Lynchburg-Clay volleyball wins sectional semifinal over Fairfield
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Ending the regular season with three straight losses, the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs got back to their winning ways and in a big way by advancing their season with a Division III SE District sectional semifinal win, defeating the Fairfield Lady Lions three sets to one Tuesday night at LCHS.
The sectional semifinal win by the Lady Mustangs was their first win in the sectional round since 1998, as LC won sets one, two and four to move on to the sectional finals on Saturday where they will face top seeded Adena, a program that reached the regional finals last season.
LC won set one over the visiting Lady Lions by a 25-15 score and followed that with a second set win at 25-22. In the third set, the Lady Lions won by a 25-13 score, then in the fourth LC finished the match with a 25-20 win.
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“One of the things we’ve struggled with this year was when we play well, we play really, really well, but it seems when one or two bad things happen our confidence goes out the window, and we give in to the atmosphere and pressure,” LC head coach Mark Faust said. “It would have been easy in the fourth set for us to do that, but the seniors kind of turned it on, we got some key plays from our younger girls and they just kept fighting.
“Winning a sectional semifinal might not be a lot for some schools, but we haven’t done it since 1998, so regardless how Saturday turns out, we’ve advanced the program and that’s what I’ve wanted from these seniors.”
Seniors for LC are Abby Blankenship, Tylar Griffith, Makayla Creed and Hannah Morgan.
“Tylar and Makayla are four-year starters and have started from day one as freshmen,” Faust said. “Hannah is a three-year starter and four-year player, and Abby is a two-year starter and four-year player. Those four have seen a lot, and as sophomores they were division champs in the SHAC, as juniors they were 12-1 SHAC champions and this year they won in the sectional semifinals.
“They’ve just kept advancing the bar, and that is what I’ve kept asking them to do through their four years … to keep getting better and keep improving the program, and that is what they’ve done.”
The win by LC also avenged a regular-season loss to Fairfield, as on Sept. 29 it was FHS who won in three straight sets at LCHS.
In the early stages of the first set, the Lady Mustangs led by a 10-4 score and from that point on never released the lead. LC eventually led by a 15-10 score with the 15th point scored by senior Makayla Creed, but FHS responded with a point at the front of the net from Ciara Knisley.
Later, an ace by Creed, followed by another serve for a point and a play at the net also from Creed pushed the LC lead to eight points at 19-11.
As the first set continued, senior Tylar Griffith scored a point, as did senior Abby Blankenship to give LC a 24-14 advantage with Blankenship scoring the 24th point with a kill. LC won the set with the 25th point being score when the Lady Lions hit their side of the net.
Set two was tied a total of nine times, all the way from 7-7 to 22-22. Early in the second set, the Lady Lions cut the LC lead to 4-2 with a point from Kamryn Magee, and later a kill from Lauren Arnold brought the Lady Lions to within one point of LC at 9-8.
Later, FHS made it a one-point differential once again, this time at 11-10 as Knisley had a point scored at the front of the net, and on the ensuing serve the set was tied at 11-11 off an ace from Blake Adams.
The second set continued to be played closely with it being tied at 13, but serves from Megan Baker and help from teammates put the Lady Lions ahead by two points at 15-13. LC responded by tying the score at 15 and 16, until FHS was able to take the lead once again with points at the net off a block from Breanna Barnes.
LC’s Zoe Fittro helped the Lady Mustangs eventually tied the score at 18, and LC took a 19-18 lead with a points from Abby Blankenship. Again, the second set was tied at 20-20 and later at 21 and 22, but serves from Mia McCammon (including an ace) pushed LC in front at 24-22. Following a timeout by FHS, McCammon lifted LC to a set two win with another serve that wasn’t able to be returned by the Lady Lions for a 25-22 win.
Besides a 1-1 tie early in set three, Fairfield never trailed in set three, as their dominating effort included points from Knisley, Baker, Barnes and Layla Hattan to put FHS in front 11-4, forcing LC to call a timeout. Later in the third set, Hattan and Barnes eventually helped complete a streak of scoring that went from a lead of 8-4 to 15-4 as FHS scored seven consecutive points.
Abby Pitzer scored a point for LC on a serve, but FHS answered with a point of their own by Arnold for a lead of 17-6. The match continued with LC getting to within nine points of the Lady Lions with a point at the net by Brooklyn Laymon. From there, though, it was all FHS with Hattan and Barnes controlling the rest of the set for a 25-13 FHS win.
The fourth set was fierce as the second set with the Lady Lions gaining the lead and keeping it in the early-to-mid stages of the set. That was until the fourth set was tied from the 12th point to the 17th point for a 17-17 tie. LC was able to get the tempo in the final part of the fourth set with for a 25-20 win.
With the loss, the Lady Lions finish at 8-13 overall, and they had a SHAC record of 7-5. Seniors for the Lady Lions are: Blake Adams, Ciara Knisley and Saylor Priest.
The sectional semifinal win by the Lady Mustangs was their first win in the sectional round since 1998, as LC won sets one, two and four to move on to the sectional finals on Saturday where they will face top seeded Adena, a program that reached the regional finals last season.
LC won set one over the visiting Lady Lions by a 25-15 score and followed that with a second set win at 25-22. In the third set, the Lady Lions won by a 25-13 score, then in the fourth LC finished the match with a 25-20 win.
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“One of the things we’ve struggled with this year was when we play well, we play really, really well, but it seems when one or two bad things happen our confidence goes out the window, and we give in to the atmosphere and pressure,” LC head coach Mark Faust said. “It would have been easy in the fourth set for us to do that, but the seniors kind of turned it on, we got some key plays from our younger girls and they just kept fighting.
“Winning a sectional semifinal might not be a lot for some schools, but we haven’t done it since 1998, so regardless how Saturday turns out, we’ve advanced the program and that’s what I’ve wanted from these seniors.”
Seniors for LC are Abby Blankenship, Tylar Griffith, Makayla Creed and Hannah Morgan.
“Tylar and Makayla are four-year starters and have started from day one as freshmen,” Faust said. “Hannah is a three-year starter and four-year player, and Abby is a two-year starter and four-year player. Those four have seen a lot, and as sophomores they were division champs in the SHAC, as juniors they were 12-1 SHAC champions and this year they won in the sectional semifinals.
“They’ve just kept advancing the bar, and that is what I’ve kept asking them to do through their four years … to keep getting better and keep improving the program, and that is what they’ve done.”
The win by LC also avenged a regular-season loss to Fairfield, as on Sept. 29 it was FHS who won in three straight sets at LCHS.
In the early stages of the first set, the Lady Mustangs led by a 10-4 score and from that point on never released the lead. LC eventually led by a 15-10 score with the 15th point scored by senior Makayla Creed, but FHS responded with a point at the front of the net from Ciara Knisley.
Later, an ace by Creed, followed by another serve for a point and a play at the net also from Creed pushed the LC lead to eight points at 19-11.
As the first set continued, senior Tylar Griffith scored a point, as did senior Abby Blankenship to give LC a 24-14 advantage with Blankenship scoring the 24th point with a kill. LC won the set with the 25th point being score when the Lady Lions hit their side of the net.
Set two was tied a total of nine times, all the way from 7-7 to 22-22. Early in the second set, the Lady Lions cut the LC lead to 4-2 with a point from Kamryn Magee, and later a kill from Lauren Arnold brought the Lady Lions to within one point of LC at 9-8.
Later, FHS made it a one-point differential once again, this time at 11-10 as Knisley had a point scored at the front of the net, and on the ensuing serve the set was tied at 11-11 off an ace from Blake Adams.
The second set continued to be played closely with it being tied at 13, but serves from Megan Baker and help from teammates put the Lady Lions ahead by two points at 15-13. LC responded by tying the score at 15 and 16, until FHS was able to take the lead once again with points at the net off a block from Breanna Barnes.
LC’s Zoe Fittro helped the Lady Mustangs eventually tied the score at 18, and LC took a 19-18 lead with a points from Abby Blankenship. Again, the second set was tied at 20-20 and later at 21 and 22, but serves from Mia McCammon (including an ace) pushed LC in front at 24-22. Following a timeout by FHS, McCammon lifted LC to a set two win with another serve that wasn’t able to be returned by the Lady Lions for a 25-22 win.
Besides a 1-1 tie early in set three, Fairfield never trailed in set three, as their dominating effort included points from Knisley, Baker, Barnes and Layla Hattan to put FHS in front 11-4, forcing LC to call a timeout. Later in the third set, Hattan and Barnes eventually helped complete a streak of scoring that went from a lead of 8-4 to 15-4 as FHS scored seven consecutive points.
Abby Pitzer scored a point for LC on a serve, but FHS answered with a point of their own by Arnold for a lead of 17-6. The match continued with LC getting to within nine points of the Lady Lions with a point at the net by Brooklyn Laymon. From there, though, it was all FHS with Hattan and Barnes controlling the rest of the set for a 25-13 FHS win.
The fourth set was fierce as the second set with the Lady Lions gaining the lead and keeping it in the early-to-mid stages of the set. That was until the fourth set was tied from the 12th point to the 17th point for a 17-17 tie. LC was able to get the tempo in the final part of the fourth set with for a 25-20 win.
With the loss, the Lady Lions finish at 8-13 overall, and they had a SHAC record of 7-5. Seniors for the Lady Lions are: Blake Adams, Ciara Knisley and Saylor Priest.