Cardinals rally in sets three and four, take down Blackhawks
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FAIRMONT - One thing you are almost guaranteed to hear in a Fairmont volleyball timeout huddle is positive reinforcement from head coach Stacy Garbers. "Dig deep right now," or "No ball hits the floor," are typically mentioned during any point of a match. However, during the Cardinals’ Monday night contest against Madelia, those phrases rang with even more urgency.
The visiting Blackhawks had late leads over Fairmont in both the third and fourth sets. Leads of 24-22 and 23-20 during pivotal match moments. But Garber’s team seemed to find confidence in her words of motivation, consistently fighting with their backs against the wall to squeeze out a four-set victory past Madelia - 25-15, 23-25, 26-24, 25-23.
Fairmont moves back to .500 with its 3-3 record. They take on Blue Earth Area on Tuesday before finishing the week against Waseca. Both contests are on the road.
"I'm really happy to see the rally and the fight they gave tonight," Garbers said. "We could've rolled over and let them have that game. But we didn't. We fought till the end, and I'm really proud of them for not giving up."
Everything was going Madelia's way midway through set number three. Carissa Sorenson's block over Adylen Laven tied the match score at one apiece. But the Blackhawks pressed forward.
Consecutive Hadley Hitchcock aces capped off a six-point Madelia swing that gave them a 9-6 cushion. Even with Fairmont taking leads of 16-13 and 21-20, it was the Blackhawks who had the set-deciding 24-22 edge.
Laven started the rally with a much-needed kill from her spot on the outside. Ella Wubbena picked up one of her five aces moments later to level the score. A powerful block from Jadyn Montgomery finished the four-point swing. It secured not just a comeback, but a match lead.
Set four was a carbon copy. Early Madelia leads were broken by strong pushes from Fairmont. Montgomery scored three straight points on two spikes and an ace, and Kynlee Beemer's outside kill moved the Cardinals up 17-15. This seemed to be the deciding swing.
Madelia continued pushing Fairmont to its limits. Paige Jensen placed a tap over perfectly where the Cardinals’ rotation wasn't. Hitchcock nailed another ace. Five straight Blackhawk points quickly put them back on top.
Montgomery's left-side collision with the ball cut her team's deficit to 23-21. Sorenson's miscue on her kill attempt was followed by a Wubbena ace and a Harlee Fastnacht kill from the right side. The Blackhawk's failure to return a rally secured Fairmont's victory. Garbers team has won three of its four games at home this season.
Montgomery led all of Fairmont in kills with 16. Kaylee Kloeckner finished with 10 kills. Lillie Ortega matched Wubbena's ace mark with five. Both Wubbena and Halyn Haycraft had 22 set assists. Nora Fitzgerald showed her libero skill set with 18 digs.
"We are young, and they are working really hard," Garbers said. "They are hungry; we are going to stay hungry, and see what we can do."