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Washington sweeps SEC bout with Fairfield
Demons end slide with three set win over Trojans
FAIRFIELD — Washington and Fairfield squared off in a Southeast Conference clash on Tuesday night.
Both teams were looking for their second SEC win. When all was said and done, winning the night was Washington in a 3-0 sweep 25-21, 25-14 and 25-21.
For Washington it was a win they needed after losing five straight to some tough competition.
“Playing those tough teams definitely helped us defensively,” Washington hitter Ella Greiner said. “It showed us what we needed to work on. Throughout the last week we worked on a lot of things and it was nice to have a bit of a break.”
Despite the loss, the Trojans were able to keep it close through the majority of the matchup.
In set one, Fairfield took an early 5-2 lead after a trio of errors by Washington.
However, the Demons bounced back tying it 5-5 on back-to-back kills.
The Trojans followed with another small run to make it 9-6, but the Demons kept clawing back.
Layla Green got back-to-back blocks and a kill to kick start what was a 6-0 run by the Demons to make it 12-9.
Following a Trojan timeout, it was anyone’s game.
The two squads tied four times, with the last tie coming at 19-19.
After an errant hit by the Trojans on the next possession, the Demons would never give up their advantage.
Green hammered home another kill late for the Demons to make it 23-20.
The Trojan’s Claire Thompson drilled one of her own to cut it to two 23-21, but a miss serve and yet another Green kill put the Demons over the hump.
“I felt we did a great job of reading the tips,” Washington head coach Aaron Six said. “We did a great job at getting ourselves in position and then being able to put it away on the other end. I told the girls, that was probably the most kills we’ve had in a match, possible ever. It was fun to see and we needed all three components for those to happen and they were able to execute.”
In set two, Fairfield once again got out to a good start. The Trojans held onto a 9-5 early on.
However, a big run by the Demons made all the difference.
From that point on, a kill from Leighton Messinger and a block from Ella Greiner kicked off a Washington 15-1 run to make it 20-10.
That was more than enough to put the set away.
In set three, the Demons led through the early stages of the set, but the two teams found themselves tied once again at 14-14.
Washington extended the lead to as large as six at 22-16, but Fairfield never gave up.
“Some of the momentum runs were the biggest difference,” Fairfield head coach Vicki Rebling said. “But the girls showed grit and bravery tonight. That’s why I love this team. I’m super proud.”
The Trojans followed with five straight points to get it back down to one off a kill from Jaden Haynes.
But a miss serve and a pair of aces from Ella Greiner were enough to propel the Demons to a win.
“It felt awesome,” Greiner said of the win. “That’s probably the best game we’ve played all season. The energy was awesome and we played really well together. It was really fun volleyball.”
