MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner squandered a two set lead against division rival Loyola on Saturday to fall in five sets 25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 17-25, 13-15. The loss drops them to 1-3 in the Southern States Athletic Conference and just one spot out of last place in the West division.
"We took plays off, we made errors and for some reason couldn't recover mentally," said head coach Tori Bartels. "I think when we were up two sets we got it in our mind that it was won, that they'd just hand it over. The team learned a huge lesson tonight."
Faulkner trailed in the opening set by a healthy margin early, but clawed back to claim the win. The Lady Eagles absolutely dominated early in the second and it was the Wolfpack that turned things around, despite the loss.
Set three was the turning point, the loss for Faulkner ushered in a mental barrier that the team couldn't move. The Lady Eagles managed to force a timeout at set point for Loyola when they started connecting the dots, but a lone point was all the visitors needed and found it easily a few plays later.
Set five matches were Faulkner's turf early in the season. The team fought to win its first three five set battles before finally dropping one to conference rival Southern Wesleyan last weekend. Tonight was more of the same.
The teams traded points with Faulkner leading 8-7 at the break. The Lady Eagles climbed into a two-point lead forcing a Loyola timeout that proved more than effective. After the pause Loyola took the lead and forced back-to-back Faulkner timeouts.
With match point on the line, Faulkner made a brilliant stop up front, but a net violation call ended the game on a sour note.
"We fought back, but didn't pull it out," Bartels said. "Loyola is a good team and was without its best hitter, but we flat out gave it away with how we played. We've got to make up ground quickly if we want to see the post season."
Shelby Woods and Neysa Hernandez were the offensive leaders tonight. Each had 10 kills and hit .350 and .172 respectively. Hernandez led the team with 19 digs and Woods offered a pair of blocks.
Jessica Long dominated for Faulkner defensively boasting nine total blocks. She added four kills.
Morgan Wilson had 23 assists followed by KK Lo with 13.
Faulkner drops to 12-6 overall and into fourth place in the west just ahead of Mobile. The Lady Eagles will have to rebound quickly. They host the league's top power on Tuesday when they face division rival No. 24 Spring Hill. The Badgers are 18-0 and 6-0 in conference play. The match is set for Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m.
