ABOVE: Fairmont’s Jadyn Montgomery directs the ball past a Waseca defender during a Big South Conference volleyball match Monday in Fairmont.

FAIRMONT – The Fairmont Cardinals volleyball team fell to the Waseca Bluejays in a Big South Conference match Monday 25-19, 25-13, 25-23.

The first set opened with a 4-0 run by the Bluejays, who took the lead and never gave it back. The Cardinals managed to pull within 5, making the score 16-11 before another 3-0 run by the Bluejays started their scoring again before closing the set courtesy of an Aliyah Taylor kill.

In Set 2 the Cardinals struck first but the Bluejays responded quickly with a 3-0 run. The set stayed close through the first half of the scoring with the Cardinals only down 11-9 before a couple of multi-point runs put the Bluejays up 20-11. The Cardinals managed to get 2 more points on the board before an attacking error handed the set to the Bluejays 25-13.

The Cardinals battled hard in Set 3 trying to force a fourth with the teams staying neck and neck with the set tied up at 12-12. A 3-0 run by the Bluejays gave them the lead, putting them up 16-14. The Cardinals again managed to even things out at 16-16, before a 4-0 run put them back in the hole 20-16. The set stayed close until Taylor sealed things for the Bluejays by claiming the victory 25-23.

Fairmont head volleyball coach Elizabeth Lowry declined to comment.

The girls next match is today, Tuesday against the Blue Earth Area Buccaneers in Fairmont.