DALTON, Ga. - Faulkner tried desperately to overcome a 2-0 deficit here against Dalton State this afternoon, but despite a convincing Lady Eagle win in set three, the Roadrunners clinched the Southern States Athletic Conference victory 25-18, 25-14, 13-25, 26-24.

The Lady Eagles came up short in the opener, but it was a complete lack of rhythm in the subsequent set that put the team against the wall.

Faulkner then caught Dalton State off guard in the third round to earn a biggest win of the day, but then squandered a 21-16 lead in the final bout trampling its own spark.

"We've flat out hit a wall," said head coach Tori Bartels. "I'm not really sure what it is. We had this intensity, this fire early in the season and now we enter these rough patches where I'm not sure we even want to be on the court. We're going back to the drawing board on Monday. We've got to turn things around before we get too much further into conference play."

Dalton State's block proved devastating to the Faulkner attack. The Roadrunners tallied 10 total team blocks in the match while the Lady Eagles mustered just three.

Alyne Bianchi and Anna Metzler proved a double-threat combination at the net for the home team with 11 kills each.

Hannah Shanley led the way for the Lady Eagles with 9 kills followed by Sarah Dubberley with eight and Alysa Klassen with seven.

Libero Lindsey Ortner was on point defensively with a season high 27 digs. Defensive specialist Delricka Anthony had 11.

Setters Sarah Ford and Morgan Wilson also had solid days on both sides of the ball. The tandem offered up 15 and 14 assists respectively and 12 and 11 digs.

Faulkner dropped to 12-7 overall and 3-4 in the league. The Lady Eagles next travel to Mobile for a showdown with Spring Hill. Faulkner defeated the Badgers in five sets earlier this season. The match is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday.