Lady Lions sweep Whiteoak in 3 sets
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — For two nights, the Fairfield Lady Lions were scheduled to face two of the best teams in the Southern Hills League … and for two straight nights, the Fairfield Lady Lions walked off the court with league wins as Tuesday proved to cap off the two-day feat, sweeping Highland County rival Whiteoak in three sets at WHS.
The Lady Lions recently made some changes with their lineup and in-game rotations … and so far, they have worked as they got off to a slow start this season, but a win Monday vs. previously league-undefeated Fayetteville and Wednesday's win over the Lady 'Cats has put the Lady Lions right in the mix for a league title (they won the '11 championship) as they are 4-2 in the SHL and 5-3 overall.
WHS fell to 1-2 in league games and 5-2 overall.
"Since we made our changes, it seems the girls have started to gel as a team," FHS coach MaryBeth Hodson said. "The girls are playing a lot better as a team. The girls have done so well the past two nights.
"The girls are playing hard, smart and are a scrappy team. We've adjusted to our team speed, and that's made a big difference. Also, my seniors have stepped up their game."
As for their match, Fairfield won all three sets by 25-20 scores, as there were a total of eight tied scores in the first two sets, seven in the first set alone.
It was the Lady 'Cats who got off to the fast start in the first set, leading 4-1 with points off serves by Mikayla Burns, along with points from McKenzee Martin, Christine Hamilton and Emma Wardlow.
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Later in the set, Brenna Simmons and Makenna Corzatt had consecutive points, bringing FHS within one point of a tied score, and a few serves later, the score went again to FHS being down a single point this time with help from a spike by Simmons made it a 9-8 score.
The lead continued to stay in favor of WHS, but Cynnamon Sova-Davy brought FHS closer (12-11), as the score eventually was tied at 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 through a variety of scoring opportunities by each team with points from Makenna Corzatt, Burns, Martin, Simmons, Sydney Corzatt and Sova-Davy.
With the score tied at 20, the Lady Lions rallied strong with five straight points to end the first set.
Set two was just as close throughout the period with FHS taking a 4-0 lead to start, then building leads of 12-2 and 13-5. WHS rallied back with points by Hamilton and Amber Gorman, but again, the Lady Lions stayed in the lead until the score was tied at 19. From there, FHS didn't trail for the remainder of the set with points from Sarah Putnam, Sova-Davy and Makenna Corzatt.
The third set, again, began with the Lady Lions jumping out to an early lead at 10-1 (with a point from Sirenity Smith) and later 16-6. Though the score was never tied in set three, the Lady 'Cats did keep it close by getting to within two points of tying the score at 22-20. FHS ended the match with hits by Putnam and Simmons.
FHS will play again on Thursday as they face North Adams in SHL play. WHS will face Paint Valley in non-league play on Wednesday in a home match.
BOX SCORE
Set 1 — 25-20, FHS
Set 2 — 25-20, FHS
Set 3 — 25-20, FHS
The Lady Lions recently made some changes with their lineup and in-game rotations … and so far, they have worked as they got off to a slow start this season, but a win Monday vs. previously league-undefeated Fayetteville and Wednesday's win over the Lady 'Cats has put the Lady Lions right in the mix for a league title (they won the '11 championship) as they are 4-2 in the SHL and 5-3 overall.
WHS fell to 1-2 in league games and 5-2 overall.
"Since we made our changes, it seems the girls have started to gel as a team," FHS coach MaryBeth Hodson said. "The girls are playing a lot better as a team. The girls have done so well the past two nights.
"The girls are playing hard, smart and are a scrappy team. We've adjusted to our team speed, and that's made a big difference. Also, my seniors have stepped up their game."
As for their match, Fairfield won all three sets by 25-20 scores, as there were a total of eight tied scores in the first two sets, seven in the first set alone.
It was the Lady 'Cats who got off to the fast start in the first set, leading 4-1 with points off serves by Mikayla Burns, along with points from McKenzee Martin, Christine Hamilton and Emma Wardlow.
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Later in the set, Brenna Simmons and Makenna Corzatt had consecutive points, bringing FHS within one point of a tied score, and a few serves later, the score went again to FHS being down a single point this time with help from a spike by Simmons made it a 9-8 score.
The lead continued to stay in favor of WHS, but Cynnamon Sova-Davy brought FHS closer (12-11), as the score eventually was tied at 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 through a variety of scoring opportunities by each team with points from Makenna Corzatt, Burns, Martin, Simmons, Sydney Corzatt and Sova-Davy.
With the score tied at 20, the Lady Lions rallied strong with five straight points to end the first set.
Set two was just as close throughout the period with FHS taking a 4-0 lead to start, then building leads of 12-2 and 13-5. WHS rallied back with points by Hamilton and Amber Gorman, but again, the Lady Lions stayed in the lead until the score was tied at 19. From there, FHS didn't trail for the remainder of the set with points from Sarah Putnam, Sova-Davy and Makenna Corzatt.
The third set, again, began with the Lady Lions jumping out to an early lead at 10-1 (with a point from Sirenity Smith) and later 16-6. Though the score was never tied in set three, the Lady 'Cats did keep it close by getting to within two points of tying the score at 22-20. FHS ended the match with hits by Putnam and Simmons.
FHS will play again on Thursday as they face North Adams in SHL play. WHS will face Paint Valley in non-league play on Wednesday in a home match.
BOX SCORE
Set 1 — 25-20, FHS
Set 2 — 25-20, FHS
Set 3 — 25-20, FHS