Lady Mules Take Third In Silver Fight In Elite Crossroads Tourney

Chet Snyder’s Fairfield Lady Mules entered the Crossroads Classic this weekend undefeated with a 13-0 record. And while they left with two losses, they made their mark with three wins, playing as one of the smallest schools in a stacked field. The 3-2 showing left them with a third place finish in the silver flight.

This was the third year the Lady Mules have played in the Crossroads. Their first year, they won twice in pool play then finished last in gold flight. Last year, they lost both in pool play before winning the bronze flight. This year’s Silver flight third put them in between those two finishes. The two losses, however, came against top competition.

Fairfield opened Friday play with a 25-16, 25-16 win over Henderson County, KY.

That set up a matchup with Wheaton St. Francis, the defending 3A state champions. The Spartans handed Fairfield their first loss of the year with a 25-16, 25-16 score, matching the scores from Fairfield’s win over Henderson County.

500th Win

That loss also meant Fairfield head coach Chet Snyder would have to wait about 12 hours to celebrate win number 500 for his career. That milestone would come Saturday morning in a three-set battle with the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes. Fairfield cruised to a win in the opening set, 25-15, before getting tight in the second set and falling 25-22. They were able to regroup in the third, edging the Shoes, 15-12.

Snyder is in his 20^th year as head coach of the Lady Mules. They have had four straight full seasons with 30-plus wins and have never had a losing season since Snyder took over in 2004.

That win moved the Lady Mules on in the winner’s bracket of the Silver flight and meant a semifinal matchup with a 4A squad in the Libertyville Wildcats. The Lady Cats are ranked in the top 30 of the Maxpreps 4A rankings.

Fairfield won the first set, 25-19, but Libertyville rallied to take the next two, 25-22, 15-11. Fairfield had a chance to win it in two, leading 22-21 before giving up four straight points. In the final set, they were tied as late at 8-8, but then gave up a 6-1 run and were unable to recover.

Emersyn Robbins had 22 kills in the loss, one off her season high and the third time this year she has had 20-plus.

The Lady Mules’ final match of the tournament came against Hindsdale South for third place in the Silver flight. Fairfield set the tone early, jumping out to a 16-3 lead in the first set on their way to a 25-17, 25-20 win.

Fairfield dominated the Hornets with their service game, offering up eight aces, with just one missed serve. They got a combined 19 kills from their senior duo of Robbins and Rylee Edwards.

The enrollments of the teams Fairfield played in the tournament were: Henderson County (2,050), Wheaton St. Francis (695, private), Teutopolis (325), Libertyville (1,850) and Hindsdale South (1,700). Fairfield’s enrollment is 410.

Robbins finished the tournament with 72 kills in five matches but was somehow left off the all-tournament team. Those kills have moved her career total to 1,542, which puts her in the top 20 all-time in IHSA. She would crack the top five all-time with 155 more kills, despite having her sophomore season cut short by the Covid shutdown.

Fairfield (16-2) will host Flora tonight (Thursday) at Center Street School, as the high school gymnasium floor is being worked out.

Fairfield def. Henderson Co.
25-16, 25-16

Kills-Attacks-Errors—Emersyn Robbins 12-20-4, Rylee Edwards 6-11-2, Kenzie Turner 3-5-1, Lainie Clark 3-5, Ava Best 2-3, Libbee Cline 2-2, Gracie Atwood 1-11-4, Total 29-58-11.

Serving—Robbins 12-15, Mabry Ellis 7-8, Cori Sutton 7-8, Best 7-8, Katherine Newman 8-8, Edwards 4-5, Total 42-49.

Aces—Robbins 1, Best 1.

Digs—Ellis 10, Edwards 8, Best 8, Robbins 7, Newman 7, Sutton 4, Atwood 3, Clark 3, Cline 1.

Assists—Best 16, Edwards 10, Newman 1, Cline 1, Ellis 1.

St. Francis def. Fairfield
25-16, 25-16

Kills-Attacks-Errors—Robbins 8-26-4, Edwards 2-7, Clark 2-6-1, Atwood 1-4-1, Turner 0-3-1, Total 13-46-7.

Serving—Edwards 8-8, Best 7-7, Sutton 5-6, Ellis 5-5, Robbins 4-4, Newman 3-3, Total 32-33.

Aces—Edwards 4, Ellis 1, Newman 1.

Digs—Ellis 18, Edwards 8, Best 6, Robbins 5, Newman 3, Atwood 3, Sutton 2.

Assists—Edwards 6, Ellis 3, Best 3, Robbins 1.

Fairfield def. Teutopolis
25-15, 22-25, 15-12

Kills-Attacks-Errors—Robbins 18-30-2, Atwood 8-13, Edwards 4-5, Clark 2-4-1, Turner 2-4, Best 1-4, Total 35-60-3.

Serving—Ellis 18-18, Robbins 12-12, Edwards 10-10, Sutton 8-8, Newman 5-7, Best 6-7, Total 59-62.

Aces—Ellis 1, Robbins 1, Best 1.

Digs—Ellis 22, Edwards 14, Best 14, Robbins 9, Sutton 4, Atwood 4, Newman 4, Clark 3, Turner 2.

Assists—Edwards 20, Best 10, Robbins 1, Ellis 1.

Libertyville def. Fairfield
25-19, 22-25, 15-11

Kills-Attacks-Errors—Robbins 22-52-4, Atwood 7-16-4, Edwards 3-9-2, Clark 2-4-1, Best 1-3-1, Turner 0-4-1, Total 35-88-13.

Serving—Edwards 13-14, Robbins 9-10, Best 9-10, Ellis 8-9, Newman 8-9, Sutton 7-7, Total 54-59.

Aces—Edwards 2, Robbins 2, Ellis 1.

Digs—Ellis 26, Edwards 24, Robbins 16, Best 9, Atwood 9, Sutton 8, Newman 7, Turner 5, Clark 4.

Assists—Edwards 24, Best 11.

Fairfield def. Hinsdale South
25-17, 25-20

Kills-Attacks-Errors—Robbins 12-33-5, Edwards 7-12-2, Atwood 3-12-1, Best 2-5-1, Turner 1-5-2, Clark 0-1-1, Total 25-68-13.

Serving—Robbins 14-14, Newman 9-10, Sutton 8-8, Best 7-7, Edwards 6-6, Ellis 4-4, Total 48-49.

Aces—Robbins 3, Newman 1, Sutton 1, Best 1, Edwards 1, Ellis 1.

Digs—Robbins 12, Ellis 12, Edwards 8, Atwood 8, Newman 8, Sutton 6, Best 4, Turner 1.

Assists—Edwards 9, Best 8, Ellis 2, Robbins 1.