The Fairfield volleyball team dropped a heartbreaking five-set conference opener to Fort Madison on Tuesday, September 1st, falling 3-2 despite fighting back from a 2-0 deficit to force a deciding fifth set before ultimately losing 15-12. The loss drops Fairfield to 2-6 overall and 0-1 in conference play, while Fort Madison improves to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in conference.
The match was played under difficult circumstances — senior setter Bella Buckley fractured her hand Saturday at the Grinnell tournament and will be out for an extended period, forcing the Trojans to adjust on the fly with Lexi Mast stepping into the setter role.
Set 1
The opening set was a back-and-forth battle from the start, with the teams tied at 5, 7, 11, and 13. Neither team could build a three-point lead until Fort Madison pulled ahead 16-13. Fairfield clawed back to within one at 16-15, and then Frances Miller ignited a six-point service run to bring the score from 16-20 to 21-20, giving Fairfield the lead and forcing a Fort Madison timeout. The teams tied at 21, but Fort Madison closed out the set 25-21.
Set 2
The second set was plagued by miscommunication miscues for Fairfield, who found themselves down 8-3 and then 10-5. The Trojans battled back to within two on multiple occasions — pulling to 10-8, then 14-12 — but Fort Madison kept pulling away. Down 22-15, a service run by Leah Helmick brought Fairfield back to within three at 22-19, and the Trojans eventually clawed to within one at 23-22. Fort Madison closed it out 25-23, putting Fairfield in a 2-0 hole.
Set 3
The Trojans came out with better communication and all-around play in the third set, falling behind 4-2 before tying it at 5 and then 8. Fairfield took control from there, going up 13-9 and then extending to 17-11 on a Natalie Steele service run. The Trojans led 20-14 and 23-17 before closing out the set 25-20 to stay alive.
Set 4
The fourth set mirrored the third — down 4-2, tied at 5, tied at 8 — before Fairfield broke through again. The Trojans pushed ahead 13-10, forcing Fort Madison to burn their final timeout. Fairfield extended the lead to 16-10 and never looked back, leading 18-13, 22-16, and 24-20 before Fort Madison made it interesting at 24-23. Fairfield closed it out 25-23 to force a deciding fifth set.
Set 5
Fairfield was the first team to five points and led 8-5, then pushed ahead to 10-6 as the first to reach ten. However Fort Madison tied it at 10 and then again at 12. With the momentum swinging on big plays from Fort Madison in front of their home crowd, the Bloodhounds closed out the match 15-12 in a tough way to end the night.
Stats
Helmick led the offense with 25 kills, followed by Steele with 12, Cranston with eight, and McArtor with five. Mast ran the offense with 42 assists in her first start at setter, with Miller and Ava McArtor each adding one. Fairfield recorded 30 attack errors and a .124 kill efficiency. On the service line, Helmick led with two aces while Mast and Steele each added one. The team finished with an 86.9 percent serving efficiency — a number that masked several missed serves at critical moments.
In the back row, Miller led all players with 29 digs, followed by Helmick with 19, Ava McArtor with 16, Brecount with 14, and Mast with seven. Cranston led on blocks with five and three block assists, while Bentler added two blocks and two block assists. Helmick and Mast each contributed one block.
Coach Rebling’s Thoughts
Head Coach Vicki Rebling addressed the adjustment the team had to make with Buckley out. “We were getting adjusted tonight and we continued to adapt during the first two sets as our starting senior setter is out for a few weeks now,” Rebling said. “As the night went on we continued to get more comfortable and settled into our offense and hustled in the back row to keep rallies going.”
She also pointed to a few key moments that cost the Trojans. “There were a few moments when we thought the ball was out of play and celebrated too soon. We need to stay focused and play until we hear the whistle.” On serving, she said: “We missed some important serves at specific times when we needed to get back into the set or to build more momentum and build on our lead. We will learn and get better in these tense situations.”
Rebling was proud of how the team fought back. “The team did a nice job of communicating as players were exchanging. They played hard tonight and forcing the match to all five sets after getting down two shows our grit and fight.” She also praised Mast’s performance in her new role. “Lexi stepped into the setter spot for me tonight and I’m happy with how she handled herself and how she took feedback and guidance from the coaching staff from start to end. It was fun to see how Kiley and others showed their excitement for their contributions tonight.”
Rebling also noted the challenge Helmick and Steele faced against the Bloodhounds’ defense. “Natalie and Leah are both strong hitters for us and Fort Madison knew that. They had to work around triple blocks at times. They never back down though. They thrive on competing at a high level.”
Fairfield has the rest of the week off and returns to action Tuesday, September 8th, hosting Washington in another conference match.
