Fairfield volleyball team wins two matches Saturday

BURLINGTON ? The Fairfield volleyball team went 2-2 at Saturday?s Grayhound Invitational in Burlington.

The ninth-ranked Trojans earned wins over Davis County and Burlington?s gray team in pool play. They lost to Muscatine and later fell to Southeast Conference foe Fort Madison in the championship bracket.

In the early-morning opener, the Trojans faced Davis County, and in what would be a theme for the day, battled through a tight match. The Trojans won the first game 21-19, dropped the second 21-18 and came back for a 15-7 win in game three.

After the Mustangs took a 1-0 lead in the decisive third game, the Trojans grabbed an 8-1 advantage thanks to a seven-point service run from Sydney Burnett.

?We had a nice close match in the first two games ... and then kind of put it to them in the third game,? said Diers. ?They were real business-like and took care of what they needed to do.?

Sidney Baumann led the Trojans with nine kills vs. Davis County. Cheyanne Laux had 22 digs and Burnett tallied 11 assists in the match.

In the second match of the morning, the Trojans fell to Muscatine in another pair of close games by scores of 21-19 and 21-17.

Despite the loss, Diers saw plenty of positives out of her players and thought Fairfield held its own against Muscatine?s quick-tempo offense.

?I just thought we hung right with them and battled with them all the way through. It was just kind of a fun match to sit back and watch and see how they?d handle a little bit quicker offense,? Diers said.

Marisa Repp slammed down seven kills and Sydney Howard had a pair of aces. Hanna Greiner, Erin Thompson, McKenna Ledger and Repp all finished with a pair of blocks in the match.

The Trojans came back strong in their third match to sweep Burlington?s gray squad and solidify their spot in the championship bracket.

Baumann and Thompson led the way with seven and five kills, respectively, as Fairfield topped the Grayhounds 21-15, 21-10. Burnett totaled 11 assists, Laux had 11 digs and Repp served up a pair of aces.

Fairfield then found itself matched up against Fort Madison in the championship bracket, and despite a quick start, couldn?t hold off the Bloodhounds and their upset aspirations. Fort Madison won the match 8-25, 25-18, 15-10.

In the first game vs. Fort Madison, the Trojans took an early 13-6 advantage and closed the set on a nine-point service run by Thompson. But the wheels came off for Fairfield in the final two games.

?Everything that Fort Madison couldn?t do game one, we couldn?t do game two,? said Diers. ?Our kids were making some easy mistakes, but they weren?t helping each other. I don?t know if we finally ran out of gas or what.?

The loss to their conference rival left a bad taste in the head coach?s mouth, but the Trojans will have a chance to avenge the loss Tuesday. The Trojans (15-4) host the Bloodhounds Tuesday at FHS.

FAIRFIELD ? 21, 18, 15

DAVIS COUNTY ? 19, 21, 7

Kills ? (FF) Baumann 9, Thompson 6, Greiner 4, Repp 4

Assists ? (FF) Burnett 11, Baumann 5, Thompson 5

Serving ? (FF) Repp 13-13 (2), Thompson 9-9 (2), Howard 5-6 (1), Laux 4-5 (1)

Blocks (solo-asst-tot) ? (FF) Greiner 0-2-2, Repp 0-2-2, Thompson 0-2-2

Digs ? (FF) Laux 22, Burnett 12, Howard 11

FAIRFIELD ? 19, 17

MUSCATINE ? 21, 21

Kills ? (FF) Repp 7, Thompson 5, Howard 2

Assists ? (FF) Burnett 10, Baumann 3

Serving ? (FF) Howard 6-7 (2), Thompson 7-7 (1), Burnett 9-9

Blocks (solo-asst-tot) ? (FF) Greiner 1-1-2, Thompson 1-1-2, Ledger 0-2-2, Repp 0-2-2

Digs ? (FF) Laux 12, Burnett 12, Baumann 10, Howard 10

FAIRFIELD ? 21, 21

BURLINGTON ? 15, 10

Kills ? (FF) Baumann 7, Thompson 5, Greiner 4, Howard 4

Assists ? (FF) Burnett 11, Baumann 5, Thompson 4

Serving ? (FF) Repp 6-6 (2), Howard 15-15, Thompson 8-8

Blocks (solo-asst-tot) ? (FF) Repp 0-1-1, Thompson 0-1-1

Digs ? (FF) Laux 11, Burnett 8, Howard 7

FAIRFIELD ? 25, 18, 10

FORT MADISON ? 8, 25, 15

Kills ? (FF) Thompson 9, Baumann 8, Howard 3, Repp 3

Assists ? (FF) Burnett 15, Thompson 3, Baumann 2

Serving ? (FF) Thompson 13-14 (3), Baumann 9-10 (2), Repp 10-10

Blocks (solo-asst-tot) ? (FF) Greiner 1-1-2, Stever 0-1-1

Digs ? (FF) Laux 16, Thompson 12, Howard 10