It was a tough assignment right now out the gate for Fairfield volleyball, hosting a conference rival in the first game of the season. Fairfield not only answered the bell, but swept all three levels of the matchups with Eastside on Saturday, winning 3-0 in the varsity contest, and 2-0 in the JV and C games.
Eva Herbert covered up the net in the varsity matchup against the Blazers, notching 10 kills and two blocks while Elli Yoder led the defense with 10 digs in the 25-18, 25-20, 25-16 win. Maddy Miller and Abigail Graber combined for 30 assists, 10 digs and five aces. Addy Piasecki, Aubrey Ross and Lacy Stoltzfus each contributed six kills.
The JV put away Eastside 25-23, 25-10 with Shelby Cripe and Jenna Fought combining for eight digs, seven assists and seven aces. Paige Park led the junior crew with five kills.
The C-Team scored a 25-17, 25-12 win.
Fairfield cross country opened its 2024 calendar Saturday morning at a damp OxBow Park in Elkhart as dual participants in the Early Bird Invite hosted by Elkhart.
The Falcons were led by Carson Correll and Kaden Decker, both earning top-15 places as the team placed squarely in fourth place in the eight-team field. Correll was 13th at 18:27 and Decker clocked in at 18:50 for 15th, with teammate Caden Harris 19th at 19:04. Dillon Fussle (24th, 19:57) and Levi Sydor (25th, 20:03) made up Fairfield’s remaining scorers.
Elkhart put on a show in the boys race, landing all five of its scorers in the top 10, going 1-2-3 to win the team title. Lions seniors Max Malloy and Aaron Richter were magnificent, Malloy winning at 16:08, and Richter, last year’s No. 5 at the IHSAA Cross Country State Finals, came home at 16:58.
The Lady Falcons didn’t run with two of their top guns, as Lyla Dennis and Natalee Lambright were flag bearers and cheerleaders on the course as their teammates took the tour around the sectional layout.
Lorelei Shively paced Fairfield with a 14th place time of 24:04. Claire Foust and Emma Walter ran virtually side-by-side for most of the race and finish in a similar pose, Foust at 24:32 and Walter at 24:33. Shelby Miller (29, 25:27) was the fourth home for Fairfield.
Concord’s Zoe Roberts commanded her home course at OxBow, winning at 20:30, but South Bend St. Joe went 2-3-4 to pad a 31-point cushion over Concord for the team title. Fairfield finished fourth in the team standings with 104 points.