Daily Newsletters
Account
Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Washington outlasts Fairfield
Demons improve to 2-0 in SEC play after four-set win
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
Washington volleyball joined Burlington at the top of the Southeast Conference on Tuesday. The Demons (5-7, 2-0 SEC) took down rival Fairfield 3-1 (25-11, 25-17, 25-27, 25-23), fending off a spirited Trojans comeback in the third and fourth sets.
The victory continues to reverse the trend in the Washington-Fairfield matchup. The Trojans (8-3, 1-1) entered Tuesday leading the series 36-7 since 2007. But the Demons victory was their third in a row over Fairfield after beating the Trojans in the 2024 regular season and SEC Tournament.
Washington’s win also came just one night after a 3-0 loss to Mid-Prairie, the No. 4 ranked team in Class 3A. Coach Aaron Six has put his team to the test agaisnt nonconference competition this season, and saw it pay off with improved play Tuesday.
“That was one of our conversations that we just need to be mentally ready to go,” Six said. “We knew that they were going to be a scrappy team and that they beat opponents by making the other team make errors. So we needed to play error-free as much as possible and I thought we did a nice job with that.”
Fairfield didn’t let the win come easy for Washington. Trojans coach Vicki Rebling called timeout with her side down 12-5 in set three. After winning the first two sets, Washington aimed to close out the match with one more run.
Instead, the Trojans dug deep and eventually took a 23-22 lead. They would go on to win the set 27-25.
“They know that they did a lot of things well tonight,” Rebling said. “We weren’t ourselves in those first two sets. Once we re-focused and came ready to play the kind of volleyball that we know how to play, totally different look, totally different team.”
Fairfield maintained that momentum as both teams continued to trade points in the fourth set. Neither team’s lead was greater than three points. The Trojans used a timeout down 21-20 and scored two quick points to take back the lead.
But it was Washington that found the finish push with a 4-1 run to win the match. A kill from the left side by Leighton Messinger - one of a team high 15 - followed by an ace from Layla Green finished off the Trojans.
Green finished behind Messinger with 11 kills and led the Demons with three blocks. She also chipped in three aces and showed the ability on both offense and defense that made her an All-SEC first team selection last season.
“I thought Layla Green had an exceptional night,” Six said. “[She] was all over the place on the block and offensively just put down a couple of cannons. So that was great to see.”
Washington has four days off before its next match. The Demons will host Pella Christian at 7:15 p.m. Monday inside the Washington High School gym. The game will be broadcast live on the Southeast Iowa Union’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
Fairfield will participate in the Williamsburg Varsity Volleyball Tournament on Saturday. The Trojans will play West Liberty, Beckman Catholic and Des Moines Christian. Their next SEC game will come against Burlington on Tuesday.
