over one month later, when the two teams met in the Oskaloosa tournament, Lamm had six kills in just two sets, when Mt. Pleasant rolled to a 21-14, 21-18 victory.

By the time the two teams met in the SEC tournament, Mt. Pleasant had already wrapped up its second-straight conference championship, but that didn’t take away from the intensity of the matchup one bit.

Mt. Pleasant took the first set, wining 25-18 to come one victory away from an undefeated SEC tournament. Fairfield punched right back, winning the next two 25-17 and 25-3.

This time it was Maya lane that led the Trojan hitters. The sophomore tallied six kills in the SEC tournament victory, the top hitter in a balanced attack. Mt. Pleasant was co-led in kills by Lamm and Emma Starr, who each finished with seven.

Now, two even teams gear up for the biggest match of the season, and one of the most important in the recent history of the Fairfield-Mt. Pleasant rivalry. Two squads will enter the Fairfield gym on Tuesday night, but only one will leave with its season intact.