It was the first Fayette County rivalry volleyball match played in the new Miami Trace High School gym Tuesday night as the Washington Lady Blue Lions visited for a Frontier Athletic Conference match that ended the first round of play in the conference.

There were four teams in the FAC with one conference loss going into Tuesday’s matches: Miami Trace, Washington, Jackson and Chillicothe.

Miami Trace won, 25-13, 25-21 and 25-20.

“The first game, it came down to playing at home,” Miami Trace head coach Doug Mace said. “This is a rivalry game and the kids don’t want to lose it. They get all worked up about it, which is cool, that’s why it’s high school sports.

“I think we came out a little more relaxed and they were a little tight in that first game,” Mace said. “We knew Court House wasn’t going to be an easy win.

“We were fortunate and lucky in the first game,” Mace said. “The second and third games, they went in our favor, but they were battles. Both teams wanted it really badly. We had a little bit of an advantage being on our home court and we’ll take whatever help we can get.

“Our kids played really well tonight,” Mace said. “So did Court House. We were just able to withstand the punches. It was a good team victory for us. All of the kids went out and had a very good night. They stayed very disciplined and did their jobs; they went to the spots they were supposed to.

“For us that was really nice to see,” Mace said. “We’ve been working and working and working to try to get the team to play the way they did tonight.”

Miami Trace is now 6-4 overall, 4-1 in the FAC.

Washington is now 3-2 in the FAC.

Statistically for Miami Trace, Laura Robinson had 11 kills and two blocks.

Olivia Fliehman had 12 kills and one block.

Tapanga Sanderson had eight kills and three blocks.

“Tapanga had a very nice night,” assistant coach Aubrey Kiger said.

“They were able to shutdown Rayana,” Washington head coach Ashley DeAtley said. “Once that happened, we weren’t able to put the ball on the floor.

“Miami Trace did a really good job of blocking and digging up everything,” DeAtley said. “They just found the holes.

“Our serve-receive was not on tonight,” DeAtley said. “They had some tough serves. They just all-around played a really strong game. You have to give (credit) to them; they came out with fire and we just didn’t.

“The next time we play them, we’ll have to be ready and more prepared,” DeAtley said. “Our minds weren’t in it tonight and I think that’s what hurt us.”

For Washington, Brittney Wilson had eight kills, nine digs, two solo blocks and six block assists.

Rayana Burns had six kills, nine digs, one solo block and two block assists.

Emily Semler had three kills and Mallory Hicks had two.

In serving, Hicks, Wilson and Mackenzie Truex each had one ace.

Aaralyne Estep had 21 digs and Halli Wall had 13. Wall also had four block assists and Amya Haithcock had two block assists.

Miami Trace won the j-v match against Washington, 25-14 and 25-23. Miami Trace is 8-2 overall, 5-0 in the FAC.

Miami Trace will be back in action Thursday hosting Jackson at 5 p.m.

Washington will be at McClain Thursday at 5 p.m.

In other FAC matches Tuesday, Chillicothe defeated Jackson, 25-23, 25-23 and 25-20 and McClain beat Hillsboro 25-20, 25-21 and 25-14.