Fairfield wins against Manchester; Hattan gains 500th career kill
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — Playing their third Southern Hills Athletic Conference match in a four-day span, the Fairfield Lady Lions have become accustomed to being on the court against a familiar foe with little rest. Following tough matches against North Adams and Fayetteville earlier in the week, on Thursday the Lady Lions swept visiting Manchester in three straight sets to end the week with two wins and one loss.
Before Thursday’s match, Fairfield opened the week on Monday with a loss at North Adams but rallied back the very next night with a big-five set win over Fayetteville. As for their most recent match against Manchester, the Lady Lions had an effort and success that isn’t matched with FHS defending Grandle Gymnasium in three straight sets, winning by scores of 25-12, 25-16 and 25-10.
Fairfield win also moved the Lady Lions to a 6-2 SHAC record, plus a record of 11-3 overall. The match also saw a stop in play in set three as junior Layla Hattan recorded her 500th career kill. This season, Hattan has around 150 kills.
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“This was probably our best team win. This was a total team effort. They stayed steady the whole game, as we’ve had a couple down games the past couple weeks,” FHS head coach Lesley Hattan said. “After fair break, we’ve had three practices because we’ve had so many games.
“We’ve made some adjustments on coverage and everything, and it clicked and really made a big difference tonight. The girls played well.”
The first set was played very close early on, with Fairfield’s Faith Miller putting the Lady Lions in front at 7-6. As the first set continued, FHS built a 16-6 lead, with the 14th through 16th points coming off a kill from Hattan, an ace by Miller and a tap at the net also by Hattan.
The Lewis eventually went to 19-8 in favor of the home squad following a play at the net by Emma Fouch. The Lady Greyhounds started to make a bit of a comeback with them getting to 12 points, and cutting the FHS lead to nine, but that didn’t last long.
Fairfield finished the first set with the final five points scored for the 25-12 win.
The second set was nearly as strong for the Lady Lions, and though it was tied twice early on, the Lady Lions built a lead of 7-3 with the help of an ace by Jaden Smith and points from Miller, Hattan and Saylor Priest. There was also an ace by Fouch and a point from Hattan, as she spiked the ball off an assist by Miller.
“Saylor and Faith have really gotten better at their setting,” Hattan said. “They are placing and getting the ball up for all the hitters, and our serving has gotten much better. Braylynn (Haines) has a lot of aces this year, and Emma (Fouch) is serving very well too.”
Later, the Manchester score got to within three points of FHS at 10-7, then five points at 13-8, but Fairfield had an ace by Hattan and later a point at the net from Peyton Magee for a 16-10 Fairfield lead. Next came an ace by Miller, followed by another point from Miller for a lead of eight points at 18-10.
Toward the end of the second set, Fairfield added two points off kills from Hattan, and the set eventually ended with a 25-16 score.
Set three was nearly all Fairfield as they won 25-10 with FHS jumping out to a lead of 5-1 with the five straight points — Manchester scored the opening point of the set — with a play at the net by Miller and a point by Hattan, plus an ace by Fouch.
When the lead of Fairfield went to 11-3 in set three, play was stopped as Hattan was honored with the milestone of her 500th kill. As play resumed, the Lady Lions built a 16-3 lead, with the team scoring 10 consecutive points, as there was also a point by Magee and points off a serve by Miller.
“I didn’t think she would get it at home, but I’m very happy that she did,” Coach Hattan said of the 500th career kill for Layla (who is also her daughter). “After Monday, she needed 38, and the past two games she’s gotten 19 in each game, and I was like, ‘well, there you go.’ I was very happy she could do it at home.
“As a freshman, she was put on varsity by her coach then, and that is a big step, and after adjustments she really stepped up. As a sophomore and junior, she had progressed so much. Layla controls her hitting, and it is so much better.”
Magee later pushed the FHS score to 18-4, and an ace by Hattan put FHS ahead at 19-4 later in set three. The third set eventually ended with the 15-point set three lead, and on the final two points, big saves at the net were made by Smith.
Next for the Lady Lions in another SHAC match, as this time they’ll be at Lynchburg-Clay to face Highland County and SHAC foe the Lady Mustangs on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
“We’ve had three league games in a row this week and they were all tough league games,” Hattan said. “It wasn’t easy, and we fought hard in all of them.”
Before Thursday’s match, Fairfield opened the week on Monday with a loss at North Adams but rallied back the very next night with a big-five set win over Fayetteville. As for their most recent match against Manchester, the Lady Lions had an effort and success that isn’t matched with FHS defending Grandle Gymnasium in three straight sets, winning by scores of 25-12, 25-16 and 25-10.
Fairfield win also moved the Lady Lions to a 6-2 SHAC record, plus a record of 11-3 overall. The match also saw a stop in play in set three as junior Layla Hattan recorded her 500th career kill. This season, Hattan has around 150 kills.
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“This was probably our best team win. This was a total team effort. They stayed steady the whole game, as we’ve had a couple down games the past couple weeks,” FHS head coach Lesley Hattan said. “After fair break, we’ve had three practices because we’ve had so many games.
“We’ve made some adjustments on coverage and everything, and it clicked and really made a big difference tonight. The girls played well.”
The first set was played very close early on, with Fairfield’s Faith Miller putting the Lady Lions in front at 7-6. As the first set continued, FHS built a 16-6 lead, with the 14th through 16th points coming off a kill from Hattan, an ace by Miller and a tap at the net also by Hattan.
The Lewis eventually went to 19-8 in favor of the home squad following a play at the net by Emma Fouch. The Lady Greyhounds started to make a bit of a comeback with them getting to 12 points, and cutting the FHS lead to nine, but that didn’t last long.
Fairfield finished the first set with the final five points scored for the 25-12 win.
The second set was nearly as strong for the Lady Lions, and though it was tied twice early on, the Lady Lions built a lead of 7-3 with the help of an ace by Jaden Smith and points from Miller, Hattan and Saylor Priest. There was also an ace by Fouch and a point from Hattan, as she spiked the ball off an assist by Miller.
“Saylor and Faith have really gotten better at their setting,” Hattan said. “They are placing and getting the ball up for all the hitters, and our serving has gotten much better. Braylynn (Haines) has a lot of aces this year, and Emma (Fouch) is serving very well too.”
Later, the Manchester score got to within three points of FHS at 10-7, then five points at 13-8, but Fairfield had an ace by Hattan and later a point at the net from Peyton Magee for a 16-10 Fairfield lead. Next came an ace by Miller, followed by another point from Miller for a lead of eight points at 18-10.
Toward the end of the second set, Fairfield added two points off kills from Hattan, and the set eventually ended with a 25-16 score.
Set three was nearly all Fairfield as they won 25-10 with FHS jumping out to a lead of 5-1 with the five straight points — Manchester scored the opening point of the set — with a play at the net by Miller and a point by Hattan, plus an ace by Fouch.
When the lead of Fairfield went to 11-3 in set three, play was stopped as Hattan was honored with the milestone of her 500th kill. As play resumed, the Lady Lions built a 16-3 lead, with the team scoring 10 consecutive points, as there was also a point by Magee and points off a serve by Miller.
“I didn’t think she would get it at home, but I’m very happy that she did,” Coach Hattan said of the 500th career kill for Layla (who is also her daughter). “After Monday, she needed 38, and the past two games she’s gotten 19 in each game, and I was like, ‘well, there you go.’ I was very happy she could do it at home.
“As a freshman, she was put on varsity by her coach then, and that is a big step, and after adjustments she really stepped up. As a sophomore and junior, she had progressed so much. Layla controls her hitting, and it is so much better.”
Magee later pushed the FHS score to 18-4, and an ace by Hattan put FHS ahead at 19-4 later in set three. The third set eventually ended with the 15-point set three lead, and on the final two points, big saves at the net were made by Smith.
Next for the Lady Lions in another SHAC match, as this time they’ll be at Lynchburg-Clay to face Highland County and SHAC foe the Lady Mustangs on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
“We’ve had three league games in a row this week and they were all tough league games,” Hattan said. “It wasn’t easy, and we fought hard in all of them.”