Trojans trip up Demons

After a tough first game, the Washington volleyball team rebounded well against their conference rival.

Unfortunately, Fairfield proved to be too much for the Demons, as they defeated Washington in straight sets, 25-11, 25-17, 25-16.

?As a team, we came out to play tonight, but we just fell short,? Washington head coach Lexa Mahr said. ?A lot of girls stepped up in different areas. Kylee Porter made a lot of defensive changes for us, which is all we can ask her to do. We had a lot of girls get tips (on the ball) tonight. Our hitting is something we are still working on, but the more we work on it, the better we?ll get.?

The Demons fell to 0-11 with the loss, and to 0-4 through the first round of conference play.

?The girls are frustrated,? Mahr said. ?I know they are frustrated because they know how close they are to winning and we just fall short. If we keep up the attitude that we?ll eventually get there, we are going to. We had a good conversation tonight about how we are going to take that next step forward. Everyone is on board. I?m looking forward to (Saturday?s tournament).?

The first game of the night was all Fairfield, as the Trojans quickly jumped out to a 9-2 lead to force a Washington timeout.

The momentum stayed on the Trojan side of the net, as they cruised to the 25-11 win, the 14-point lead marking the largest in the game.

In Game 2, Fairfield notched the first five points, before the Demons fought back to get within one point at 11-10. After that point, the Trojans went on a 14-7 run to finish the Demons off in the game, taking a 2-0 lead.

In Game 3, the Trojans took an 8-2 lead, only to have the Demons erase that with an 8-2 run of their own, tying the match up at 10.

Fairfield called a timeout, and came back to the court with a seemingly renewed fire that proved too much for the Demons, as the Trojans picked up a 25-16 victory in the final game.

?First off, we can take our positivity (as a building block),? Mahr said. ?The girls could have rolled over and died, and they didn?t. They chose to fight back. We came up short and that?s fine, because we are getting better set by set. Another thing we can take from this is to hit our defensive spots. The times we didn?t get those, they killed us on that.?

The Demons will be off until Saturday, when they travel to Ottumwa for a varsity tournament that will feature Burlington, Davis County, Eddyville-Blakesburg and Mt. Pleasant. With the extended time available for practice this week, Mahr said the focus will be on fundamentals.

?Defense is going to be a focus, as well as hitting,? Mahr said. ?At a few points we weren?t in the right spot, and knowing where to put the ball when will be a big thing, especially around a block.?

The tournament is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.