Fairmont’s Makayla Lowry spikes the ball past the outstretched arms of Brynlee Haukoos and Jaylee Hanson for Martin County West at Fairmont High School.

FAIRMONT – With 15 miles separating the two schools, a rowdy crowd packed the Fairmont High School gymnasium Thursday night for another volleyball matchup between Fairmont and Martin County West. The Mavericks toppled the Cardinals in straight sets, winning 25-21, 28-26, and 25-12 to complete the victory.

Martin County West improved to 8-5 on the season, while Fairmont fell to 5-12.

Despite the scoreboard reading a 3-0 victory for MCW, outside of the final set, both teams battled back and forth with neither side able to gain much momentum. However, it was the Mavericks who were able to deliver in crunch time moments, securing close set victories early on to fuel the eventual win.

“I’m super proud of them,” Zehms said. “Being down, it was game point, they just battled back and they never gave up. That shows how amazing you are, how much integrity you have, and how you will keep going and never give up.”

Brylee Miller led the Cardinals with 13 kills while collecting 12 digs on the night. Libero Nora Fitzgerald racked up a team high 19 digs. Leslie Zarling finished her efforts with 27 set assists.

Five different players recorded five or more kills for MCW, showing an evenly dispersed offensive attack for head coach Kayla Zehms squad.

Leading the charge was Maddie Carlson, who collected a team high 11 kills to go along with nine digs. Emily Schettler finished the contest with 27 set assists. Libero Emma Geldart led all Mavericks with 18 digs.

Set one started with Fairmont throwing the first punch of the evening, with Jadyn Montgomery collecting two of her nine kills in the first instances of the match. While both teams found themselves trading back points, it was Fairmont who found themselves on top 10-7 following a Miller kill.

The Cardinals continued to keep the momentum with kills from Zarling and Makayla Lowry maintaining a 15-12 cushion.

But the Mavericks bounced back with a run of their own, retaking the lead after six unanswered points while never giving it up the rest of the set. Brynlee Haukoos fueled the MCW rally, notching three kills and a block to propel the mini-comeback.

Both teams again traded points the rest of the way, but the Mavericks found ways to constantly hold off a Cardinal rally.

It was Rowan Faber who finished things off for MCW, rocketing a spike past the Fairmont middle hitters to take the 25-21 set victory.

The Mavericks continued their momentum right into set two, propelling up 6-1 and causing Fairmont head coach Stacy Garbers to call an early timeout.

This pause in game action settled the Cardinals down, who ultimately evened things back up at eight with consecutive points from Montgomery. Fairmont eventually claimed a 12-10 lead following kills from Montgomery, Miller and Harper Artz.

The rest of the set was back and forth, with neither team taking more than a 3-point lead.

However, a 7-point swing from Fairmont put them one point away from gathering their first set victory. With Miller collecting three consecutive aces, Garbers saw her team looking at a 24-20 advantage.

A missed hit gave a point and the ball back to MCW. Not phasing whatsoever, the Mavericks rattled off four consecutive points with a handful of blocks from Jaylee Hanson to push the rally.

After Miller spiked the ball past the MCW defenders to tie things up, a Fitzgerald ace gave Fairmont another game-point opportunity.

It was the Mavericks again who calmly tied things up. And with spikes from Haukoos and Hanson, MCW found themselves one set away from taking home the victory.

“That is how they [MCW],” Zehms said.” They never give up, and I love that about them.”

MCW was off to the races again in set number three, using spikes from Gianna Chase and Carlson to take an early 4-point advantage.

Another 3-point run later in the set drove the MCW to its largest lead of the set, taking the 13-7 cushion and causing Garbers to call a timeout.

Despite a pair of Miller spikes cutting into the lead later in the set, the Mavericks scored 8 consecutive points to finish the 25-12 set victory.

“We’ve always asked them [Fairmont] to never give up and play till the end, unfortunately in the third game, we kind of got down and didn’t get back up,” Garbers said. “They [MCW] took it to us and played very well tonight.”

Fairmont continues the season next Tuesday with a road matchup against Windom Area. MCW plays next Monday against Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop in Trimont.