McClain hands Fairfield first loss of season

LEESBURG — Taking three sets on Monday night, the McClain Lady Tigers handed the Fairfield Lady Lions their first loss of the 2024 season, with MHS winning 3-0 at Grandle Gymnasium. 

The Lady Tigers — from the Frontier Athletic Conference  — won by scores of 25-14, 25-16 and 26-24 in a thriller for the final set against Fairfield of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference. 

McClain never trailed in the first set, leading early on after they scored the first three points of the first set. MHS later built a 4-1 lead with a point scored at the net by Korhi Toney. The score went to 5-3 after Fairfield’s Jaeden Drury added a point. 

MHS answered with a play at the net from Anna Eikenberry, but FHS came right back with a point at the net from Kinsey Drury, and following a kill by McClain’s Lydia Beatty, it was Kinsey Drury responding later in the set with an ace to get the Lady Lions to within one point of tying the score at 7-6. 

The Lady Tigers built a 13-6 lead with points being scored by Brenna Wright, Kylea Toney and Beatty, with Toney’s point being an ace. 

As the first set continued, Fairfield had a point scored off a kill from Jobey Hattan, with FHS trailing 16-12. MHS increased their lead to 20-13 as Fairfield called a timeout. After the break in play, McClain added a point off an ace by Eikenberry, and eventually won the first set 25-14 with an ace from Madalyn Giffin. 

McClain head coach Taylor Alsop talked about the win and her team.

“It was a good run for us today, and we're still working some things out,” Alsop said. “I like that the girls all played together, and it was a team effort. All my seniors got in, all my juniors went in, one of my sophomores, then we have two other girls on the bench and they were cheering.”

There were six ties in set two at 1-1, 2-2, 4-4, 5-5, 9-9 and 10-10.

McClain’s Toney tied the score at 9-9 with an ace, and MHS then took the lead with another serve by Toney that resulted in a point for a 10-9 advantage. Fairfield tied the score at 10-10 with a point at the net by Mackenzie Anderson.

MHS took the lead with points scored by Wright and Anzli Beatty for a 12-10 lead. As the second set continued, points from Fairfield’s McKinley Cox and Hattan got the Lady Lions to within one point for a 13-12 FHS deficit. 

The Lady Tigers kept the pressure on Fairfield and eventually led 19-15, and they scored nine of the next 10 points for the 25-16 set two win. 

Fairfield head coach Jerrica Stackhouse spoke about the match. 

“It wasn't the result we wanted. We got a lot of kids playing in a lot of different positions, new positions for them, positions that they haven't seen in the last three years,” FHS head coach Stackhouse said. “We're still trying to get everything figured out.

“Before tonight, it's been a great start if everybody's healthy. We're having two starters sitting,  that hurts a little bit. So that's why we're trying to figure out new positions.”

The third and final set was played closely, but Fairfield began with Hattan scoring a point, followed by FHS taking a two-point lead. The set was eventually tied at 3-3, but MHS broke the tied score with an ace from Wright. Fairfield tied the score at 5-5 off a serve by Fairfield’s Alyssa Bales. 

MHS broke the set three tie with a point at the net from Giffin, and as the set progressed Fairfield’s Paisley Stalhut scored a point off an ace, putting FHS back to within one point of tying the score at 8-7. 

The score then went to 10-7 in favor of McClain off a hit by Kylea Toney, and then 13-10 after Eikenberry scored a point for the Lady Tigers. 

The Lady Tigers stayed in the lead as Kylea Toney had a big hit for a 19-15 MHS lead, and later she and Beatty put the Lady Tigers ahead by five points for a 21-16 lead. Two consecutive points scored by Jaeden Drury of Fairfield later on in the set, plus an MHS hit out of play, left the score tied at 22-22. 

After a McClain timeout — their first timeout of the match  — they regained the lead by one point, but Fairfield’s Anderson tied the score at 23 with a play at the net. The score was again tied at 24-24 after Jaeden Drury had a play at the net, but in the end the Lady Tigers were too strong for Fairfield with back-to-back points scored for the away team, winning the set at 26-24 and sweeping all three sets. 

Coach Alsop talked about the win and where her team is after five matches this season. 

“Where we're at now, we all are very happy about things, because it could have gone really negative coming out of Spike and Dig, because it was rough for us,” Alsop said. “So, right now, we've transitioned well, and they're doing everything they need to do. We're getting to the spots we need to be and our blocks where it needs to be at. So I'm overall happy, and I think the girls are too.

“This was a team effort, where everybody filled in and chipped in where they could. I think we were pretty even with kills. I think our aces were pretty even. Everybody did what they needed to do. That's all I could ask for.”

Next for Fairfield (3-1) is an away SHAC match on Tuesday, Aug. 27 on the road at Manchester. 

McClain (3-2) is scheduled to play again on Tuesday, Aug. 27 at home vs. the Washington Lady Blue Lions in FAC play.