The Fairport volleyball team made an impressive run at the Beachwood Midseason Invitational on Saturday. The Skippers swept both Harvey and Shaker Heights in the preliminary rounds before falling to the host Bison in the championship match, 2-1, to finish second.
Beachwood swept Fairport in a match earlier in the week but this time the Skippers were competitive in the match and even took one set from the Bison, who won 25-12, 21-25, 25-16.
“It makes you feel good as a coach when several other coaches, referees and parents make it a point to tell you how impressed they are with your team, how well they played and how much they have improved,” said Fairport coach Mike Fitzgerald. “They definitely have earned their wins this season and I have confidence they will only get better.”
Junior libero Hannah Babbitt recorded 40 digs with no errors and 38 serves received with only two errors. She also was perfect on 23 serves with three aces. Junior setter Lexi Tanker pitched in with 46 assists, 17 digs with no errors, 11 kills, and 25 serves with three aces and junior Sarah Camargo led the attack with 16 kills. Junior Sarah Farmer contributed with four digs and 36 successful serves with only one miss.
“The Skippers kept outstanding stats throughout the day,” Fitzgerald said. “Passing and serving is something we sometimes struggle with but that wasn’t happening on Saturday. The girls gave 100-percent and never gave up, fighting for every point. The end of tournament stats were the best I have seen from the girls all season. You can see that they really wanted to compete in this tournament and taking home a trophy for the runner-up in the tournament was very exciting for them. There aren’t many volleyball trophies—just one–in the case at Fairport. This team definitely has what it takes to change that.”
