MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner worked double time to dig itself out of a self-destructive start against top-seeded Spring Hill in the opening round of pool play in the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament here at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex this morning. The Lady Eagles battled into a four-set match, but the Badgers's speed paid off in the victory 25-14, 25-23, 21-25, 25-18.

Faulkner was flat, error-prone and inconsistent in the opening set and Spring Hill capitalized on the lethargy with a dominating victory.

The Eagles rebounded nicely in the second set however, putting the Badgers on the ropes just over halfway through the set. A well-placed Spring Hill timeout while trailing 19-16, however, ushered in a 5-0 run that Faulkner couldn't answer.

The Lady Eagles soon proved that down didn't mean out and sparked a 6-0 run of their own out of the gate in set three. Back-to-back Faulkner service errors and spurts of jittery defense caused a series of wrinkles that allowed the Badgers to regain some traction, but focus and intensity at the net carried the birds to the win.

Set four was a titter-totter of scoring early on with neither side leading by a significant margin until a Spring Hill timeout while down 17-15 sparked a six-point spree. Faulkner continued to battle, but the Badgers' speed out of the middle proved too much for the Lady Eagles to overcome.

"We haven't played that well all year," said head coach Tori Bartels. "It's hard to complain when you see the team take ownership of what they're doing. It was beautiful to see. We started way too late against a very, very good team and we couldn't push it to a fifth set. Now we'll focus on Bethel and try to keep this energy alive for bracket play Saturday."

Shelby Woods led the Faulkner attack with 13 kills while hitting and impressive .520. The right side also added three total block.

Middle Brittnay Renfroe followed with 10 kills, hitting .250, and also had three total blocks.

Sarah Stout, Kelsey Bell and Alysa Klassen each tallied eight kills and Stout added 11 digs.

The Lady Eagles opted to run a 5-1 around Morgan Wilson and the junior setter had 42 assists and 7 digs in the match.

Libero Lindsey Ortner led the defense with 18 digs.

Faulkner will take on Bethel in the second round of double-elimination pool action this afternoon at 12:30.