MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner opened its annual Invitational tournament this evening against Warner University here in Tine Davis Gymnasium. The Lady Eagles took set one, but an aggressive attack lifted the Royals to three unanswered wins and a four set victory 23-25, 25-16, 25-12, 27-25. Faulkner immediately went to battle with Southeastern University in the nightcap and survived a valiant Fire comeback to take the match 25-21, 25-21, 16-25, 18-25, 15-13.

Senior outside hitter Kelsey Bell led the offense with 24 kills, hitting .313, and helped anchor the defense with 15 digs on the night.

Junior middle Brittnay Renfroe followed with 21 kills, hitting an impressive .351, and had three block assists.

Freshman middle Alysa Klassen added 15 kills and seven total blocks to that stat sheet, while sophomore outside Sarah Stout had 19 digs and 13 kills over nine sets.

Morgan Wilson fed the front row with 51 assists and had 12 digs. Fellow setter KK Lo produced 27 assists for Faulkner.

Junior libero Lindsey Ortner led the defense with 29 digs.

"I think we did a lot of good things tonight," said head coach Tori Bartels after the final match. "We've got to learn to stay aggressive and put games away when we have the chance. If we expect our opponents to roll over and die when we have a slight advantage, we're going to have a long season. I'm proud of a lot of things today, but we have to address the negatives before they become habit."

Faulkner moved to 2-4 on the season and will face Arizona Christian University and Freed-Hardeman University on Saturday afternoon at 1 and 3 p.m. respectively.

Action gallery coming soon...