Trojans at the top

FORT MADISON — The Fairfield volleyball team came into Day 2 of the Southeast Conference volleyball tournament with a championship on the mind, and the Trojans didn’t leave Fort Madison High School without one.

The Trojans went 2-0 on the last day of play, including a thrilling three-set win over cofavorite Burlington, to win the SEC tournament and collect the school’s first championship since 2018.

“It feels surreal,” said Fairfield co-coach Stephanie Herman. “But at the end of the day they earned it.”

Herman and fellow co-coach Vicki Rebling took over the upperclassmen-led group this season, and under their reigh, the Trojans lost just one SEC game in the regular season, but a defeat at the hands of Keokuk on Day 1 of the tournament had Fairfield in second place coming into the final day of play.

The Trojans defeated Mt. Pleasant in two sets and then avenged a regular season loss to Burlington in the final match of the night.

“They came together,” said Rebling. “They never let down. They never thought any game was over.”

Before Fairfield took the court for its first match of the day, Burlington had already sealed 4-0 start with a win over Keokuk. That meant the Trojans had two in out to take the championship. Fairfield got off to a red-hot start by beating Mt. Pleasant 25-9, 25-10 in the first game.

The Trojans led throughout the first set against Burlington but blew the advantage and allowed the Grayhounds to tie the game at 24-24, and then win the next two to take the set. That put Fairfield’s backs against the wall, needing to sweep the next two sets.

The second set looked to be all Burlington’s at the start, but Fairfield caught fire midway through, took the lead late and closed it out 25-22. The momentum didn’t fade, as the Trojans won the third game 15-7.

“This is really exciting for all of us,” said Libero Kiya Robertson, who collected a team-leading 15 digs on the day. “We haven’t been conference champs in a while, and I’m really excited to be a part of this.”

After that, the celebration was on for a squad that sports nine seniors, five juniors and just one sophomore on its roster.

“It’s been really special,” said senior Coty Engle, who joined the team this year. “Our classes are really close, and we always hang out. We were all close before, and the co-coaches are the nicest human beings you’ll ever meet.”

Macy Rayburn paced the Trojans in kills against Mt. Pleasant, tallying seven. Rowan Terrell had six kills and five service aces. Maddie Jones dished out 21 assists.

In the win against Burlington, Terrell and Lilly Bergren had six kills apiece. Maggie and Macy Rayburn finished with five apiece, and Ferrel had four. Jones finished with 24 assists, and Maggie Rayburn had three blocks.

Burlington settled for second place and Keokuk took third. The only other unbeaten Day 2 run went to the Washington Demons, who rose from dead last to fourth with a 2-0 day.

“The girls played extremely well tonight,” said Washington head coach Aaron Six. “We seemed to click together, doing the right things. We really relied on each other to play our parts.”

The Demons had an electric start to the day, beating Fort Madison 25-17, 25-19 to scoop up a win after three-straight three-set losses on Day 1. Later in the day, Washington ousted Mt. Pleasant, winning the first set 25-16 and grinding out a 25-21 win in the second.

“We definitely didn’t want that one to go to a third set,” said Six. “It was great to see them close out.”

Mt. Pleasant came into the day 1-1 with hopes of knotching a third-straight conference tournament, but those hopes were upended in the first match of the day.

After beating Fort Madison 25-23 in the opening set, Mt. Pleasant looked good to start the second, but Fort Madison stole the second, set 25-23, and then won the third 15-12. A Burlington win over Keokuk on the other court knocked the Panthers out of contention, and when the dust settled, Mt. Pleasant finished the tournament in sixth.

“It’s just consistent play,” said Mt. Pleasant head coach David Streeter. “Our girls fought, but It just comes down to doing the technique in and out, every play. We’d fight back in, and we’d fall down.”

All three teams will now look toward postseason play, which begins next week. On Monday, Washington will play at Mid-Prairie and Fairfield will host Tipton in the Class 3A Region 8 quarterfinals. Mt. Pleasant will visit Burlington on Tuesday in the Class 4A Region 8 quarterfinals.