Comeback For The Ages: Lady Mules Hold Off Visiting Lions

Playing in front of a large, loud crowd on the annual Pink Out night, the Edwards County Lions took their shot at the queens of the BDC…and missed, learning nothing from Omar Little.

Edwards County had Chet Snyder’s host Fairfield Lady Mules on the ropes all night, putting them on their heels with a first set win. They had them down in the third set, but the Lady Mules fought for point after point and eventually pulled off a 16-25, 25-19, 28-26 win to remain unbeaten in pool play.

It was the second time in the last two weeks Fairfield had to go three sets to hold off a conference rival, but paired with a Tuesday road win in Eldorado, the Lady Mules have clinched at least a share of their sixth straight BDC-East conference title. They will look to win it outright tonight (Thursday), when they host Carmi for Senior Night. It was the Lady Bulldogs who had Fairfield on the ropes back on Sep. 26, also unable to complete the task.

Fairfield stumbled out of the gate Monday against the visiting Lions, struggling with both their serve receive and the Lions’ net defense. Edwards County jumped out to a huge 16-5 lead, stunning the normally boisterous Fairfield student section, while energizing the visiting student section, turning the vibe in the gym toward the away team.

Emersyn Robbins had kills for three of the first five points, but also got blocked three times in that stretch, a rarity for the prolific ender of points. The Lions also aced Fairfield three times in the first 13 points, controlling the game with their serving.

Fairfield would regroup and pull back within six at 21-15, but the deficit was too great to overcome and the Lions won the first set by nine.

Second Set Deficit

The Lions looked game again in the second set, jumping out to a 7-4 lead, getting two kills and an ace freshman Jenna Shaw, as well as a third block in the match from sophomore middle Grace McCarty.

Fairfield’s comeback started with a block of their own, from senior Lainie Clark. That started a 14-2 run by Fairfield, who started to look like the dominant team they have been most of the season, getting multiple kills from both of their outside hitters, Robbins and sophomore Gracie Atwood.

The Lady Mules doubled up Edwards County at 22-11 and then held off a late charge for a 25-19 win.

While each of the first two sets saw teams jump out to big leads and then hold on to win, the third set was a test of heart rates, both for players and fans alike, as Fairfield once again fell behind early before a furious finish.

On The Ropes

The Lions sprinted out to a 12-5 lead, putting Fairfield against the rope early. The freshman Shaw had four more kills in that early surge and the Lions added two more aces along the way.

Fairfield did not wilt, however, taking eight of the next 10 points to get back within 14-13. The Lions look like they may hold them off when they took five of the next six points and then wen up 21-16 on a kill by sophomore Grace Bishop.

A missed serve left the door open for Fairfield, who scored three in a row and forced Edwards County to burn a timeout.

Out of the break, Bishop had back-to-back kills for a 23-19 lead. But Fairfield had been here before, recently. Carmi had them down 24-19 in their last matchup. In that matchup, Robbins came to the front row and took over. In this one, she had two straight kills from the back row.

Bishop got the Lions to game point at 24-21 with another kill. Needing just one more point, the Lions could not get it. Kenzie Turner had a kill from the middle for Fairfield. Then Shaw put one in the net, then Rylee Edwards and Clark came up with a block and suddenly the match was tied.

Shaw had a kill for another Lions game point. Robbins fought that off with another back row kill. Shaw had another kill for a third game point for Edwards County. It would be their last.

Loud Noises!

Two straight attack errors moved Fairfield to match point for the first time, then Edwards ended the night with an ace, sparking excitement throughout the home crowd and players alike.

Robbins finished with 22 kills, while Edwards had eight. Atwood and Turner each finished with five. Mabry Ellis led the defense with 25 digs.

Bishop finished with 15 kills, while Shaw had 13.

Queens Of The BDC

Fairfield would improve to 26-2 the next night with a 25-1, 25-7 trouncing of the host Eldorado Eagles. That also moved them to 9-0 in league play and clinched a sixth straight BDC title, heading into the final matchup with Carmi. The Bulldogs, 20-2 overall and 8-1 in league play, need a victory to force a title split. Fairfield would win it outright with a win. Since joining the BDC is 2003, Fairfield has won the league championship 14 times. It is Snyder’s 13^th title.

Robbins was “held” to 10 kills, entirely by lack of opportunity against the hapless Eagles. She only had 10 attacks, going perfect on the night.

Fifth All Time In Kills

Robbins now has 1,698 career kills, which moves her into the top five all time in IHSA history. She needs just three more kills to move into fourth and has a legitimate shot at getting into the number two spot all time (currently 1,814). The all time leader in kills in IHSA is Chatham Gleenwood’s Hannah Werth with 2,022.

Cori Sutton served 16 straight points in the opening set win, and was 20-of-21 serving with eight aces. Fairfield had 18 aces total.

Fairfield def. Edwards Co.
16-25, 25-19, 28-26

Kills-Attacks-Errors—Emersyn Robbins 22-62-9, Rylee Edwards 8-11, Gracie Atwood 5-15-2, Kenzie Turner 5-10-1, Ava Best 0-4, Lainie Clark 0-4-3.

Assists—Edwards 21, Best 10, Turner 1.

Digs—Mabry Ellis 25, Edwards 21, Robbins 20, Sutton 11, Best 17, Katherine Newman 5, Turner 2.

Serving—Best 12-12, Ellis 13-14, Robbins 12-14, Sutton 11-11, Edwards 10-11, Newman 7-7.

Aces—Robbins 2, Edwards 1, Best 1.

Fairfield def. Eldorado
25-1, 25-7

Kills-Attacks-Errors—Robbins 10-10, Edwards 5-9-1, Best 2-3-1, Clark 2-4, Atwood 1-3, Turner 1-2, Total 21-31-2.

Serving—Sutton 20-21, Edwards 8-9, Robbins 7-7, Clark 6-6, Newman 3-4, Best 2-2, Ellis 0-1, Total 46-50.

Aces—Sutton 8, Edwards 5, Robbins 3, Clark 2.

Digs—Ellis 3, Best 2, Robbins 1, Edwards 1, Newman 1, Sutton 1.

Assists—Best 12, Edwards 5.