JACKSON, Miss. - After a disappointing start yesterday, Faulkner was looking to rebound this afternoon at the Millsaps Invitational. The Lady Eagles took on East Texas Baptist University in game one and battled out of a disastrous start to clinch the match 10-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-20, 15-8. Faulkner then faced off against Belhaven University, but despite an opening set win, fell to the Blazers 25-22, 11-25, 15-25, 17-25.

The Lady Eagles had a rocky start with the host team yesterday and the leftovers from that conflict trickled onto the court in the ETBU match. Faulkner struggled to reach double-digit scoring, but the jolt it suffered in the opening set seemed to jar a loose connection into place. Faulkner found its rhythm.

The Lady Eagles and Tigers traded supplemental sets until the final bout when Faulkner pulled into the lead and slammed the door.

"It was a rough start to say the least," said head coach Tori Bartels. "But the girls pushed hard and started playing solid ball and that's what we needed. Pure effort won that game for us."

Kelli Lamb continued to dominate offensively for Faulkner. The freshman outside hitter pounded the court with 18 kills, hitting and impressive .324. 

Junior outside Kelsey Bell followed with 15, hitting .272. Junior right side Shelby Woods added 11 kills, hitting .346.

Assist and dig statistics were unavailable at the time of this writing.

Faulkner pounced on Belhaven early, but the assault was short-lived. The Blazers made some offensive adjustments and the new rapid strike attack proved too quick for the Lady Eagle defense.

"They [Belhaven] did what they needed to do," Bartels admitted. "They're a solid team and their offense was on point. We're going to see a lot of offenses like this as the season unfolds. We know we have to make some changes and improvements."

Bell and Lamb switched places in the arsenal in game two. Bell led with eight kills, hitting .231, and added 11 digs and a pair of block assists.

Lamb offered up six kills, hitting .333, and had 15 digs. She was named to the all-tournament team.

Brittnay Renfroe mirrored Lamb's kill total and Lindsey Ortner secured 20 digs and had three service aces.

KK Lo had 14 assists against the Blazers and Morgan Wilson followed with 7.

Faulkner (1-2) returns home next week for its own Invitational. The 14-team event will begin on Friday, Sept. 7. The Lady Eagles will open play with No. 20 Lindsey Wilson at 3 p.m. on the 7th.