MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner battled through a pair of close sets that bookended a middle blowout to earn the 25-23, 25-14, 25-22 victory against Martin Methodist in the opening round of pool play here in the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament.

The Lady Eagles squandered a 23-17 lead in the opener and allowed the RedHawks to move the event into a tie on six-point run before finally striking twice to gain the win.

Faulkner then pummeled Martin Methodist in the second bout before clinching the decisive set that was a close race throughout. The Lady Eagles moved to 3-0 against the RedHawks this season and this is their first straight-sets victory.

Sarah Dubberley led the Lady Eagles offensively with 12 kills hitting .417. The outside hitter also logged five digs and a block assist.

Middle Brittnay Renfroe stuck for eight kills hitting .583 and had a pair of blocks.

Sarah Ford and Hannah Shanley each had six kills and Ford co-led the defensive front with three total blocks.

Alysa Klassen had five kills on the day and also had three stops at the net.

Morgan Wilson had 21 assists against the RedHawks and KK Lo added 15. The setters tallied eight and nine digs respectively.

Libero Lindsey Ortner had 13 digs and a pair of service aces.

"We struggled a little shutting the door once we approached set-point," said head coach Tori Bartels, "but overall I'm very pleased with how the girls played today. We had a few hiccups here and there, but that's to be expected, especially early in the conference tournament. We fought hard, moved well, were very scrappy defensively and were looking for ways to attack their weaknesses. It's an exciting start to what we hope will be a great tournament."

Faulkner (23-10) will next face Bethel at 10 a.m. in pool action tomorrow followed by a showdown with Mobile at 5. The top two teams from each of the two pools will advance to the semifinals on Saturday.