PLYMOUTH — After a season full of high-quality ballin’, Fairfield capped it with some heavy-duty bawlin’.

And the Falcons weren’t apologizing for it, either, following their 25-22, 25-19, 25-18 loss to Yorktown in Saturday night’s Class 3A Plymouth Semistate volleyball title match.

“I think the reason it hurts so much is because we love each other so much,” said senior Kaela Miller following Fairfield’s extended, on-court display of hugs, tears and deeply reddened eyes. “We worked our butts off all four years, and we’re best friends off and on the court. We wanted it so much for each other.”

“There’s five of us seniors and we’ve been through a lot,” setter Riley Troyer said. “It was hard to see it end.”

It took a No. 1-ranked team to end it for the No. 7 Falcons.

The defending state champion Tigers (35-3) fell behind 17-8 in the opening set, but never appeared to flinch. Down 20-13, they cranked out seven straight points to even the score, then scored the final four points of the set.

They also erased early Fairfield leads in the final two sets.

“Their ball control and their serving are amazing,” Falcon coach Carla Herschberger said. “No matter what we threw at them, they got it to their setter, and they don’t make mistakes.

“I thought our hitters were a little better than theirs,” Herschberger added, “but when (Fairfield junior standout Haley Brown) hits it and puts a dent in the floor, it’s worth no more than when theirs tips it to an opening in the middle. That’s a cool thing, but also sometimes a frustrating thing, about this game. (Bottom line), there’s a reason Yorktown’s No. 1.”

The Tigers will play a mere 10 minutes from home when they face No. 3-rated Indianapolis Chatard in next Saturday’s 3A state championship at Ball State University in Muncie. Yorktown’s only blemishes this year have come against other teams also rated No. 1 in their classes — a pair of losses to 2A’s Wapahani and one to 4A’s New Castle.

“They play a lot tougher schedule than we do,” Herschberger said. “We’re trying to fix that, but it’s tough.”

Nevertheless, at 35-2, Fairfield finished 2012 with the best winning percentage in its own rich history.

“This is a special group,” Herschberger said of her seniors. “They’ve loved the game since they were fifth-graders and they’re such great examples to our younger kids for the way to take ownership of a program.”

Among the four starting seniors, Ellen Line will continue her volleyball career as a University of Indianapolis recruit, Raina Troyer plans to play at Indiana Wesleyan and twin sister Riley has several offers to choose from. Miller said she’s undecided on whether she’ll play.

Against the Tigers, Brown rang up 13 kills and Line nine. Riley Troyer dished 28 assists.

Senior Nikki Box had 14 kills, junior Taylor Zwickl 40 assists and junior Halle McKibben five aces for Yorktown.

Semifinals

The Falcons soared past Andrean 25-17, 25-20, 25-11 in the semis.

Brown, on her way to match highs of 15 kills and nine blocks, had four of those kills and a stuff block during a 6-0 spree that turned a 16-12 Fairfield lead into a 22-12 advantage in the first set.

In the second set, Kelsey Schiffli’s three aces over a span of four points helped the Falcons widen an 11-7 lead to 17-7.

And in the third set, Fairfield featured a 6-0 run yet again, stretching a 17-10 count to 23-10.

Line dropped 14 kills and made 10 digs in the win. Riley Troyer dealt 36 assists.



3A Plymouth Semistate

Championship

Yorktown def. Fairfield 25-22, 25-19, 25-18

Top Fairfield players: Aces — Raina Troyer 2. Assists — Riley Troyer 28. Kills — Haley Brown 13, Ellen Line 9. Blocks — Brown 2, Kaela Miller 2, Kelsey Schiffli 2, Sierra Smith 2. Digs — Raina Troyer 10, Riley Troyer 6, Line 6.

Records: Yorktown 35-3, Fairfield 35-2.

Next: Yorktown vs. Indianapolis Chatard in Class 3A state championship Saturday, Nov. 3, 3 p.m., at Ball State University’s Worthen Arena, Muncie.

Semifinals

Fairfield def. Andrean 25-17, 25-20, 25-11

Top Fairfield players: Aces — Kelsey Schiffli 4, Kaela Miller 2, Alexis Zook 2. Assists — Riley Troyer 36. Kills — Haley Brown 15, Ellen Line 14, Sierra Smith 6, Miller 5. Blocks — Brown 9, Smith 3, Riley Troyer 3, Miller 3, Schiffli 3. Digs — Raina Troyer 14, Line 10.

Other semifinal score: Yorktown def. SB St. Joseph 25-21, 25-14, 25-21.

Records: Andrean 28-8, St. Joseph 30-7.