Lady Mules Thrash Carmi, Finish BDC Play Unbeaten To Defend Title

When Fairfield met the Lady Bulldogs in Carmi, it was a three-set barnburner that is in the middle of a stretch of close calls for Chet Snyder’s Lady Mules. But they kept winning those close games, which set up a chance to clinch the conference title all by themselves Thursday in a home rematch with Carmi.

Needing a win to force a split, Carmi came up comfortably short, with the Lady Mules putting together a complete game from start to finish and cruising to a 25-13, 25-18 win.

That gave Fairfield a 10-0 mark in the BDC-East, their sixth straight conference championship. They also improved to 27-2 on the year overall, while handing Carmi their third loss of the year.

Fairfield scored the first four points of the match, led by sophomore middle hitter Kenzie Turner. She had a solo block for the first point, a kill for the second and then assisted a block on the third before Ava Best served an ace and Carmi coach Chris Lucas had to burn a timeout early.

That break did not slow down the Lady Mules any, as they jumped out to a 19-6 lead when Katherine Newman served six straight points. Carmi would play more evenly in the backstretch, but never made up any significant ground and Fairfield won the opener by 12.

The play was matched more evenly in the early going of the second set, with Carmi scoring four in a row for a 7-5 lead. They still led at 10-9 before Fairfield answered with four in a row of their own, getting kills from Emersyn Robbins, Turner and then two from Gracie Atwood.

Carmi was still hanging around, down one at 15-14, before a seven-point run gave Fairfield full control back. Rylee Edwards served that surge and Robbins had three kills in it. Robbins would end the match with a kill and an ace for the final two points, setting off the conference-clinching celebration.

Robbins finished with 17 kills in 42 attacks, while Edwards had five. Atwood and Turner each had three. Robbins also had 14 digs for a double-double.

The match was also Senior Night for Fairfield’s four seniors—Robbins, Edwards, Lainie Clark and Mabry Ellis.

The Lady Mules have another big clash on the horizon, traveling to NCOE to face the 29-2 Cardinals Tuesday.

Fairfield def. Carmi
25-13, 25-18

Kills-Attacks-Errors—Emersyn Robbins 17-42-8, Rylee Edwards 5-10-2, Gracie Atwood 3-8-2, Kenzie Turner 3-7-1, Ava Best 1-6-1, Lanie Clark 1-4-2.

Assists—Best 14, Edwards 11.

Block Solo—Turner 1.

Block Assists—Turner 1, Atwood 1, Edwards 2, Clark 3, Robbins 1.

Digs—Robbins 14, Mabry Ellis 10, Edwards 9, Best 6, Sutton 6, Katherine Newman 3, Atwood 3.

Serving—Edwards 11-11, Best 11-11, Newman 9-10, Sutton 6-6, Ellis 6-6, Robbins 4-5.

Aces—Robbins 1, Edwards 1, Best 1, Newman 1.