Lancers pierce Trojans

ELDRIDGE - Everything has to end.

The 2019 volleyball season for Fairfield High School ended Tuesday at the hands of Class 4A's No. 3-ranked North Scott in a 3-0 sweep.

'Everything good has to come to an end,” Fairfield head coach Diana Drish said. 'Even if we won every game, it would still be sad when it ended and we would still be crying.”

The Trojans end with an 8-27 ledger. North Scott improves its record to 27-4 and plays Burlington (25-5), which defeated Ft. Madison 3-0 to advance. The match will be at North Scott Nov. 4 for the regional title and a trip to the state tournament.

The home team jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the opener. The first two points saw Fairfield's Allison Rebling and Olivia McClaran stretched out on the floor, skin squeaking as they dove for digs. Rebling finished with seven digs and McClaran four.

'Olivia and Allison had great nights,” Drish said. 'We knew they're outsides and middle were their top hitters. Olivia defended the lines well.”

Kills by Fairfield's Anna Dunlap and Chloe Stever got the Trojans back in it, closing to within 12-6. A kill by Mallory Lyon made it 18-10 and that is as close as the Trojans would get, falling 25-15. The Trojans were only outscored 17-15 after the start.

The second set started with a 6-0 lead for the Lancers. Grace Stever's ace and kill got Fairfield within 13-6 and Chloe Stever's kill made it a 15-7 deficit, but the Lancers superior size led to a 25-14 score.

'They have the size and they can hit,” Drish said. 'They have weapons all over the place.”

The Trojans only lead of the night was at 1-0 in the third set.

'They definitely pushed us to play our best volleyball,” North Scott coach Taryn Vanearwage said. 'Anytime you step in the gym in the postseason, you have to be consistent. I know we had to play really strong and we sure did that.”

It was 5-2, then 9-3 when North Scott's Kendall McNaull connected on two of her 10 kills.

Chloe Stever's kill at 12-5 was the last offensive point for the Trojans, who lost the third set 25-7.

'All we asked the girls was to play hard and play the Trojan way and they did that,” Drish said. 'They never gave up, not even once. I'm very happy with the way my team played.”

Fairfield progressed as the season wore on.

'We got better by the conference tournament,” Drish said. 'You want your team to peak at the right time of year. We did that and we haven't looked back since.”

Lily Hoskins had nine assists and Trojan teammate Sophie Wallerich five. Dunlap and Ellie Anderson each had a block. Dunlap had five kills and Olivia Jones four.