MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner recovered late in the second set to slingshot past cross-town foe Huntingdon 27-29, 25-23, 25-12, 25-8 tonight at Tine Davis Gym.

The Hawks capitalized on the Lady Eagles' early flatness to force set one into extended points before clinching the win.

Set two was a tighter bout until the visitors connected for six unanswered to claim a 16-10. Faulkner gained momentum late, however, and finally tied the contest at 22-22 before edging out the victory. 

After the win, the home team never lost steam and dominated in the ensuing sets.

"We went with a different lineup and mixed the rotation up a bit tonight to see what we could accomplish," said head coach Tori Bartels. "We did some things well, but we struggled when we fell behind. We made a few adjustments in the second set, but when we were still playing out of sync, we switched back to what works. I saw great things from some younger players tonight and that's encouraging. We have a big game on Saturday and tonight gave me an opportunity to see where our strengths can be with different looks and I hope that will benefit us going forward."

Alysa Klassen spearheaded the Faulkner offense with 10 kills, hitting .667, in three sets. The freshman middle also added a pair of blocks.

Outside Kelsey Bell boasted seven kills, hitting .313, and had 11 digs over the the last three sets.

Sarah Stout, Chandra Leetham and Autumn Benson each tallied six kills on the night. Stout hit an impressive .556, while Benson added three total blocks.

Katie Martin held the libero spot for the Lady Eagles and anchored the defense with 17 digs while fellow defensive specialist Delricka Anthony logged 13.

Morgan Wilson had 20 assists and eight digs and Sarah Ford had 18 assits.

Huntingdon's Kali Martin led the Hawks on both sides of the ball. The sophomore outside had seven kills and 13 digs in the match.

Rachel Dunlay and Bobie Wilson secured six kills each and offered up 10 and eight digs respectively.

Faulkner moved to 12-12 on the season and will next host Southern States Athletic Conference newcomer Bethel on Saturday at 5 p.m. Huntingdon sits at 4-19.