Lynchburg-Clay defends home court over rival Fairfield in 5-set classic

DODSONVILLE — The Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs and the Fairfield Lady Lions showed Thursday evening exactly what a rivalry match can be and should be on the volleyball court. 

When the two Highland County and Southern Hills Athletic Conference rivals stepped onto the court at Lynchburg-Clay High School Thursday, they both were battling for position in their respective divisions of the conference standings, plus they also had their own county bragging rights on the line … and it showed. 

The Lady Mustangs defended their home court in a five-set win, but taking over two hours to complete. The two teams split the first four sets played with LCHS winning the first two sets at 25-23 and 25-20, followed by the Lady Lions winning the third and fourth sets at 25-15 and 26-24, forcing a match-deciding fifth and final set where the Lady Mustangs were the first to 15 with at least a two-point advantage to gain the SHAC victory, winning set five at 15-10.  

As competitive as the match was, some school history was set for the Lady Lions with junior Remi Moon setting the single-game Fairfield school record with 31 kills, breaking her own previous school record of 29 kills. Moon also added three assists, one ace and 28 digs. 

Lynchburg-Clay head coach Janelle Rockey spoke about the win and having players back who previously missed action due to injuries. 

“We knew this would be a very tight game,” Rockey said. “Fairfield is a fantastic team, and I felt like they are one we are pretty evenly matched up with, as far as coming out and knowing it wasn’t going to be an easy job tonight. 

“We have them back, and we brought up a JV player — Bre Rosselott — she’s a tall girl just this week because we needed some blocking help, and she definitely did the job we’ve asked her to do.”

Fairfield head coach Kamryn Daulton also spoke about the highly competitive effort her Lady Lions have, as they were the winners of sets three and four.

“The word that comes to mind is the perseverance from the team. I think this is the game everyone stepped up and played as one unit, not just an individual player shining through,” Daulton said. “We played as a team, played with energy, with motivation, and they really wanted it, so it is tough we came out without the win, but I think the girls learned.

“Lynchburg-Clay is a great team and has a great coach. I respect her so much. I told our girls they had a great game, and they looked like they had fun, and that really changes the game in their mind. We were talking in the locker room about the lessons learned and how they play and how they come out with the mindset and energy, and just working together as one and learning from that.”

The first set began with Fairfield scoring first and eventually led 4-1 following serves from Jorja May, but eventually the score was tied at 7-7 when a serve by Lynchburg-Clay’s Kylie O’Connor evened the score. May ended the match with seven kills, four aces and 21 digs.

LCHS took a 11-7 lead as the first set continued, but Fairfield came back to make it a 13-12 score with a point from Jaeden Drury of FHS and a kill by Moon for a one-point deficit. 

“Remi Moon always stands out as one of our top hitters. I thought she read Lynchburg’s spots really well and where to put the ball on the other side of the net,” Daulton said. “Jaeden Drury, our middle hitter, had some really good hits, but overall they all played pretty well.”

As set one continued, the score stayed close with a timeout called when LCHS built a three-point lead at 18-15, followed by points scored by O’Connor and Mattie Magee. Magee ended the match with 15 kills, one assist, one block and six digs. 

Fairfield tied the score at 19 and then built a 21-19 lead with the 21st point scored by Ally Maynard of FHS, forcing Lynchburg-Clay to slow the pace and call a timeout. Maynard finished with two kills and an ace.

The Lady Mustangs battled back, tying the score at 21 with an ace from Ava McLaughlin, as she finished the match with 14 assists, two aces and 13 digs.

LCHS continued adding to their advantage with a 23-21 score, and the Lady Lions called another timeout. 

The match continued to stay close after the timeout was completed with Moon bringing FHS to within a point of tying LCHS, but the Lady Mustangs gained the set one win at 25-23 with a block at the net by Lynchburg-Clay’s Bre Rosselott to seal the win. Rosselott finished the match with one kill, two digs and five blocks. 

Coach Rockey also talked about the importance of the Lady Mustangs’ roster for an entire contest. 

“We talk about how the bench has a very important role of keeping our players hyped during the game, and sometimes our bench gets a little carried away,” she said. “They get a little excited, but I credit a lot of our mental game to our bench players. Everybody comes off, and they are on the bench at some point, and they are all wild and crazy over there.

“I also feel like we don’t have to rely on one player to get the job done. Any one player steps up and does a fantastic job on any given night.”

Set two started with the Lady Mustangs scoring the first three points, and eventually they led at 9-6 as a serve by Fairfield’s Addison Cannon brought FHS to within three points of the home team. Cannon totaled one assist, one ace, six digs and one block. 

After the two teams continued to battle and exchange kills and points, the scoreboard read 17-12 with LCHS in the lead as Fairfield called a timeout. 

The timeout helped Fairfield as they got back to within three points of tying LCHS with one of the points being a block at the net by Cannon for a 19-15 score. Some of the points for the Lady Lions were assisted by Paisley Stahlhut, who for the match had a total of three kills, 42 assists, one ace and 15 digs. 

LCHS kept the lead for the remainder of the second set with some of the points being scored off  kills by Halle Greene, including the junior scoring the final point of the set for the five-point win at 25-20. Greene totaled 11 kills, three aces and 20 digs. 

The third set was won by FHS by 10 points at 25-15, as it was Fairfield taking the early lead at 4-0 and later at 9-1. 

A point by Joslyn Rockey — who totaled one kill, two assists and 39 digs — followed with an ace from Greene brought LCHS back to within seven points of Fairfield at 13-6, but Fairfield kept their lead, building it back up to nine points at 18-9as LCHS called a timeout. 

Later in the set, the Lady Lions had a point by Drury, and an ace by May left Fairfield in front at 22-12, a 10-point lead. FHS kept the lead for the rest of the set for the 10-point win at 25-15. Drury totaled six kills, four assists, five digs and one block for the match.  

In the closest set of the match, again, to continue the match the Lady Lions had a must-win situation in front of them, and that’s exactly what they did, winning 26-24 in a set four that saw 11 ties scored all the way from 1-1 to 24-24. 

When the score was tied at five, it was a serve by Lynchburg-Clay’s Melany Stephenson (who totaled two aces and 18 digs) that lifted LCHS in the lead at 6-5, but the score was quickly tied at 6-6, after which Fairfield led 8-6 following an ace by Moon.

The score was tied at 10-10 following a play at the net by Magee and a serve from Avery Shope for the tied score. For the match, Shope collected one kill, two aces and 18 digs. 

Fairfield regained the lead when a play by Drury for an 11-10 lead, but the score was later tied at 11-11 after a point scored at the net by Greene. 

As the fourth set continued, plays made by O’Connor of LCHS put the score tied at 15-15. O’Connor totaled seven kills, one ace, seven digs and three blocks. 

Later, the set was tied at 16 and 17 points, but LCHS put together a three-point run for a 20-17 lead after a tip at the net by Magee as Fairfield called a timeout. 

Fairfield battled back for a tied score of 22-22 when Alyssa Bales of Fairfield had an ace, and after a LCHS timeout, they regained the lead with a 24-22 score, as Fairfield decided to call a timeout. 

LCHS was one point away from winning the match with a 24-23 lead, but the Lady Lions didn’t fold, scoring the next three points for a 24-24 tied score, then a 26-24 set four win, forcing a fifth and final set. 

The first to 15 points (including a two-point final lead) fifth set started with Fairfield getting point one following an out-of-play serve by LCHS. 

Next, the score was tied at 1-1 following an FHS out-of-play hit, and in a point that lasted many hits over the net, the Lady Lions held a 2-1 lead. From there, a serve by Bales put Fairfield ahead by 3-1. Bales finished with 28 digs and three aces.

After the Lady Lions jumped to a 7-4 lead, Lynchburg-Clay called a timeout, leading to the score eventually tied at 9-9 following a Magee play at the net. LCHS took the lead for the first time in set five with a point from Greene as Fairfield called a timeout, trailing 10-9. 

Lynchburg-Clay built a 13-9 lead after the timeout with a point off a hit by Magee and two hits that landed in Fairfield territory. As the match kept going, the Lady Mustangs didn’t relinquish the lead for the 15-10 set-five win and 3-2 match win.

“It’s a whole team effort, and I’m lucky enough that I have a team that gives a whole team effort,” Rockey said. “I feel like I can rely on the entire team, and I don’t feel like there is a weak spot anywhere.”

The Mustangs also had Addy Carraher finish with two kills, 17 assists and six digs. LC teammate Jules Vesey finished the match with one kill, one assist and five digs. 

Team totals for LCHS were 39 kills, 35 assists, 10 aces, 134 digs and nine blocks. The Lady Lions’ team totals included 49 kills, 50 assists, 11 aces, 134 digs and two blocks. 

The win improves Lynchburg-Clay to 11-5 overall and 8-2 in Division I of the SHAC as they are currently in second place in the Div. I standings. 

Fairfield now stands at 8-2 in the SHAC Division II standings for first place, with an overall record of 12-4 this season. 

LCHS next plays on Monday, Sept, 29 at home in non-conference play against the Blanchester Lady Wildcats at 6:15 p.m. 

Fairfield also plays next on Monday, Sept. 29 on the road at Paint Valley against the Lady Bearcats with a 6:15 p.m. start in non-conference action.