The Fairfield Trojans opened the Southeast Conference volleyball tournament on Monday, October 6, in Burlington with a strong showing, winning two of their three matches to advance in pool play.
Fairfield came out sharp in their opener against Mount Pleasant, winning 2–0 (25–15, 25–22). Setter Faith Jones orchestrated the offense with 22 assists while also adding three kills. At the net, Natalie Steele led with seven kills, followed by Leah Helmick with six, Elyse Setterstrom with five, and Maddy Martin with four. Defensively, Isabel McCready anchored the back row with 16 digs, while Iris Lane added 12 and Lexi Mast chipped in eight. Lane and McCready each recorded an ace, while Helmick and Jaden Haynes contributed a block apiece.
Head Coach Vicki Rebling said the team started the night on the right foot. “We started off pretty well against Mt. Pleasant in the first set,” she said. “We gave them a few more points than we should have in the second, but it was nice to get the first match under our belt in two sets.”
Fairfield kept their momentum rolling against Keokuk, earning another sweep 2-0 (25–18, 25–15). Jones again directed a balanced attack with 20 assists and four kills, while Helmick, Setterstrom, and Steele each tallied six kills. From the service line, the Trojans dominated with Mallory Wigle leading the charge with an astounding six aces, followed by Jones with three, Steele with two, and Mast with one. McCready and Lane paced the defense with eight and five digs, respectively.
Rebling noted that the Trojans had to dig a little deeper in this one. “We had a slower start against Keokuk, so we had to work harder and come from behind to take that match in the end,” she said.
The Trojans’ momentum cooled in their final matchup against host Burlington, where they fell 0–2 (18–25, 15–25). Setterstrom led Fairfield with seven kills, while Jones added 15 assists, two kills, and two aces. Helmick, Haynes, and Steele each had three kills, while McCready and Lane shared the team lead in digs with eight apiece. Wigle, Mast, and McCready each added an ace from the service line.
“Against Burlington, we had some miscues they took advantage of, and they played a good match and hit well,” Rebling said.
Despite the setback, Rebling said her team is staying focused as they head into another big conference night. “We need to come ready to take care of business next week against Fort Madison and Washington,” she said. “It will be another night of some great volleyball action.”
Fairfield will return to action this Saturday, October 11th, for a tournament in Oskaloosa before returning to day two of the conference tournament next Monday, October 13th, in Keokuk. The Trojans will need to handle business against Fort Madison and Washington, and for Washington to defeat Burlington for all three teams to have a record of 4-1 in the tournament, assuming Washington and Burlington win their other matches.
