Fairfield sweeps past Demons for win

FAIRFIELD - Athletes that excel in the theater of their sport are the ones that do the work when there is no audience.

It may be tough to convince people that work done in June makes a difference in the middle of a September game. Staying for a little extra work in a hot gym may mean the difference when the competition heats up.

The offseason work Anna Dunlap put in over the summer not only made a difference for Fairfield during Tuesday's Southeast Conference contest over Washington, it had a direct affect at the end of the volleyball match.

After trailing 24-20, Washington had rallied to tie the third set at 24, but Dunlap's powerful spike gave Fairfield a 25-24 edge and her second blast over the net finished the set 26-24 and the match 3-0.

'Anna is doing a fine job because she has worked really hard on her swing,” Fairfield head coach Diana Drish said. 'Over the summer, she spent a lot of time trying to make it better. She had been struggling a little bit with it, so she worked really hard all summer and has continued this fall and it is really showing.”

Dunlap is a junior and saw varsity action last year, appearing in two-thirds of the Trojans sets played, but knew to excel she would have to put time in to hone her skills.

'It really does make a difference the time you spend in the offseason,” Drish said.

Dunlap led all players with 12 kills while teammate Ellie Anderson had seven and Olivia Jones had six. Danielle Breen and Kiya Robertson combined for 28 digs. Jones and Brynley Allison combined to set 28 assists.

Washington's senior setter, Emma Nichols, impressed the Demons head coach with her play.

'She is wild and spunky and she brings energy, which is exactly what we need,” Lexa Mahr said.

Although Demon senior Taylor Brinning is playing hurt, Mahr said, 'We can still count on her to lay out going after a ball. I thought she did a great job.”

Washington has two freshmen, Remy and Keira Messinger, and a sophomore, Keializ Espinosa, pulling significant playing time.

'They are young and getting better all the time, they just need more time,” Mahr said.

The first two sets started the same with occasional tie into the teens, then Fairfield would pull away. The scores were 25-19 and 25-15. The third set was tied at 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 17, 20 and 24.

'Washington has a lot of energy and they dig up a lot of balls,” Drish said.

It looked like the Trojans had it when they pulled out to a 23-20 lead, but Mahr called time and Washington rallied to tie it at 24.

'I don't remember what I said. Most of the time, I don't say that many profound things. I was just proud of how they fought. I think there's a big difference in how we started the season to how they are playing now so that is a good thing.”

Drish asked her team if they wanted to play a fourth set and the answer was no.

'Put up a good pass and finish the game,” Drish told them and Dunlap did so.

Fairfield players would sprawl every different way to keep a ball off the floor.

'We strive to make sure we go 100 percent and do whatever we can to get to a ball,” Drish said. 'Danielle Breen did a great job passing. Lauren Kraemer provides good defense and then there's Sara Kretz. I have come to rely on her.”

She is a sophomore. The Trojans have just three seniors. 'A lot of the team is all new to varsity and they are learning how much faster it is.”

Dunlap will tell you that fast learning is actually a slow process of hard work.

The junior varsity match score was 25-22, 25-17 Fairfield.

Fairfield's top servers: Sarah McAvan 15-15, 3 Aces; Hannah Bergren 7-7, 2 Aces; Kiara Bickham 5-7, 2 Aces

Top Hitters: Sarah Kretz 7-10, 1 Kill; Kiara Bickham 5-7, 2 Kills; Maggie Rayburn 5-7, 2 Kills; Macy Rayburn 5-8, 2 Kills; Hannah Bergren 4-5, 2 Kills

Assist Leaders: Sarah McAvan 4; Kiara Bickham 2

Digs Leaders: Kate Pettit 4 digs; Hannah Bergren, Maggie Rayburn, Libby Ferrel 2 digs each

Blocks: Macy Rayburn 2; Maggie Rayburn 1

Serve Receive: Kiya Robertson 5-5; Kiara Bickham 3-4

The freshmen match score was 25-20, 25-19 Fairfield.

Trojans top servers: Addi Ferrel 10-10, 6 Aces; Maddie Jones 8-9, 4 Aces

Top Hitters: Rowan Terrell 4 Kills; Maddie Jones 3 Kills; Maya Lane 3 Kills

Assist Leaders: Savannah Hollander 5; Maddie Jones 4; Rowan Terrell 2

Digs Leaders: Maya Lane 2 digs; Rowan Terrell and Briana Steele 1 dig each

Serve Receive: Addi Ferrel 5-5; Maddie Jones 3-3; Maya Lane 8-9