MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner and Martin Methodist traded lopsided wins through four sets before the Lady Eagles finally clawed their way into a five-set victory 25-13, 15-25, 16-25, 25-14, 16-14 in tonight's Southern States Athletic Conference battle here at Tine Davis Gym.

The home team blew the RedHawks off the court in the opener, but just when things looked easy Martin Methodist pinned the Lady Eagles on the ropes.

Faulkner fell hard in back-to-back sets before firing back with an 11-point pummeling in the fourth contest.

A scrappy RedHawk defense and smart ball-placement through the switch in the final bout, however, left Faulkner looking for answers.

After trailing for nine straight points in the abbreviated set, the Lady Eagles capitalized on a pair of RedHawk errors to pull the event into a tie. 

Martin Methodist's Gloria Watson then connected for two kills before the home team managed to stop the threat.

Faulkner sparked when it mattered most and iced the visitors with a 4-0 run behind an animated home crowd and the serving arm of Lindsey Ortner to claim the win.

Watson was the weapon of choice and dominated on both sides of the ball for the RedHawks. The freshman outside logged 18 kills and 17 digs on the night.

Shelby Woods and Kelsey Bell each tallied 12 kills for Faulkner. Woods hit an impressive .308 and had a pair of block assist, while Bell led the defense with 16 digs.

Alysa Klassen secured seven kills for the Lady Eagles and Brittnay Renfroe added six kills and led the defense with six total blocks.

Sarah Ford had 23 assists and eight digs in the match and fellow setter Morgan Wilson had 13 assists.

Katie Martin was just a dig behind Bell with 15.

The win brought Faulkner's home season to a close. The Lady Eagles (14-13, 6-7 SSAC) will next take on conference foe Bethel in McKenzie, Tenn., on Friday at 3 p.m.