Fairfield hasn't had much luck against Paint Valley recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Lions will venture away from home to square off against the Bearcats at 6:30 p.m. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.
On Thursday, Fairfield didn't have quite enough to beat Lynchburg-Clay and fell 3-2.
Fairfield wouldn't go down easily and took Lynchburg-Clay into a fifth set but they suffered a heartbreaking five-point loss. The final score came out to 25-23, 25-20, 15-25, 24-26, 15-10.
Despite the loss, Fairfield got top-tier performance from Alyssa Bales, who had 28 digs and three aces. Jaeden Drury was another key player, getting six kills, five digs, and one block.
Meanwhile, Paint Valley came up short against Huntington on Thursday, falling 3-0.
The match finished with set scores of 25-18, 25-12, 25-16.
Paint Valley's defeat dropped their record down to 2-14. As for Fairfield, their loss dropped their record down to 12-4.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Monday's match: Fairfield has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 12.6 aces per game. However, it's not like Paint Valley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.6 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Fairfield took their victory against Paint Valley when the teams last played back in October of 2024 by a conclusive 3-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Lions since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
