BRUNSWICK, Ga. - Faulkner faced a pair of Southern States Athletic Conference teams in non-league action today in the second leg of the Mariner Invitational hosted by Coastal Georgia. The Eagles rallied out of a close first-set loss against Brenau to gain the four-set win 24-26, 25-15, 27-25, 25-17 before falling to a potent host team 26-24, 22-25, 25-13, 25-17.

It took Faulkner an extended-point first-set loss to get the offensive weapons tuned properly, but a blistering of the Golden Tigers in the second showdown put the match back on even footing in early action this morning.

Back to back errors at set point nearly cost Faulkner the third bout, but a solo block by Alysa Klassen to gain the 26th point helped move the Lady Eagles into a 2-1 lead.

Faulkner then dug itself out of a five-point rut early in final set to bring the event to a close.

Middle hitter Brittnay Renfroe was an offensive beast for the birds with 14 kills, hitting .417. She also had two block assists.

Klassen had four kills in the match and though arguably still not at full potential offensively was a force at the net on the flip side. The middle had six total blocks and added a pair of service aces.

Right side Elissa Cargile upped her game against the Golden Tigers offering nine kills while hitting .381.

Outside hitter Sarah Dubberley had eight kills and was third defensively with 10 digs.

For the first time this season the Lady Eagles had four players with double-digit digs.

Libero Lindsey Ortner led the way with 17 followed by setter KK Lo with 12. Defensive specialist Delricka Anthony had 10 and also provided the team with four aces.

The 6-2 offense once again gave Lo and Morgan Wilson split time on the setting front with 22 and 20 assists respectively. Wilson also contributed nine digs in the win.

Faulkner came up short in the first set against Coastal and faced worrisome odds deep in the second round. The Lady Eagles ignited late, however, generating and impressive 11-2 run to push the match into a dead heat. 

The surge seemed to take a toll though on the team's energy reserve. Faulkner managed to spark at random moments in the remaining sets, but couldn't muster enough fire to overtake the Mariners.

Coastal's Kara Niesen was out all over the court and led the home team on both sides of the ball. She tallied a whopping 17 kills, while hitting .429, and added 20 digs for good measure.

In all, the Mariners had four players with double-digit kills and digs.

Faulkner, on the other hand, was suppressed greatly at the net. Offensive leaders included Hannah Shanley and Dubberley who had nine kills each. Shanley hit .400.

Renfore added eight more kills and three total blocks.

Ortner was again atop the defense with 13 digs followed closely by Cassie Bailie with 12.

Lo led the setters with 21 assists in the second match of the day and had 11 digs. Wilson had 13 assists.

"I was happy, overall, with the way we played against Brenau," said head coach Tori Bartels. "We had a lot of players really working hard and that showed in the results. The Coastal match was another matter. We really should have taken the first set, but I was thrilled with how hard this team pushed in the second when everything looked lost. Then we flipped a switch in the third set. It was the first time this year I saw us stop pushing and that's disheartening. I think if we'd gone up 2-0 we'd have had more life, but they're a strong team and we just ran out of gas. The focus now is to regroup on Monday and get ready for our five-match weekend coming up at home."

Renfroe and Dubberley were both named to the all-tournament team.

Faulkner moved to 4-2 on the year and will next host former league titan Spring Hill on Thursday before hosting their own Invitational beginning on Friday. The Badgers clinched the SSAC title last season and the two teams will face off at 6 p.m. at Tine Davis Gymnasium.