John Bruce, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by Holzer Health System.
LEESBURG — Trailing 24-21 late in the fourth set, Fairfield was one miscue away from facing a winner-take-all fifth game against Huntington.
But an ace from Kinsey Drury, alongside Remi Moon at the net, powered the Lions to a 26-24 victory as they moved to 2-0 this season.
With each team having a standout all-around player that could take over the match at any point, it would be the team with the experience advantage that made plays down the stretch of each tight set.
With Fairfield returning much of its roster from a team that won 16 matches in 2025, including Moon and setter Paisley Stalhut, the Lions stayed composed as the match was tight in the opening set.
With six lead changes and nine ties in the first, the Lions took a 19-19 set into a three-point advantage with a kill and an ace from Moon to force a Huntsmen timeout.
Out of the break, Huntington (1-2) made a run of its own, punctuated by a McKinzee Mills kill. Following a service error and a block from Fairfield’s Bailey Jones, the Lions were on the verge of an opening set win. Huntington responded behind Lydia Black at the net, but a Jorja May kill sparked the Lions to a 26-24 set win.
Mills started the second off with a bang, earning consecutive aces to give Huntington an early 3-0 lead. The Lions answered with a run led by Moon on the outside, connecting with Stalhut four times to take a lead of their own.
“It is super important to have that connection with the setter,” Moon said of her chemistry with Stalhut. “Paisley being able to find me is important because then I know where to place the ball.”
Huntington used a combination of Black, Hauswirth and aggressive service, including multiple aces from Braelynn Fultz to retake the lead, eventually running away with a 25-19 second set victory to even the match at 1-1.
The third set saw both teams have difficulty in serve-receive with eight combined aces in the game, with May giving her Lions an early lead with a pair.
The Huntsmen rode some big swings from Hauswirth on the strong side, along with some creative attacks from the entire front line to slide into a 21-18 lead late. After a timeout and an ace from Moon to tie the set at 21-21, the Huntsmen retook the lead with the Lions’ big hitter on the back line.
“I love being the go-to person, because I love the pressure,” Moon said of her role on the team. “I love to get it done myself, but I also love to see my teammates do it too. It was really big today. They really did good and they did their part.”
Down 22-21, Fairfield retook the lead after Stalhut connected with Jones and May for a kill each. Alyssa Bales slammed the door with an ace off the net to win the third set by a 25-23 final.
“It was so great,” Bales said of her ace to close out the third set. “I feel like it is so rewarding at the end to get that ace. It’s such a good feeling.”
The fourth set felt much like the third, with eight aces spread out amongst the teams and Huntington taking an early lead. With more ties and lead changes throughout the set, the Huntsmen were later on the verge of forcing a fifth set after an ace from Hauswirth and a kill from Mills.
Down 24-21, Fairfield got service back after a hitting error. Once at the service line, Drury, a senior, calmly placed a perfect serve in a gap in the middle of Huntington’s backline for an ace. After an overpass from both sides, Fairfield’s Addison Cannon had a solo block at the net to tie the set at 24-24.
Finally even, and with Drury serving, the Lions knew exactly where to go with their next two attacks. Stalhut set up Moon on the strong side for a pair of kills to set off the celebration.
Statistically, Moon had a game-high 24 kills and 16 digs while Bales had 14 digs of her own. Stalhut passed out 31 assists for the winners.
Fairfield is back in action on Wednesday at Piketon while Huntington attempts to bounce back on Tuesday, traveling to Washington.
“As a team, we have really good chemistry on and off the court,” Bales said of the Lions, “I think that really helps.”
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