Lynchburg-Clay sweeps Fairfield volleyball in 3 sets

LEESBURG — The Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs left Leesburg with a sweep of host Fairfield Wednesday evening at Grandle Gymnasium, winning all three sets en route to their first victory of the season.

LC won the Southern Hills Athletic Conference match with scores of 25-9, 25-10 and 25-22. In fact, the visiting Lady Mustangs (1-3) only trailed for a few moments in the second set during the entire match.

"The third set was good for us, because just about every match this year, most of the sets we've been real close with 16, 17, 18 points and just lost it at the end," LC head coach Mark Faust said. "It was good to be able to get one close set at the end.

"We didn't trail much, but we did a really good job of controlling the ball and passed well, which put us in good positions to attack. We also served well, and when we do those two things well, I think we are going be in pretty good shape."

FHS falls to 0-1 on the season.

In the first set, it was all LC as they scored the first point and later followed that with leads of 6-2, 11-5, 14-7 and eventually winning it by the aforementioned 25-9 score.

Set two was more of the same for the Lady Mustangs, winning by an almost identical score at 25-10.

LC last trailed by a 4-3 score in that second set, due in large part to the Lady Lions' Casey Carter lending a hand to her team with a spike and at the time a 3-1 advantage. Also a part of that scoring was Sarah Buddelmeyer with two aces to start the set.

But it was LC who gained the momentum, regaining the lead and never looking back as they outscored the host Lady Lions, 11-4 to end set two. At one point during that run, the Lady Mustangs scored seven consecutive points.

The third and final set is where the match got very interesting as LC jumped out to a 5-0 lead with points from Emily Roush and Tylar Griffith. Later in the set, Kylie Camp scored points at the front of the net for LC, as did teammate Hannah Magie for a 10-5 advantage.

"I thought Kylie played well, both at the net defensively and offensively," Faust said. "She had six kills."

FHS rallied, with Hannah Putnam giving the Lady Lions some momentum, followed by Carter having consecutive service points, bringing the hosts back to within a single point of tying Lynchburg-Clay with a 10-9 score.

"The third set was an eye opener for the girls for what their potential is," FHS head coach Jeanette Cunningham said. "The first two sets were a combination of nerves and being the first match of the season. We had Ciara Knisley, one of our starters out, so we had some of our freshmen step in for us.

"We had some people out of position, but game three was a taste of what we can do this season. I told the girls we came back from losing by a big amount, but you came back and fought."

LC later held a 15-13 lead following points from Roush at the net, and later an ace by teammate Abby Blankenship put the visitors ahead by three points.

FHS cut that lead back to two with a block at the net, and later the Lady Lions had Putnam step up and make it a two-point set at 17-15.

LC's Makayla Creed (14 assists) scored on an ace for a 19-16 score. Aces by Fairfield's Blake Adams tied the score at 21-21, and later the score was tied again at 22-22, as LC had regained the solo lead with service points by Shelby Marshall, who finished the match with nine kills.

The Lady Mustangs grabbed the lead for good with a timely and clutch block from Magie at the net, and the final two points of the match came with consecutive spikes from Griffith to seal the win at 25-22. Magie finished the match with five kills.

"We were very balanced all the way around," Faust said. "It is good to get the first win, but we have a couple big league games next week, then we go into fair week. If we can build a little momentum going into the fair, I think we will be in good shape."

One player who stood out for FHS was freshman Kami Magee.

"She's setting for us, and her first home game as a freshman, she stood out," Cunningham said. "She did her job well and helped the team."