LEBANON, Tenn. – After sweeping the opening round on Friday, Faulkner was looking for more of the same on Saturday at the annual Volleydawg Classic hosted by Cumberland. The Lady Eagles started the day with Pikeville, taking the victory in four sets 25-15, 22-25, 25-16, 25-12. Faulkner closed the event in a rematch against Friday's opening round opponent. Reinhardt and the Lady Eagles traded sets before Faulkner finally clinched the event with a decisive fifth set knockout. Faulkner took the match 20-25, 25-18, 25-21,23-25, 15- 5.

"We had to fight today and the girls did what they had todo," said head coach Tori Bartels. "We did a good job of maintaining aggressive defense, even when our opponents found holes. Overall I'm extremely proud of the way we played."

A host of Lady Eagles proved troubling for defenses this afternoon.  Sophomore Kelsey Bell tallied 27 kills hitting .310 and added 18 digs and three total blocks on the day.

Senior Neysa Hernandez was again a weapon of choice hitting .325 with 20 kills, 17 digs and three total blocks.

Sophomore Shelby Woods had 17 kills hitting .300 and had a pair of blocks.

Senior Abbie Melvin again led the defensive effort with 32 digs and had 11 kills.

Freshman KK Lo had 37 assists on the day and freshman Morgan Wilson had 32.

Bartels is motivated by the team's performance so far, but admits that there are still things that they can do to improve.

"Our second team has to learn to perform at the level they are capable of," Bartels added. "Every player can be a threat on this team and we have to be more effective with all 16 of our players to reach our maximum potential. It's a learning experience and we have a lot of young talent. There's no where to go but up."

Faulkner (4-0) is off to its best start in a decade and the best ever in the Bartels era. The last time the Lady Eagles were 4-0 was in 2001 when the team went on to clinch the GACC title.

The Lady Eagles are back in action on Sept. 2, when they take on Martin Methodist in the opening round of the Millsaps Tournament at 3:30 p.m. in Jackson, Miss.