MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner opened its annual Invitational against Milligan College (Tenn.) in convincing fashion. Despite the second-set backfire, the Lady Eagles dominated the floor and secured the victory 25-20, 20-25, 25-12, 25-12. A Carol Reis-led Southeastern squad proved too much for the Lady Eagles to come in the nightcap, however, as the Fire held strong for the 25-20, 25-19, 27-25 knockout.

Milligan fought hard through the early sets in the opener, but lost a bit of steam as Faulkner began to heat up. The door opened wide early in the third set and the Lady Eagles managed to put the match away before the Buffaloes could gain any further traction.

Southeastern, on the other hand, came full throttle and never let up. The Fire were fresh off a straight-sets victory over Spring Hill and that momentum carried over into the final bout of the day.

The visitors struck early and often and never let the Lady Eagles claim any sizable lead.

Reis was virtually unstoppable hitting .481 with 18 kills and had six total stops at the net for Southeastern. The senior middle made few mistakes and her change of pace, ability to read the offense and her aggressive serving proved a decisive force in the win.

Sarah Dubberley had 21 kills and hit .317 on the day and had 11 digs.

Brittnay Renfroe logged 17 kills, hitting .280, and had nine total blocks.

Alysa Klassen was also stellar at the net with 12 total blocks and 11 kills.

Hannah Shanley entered the day coming off a strong performance against Spring Hill and connected for 15 kills in the two matches.

Elissa Cargile was Faulkner's biggest offensive weapon against the Fire. The outside produced 10 kills while hitting .368 and adding three block assists.

Libero Lindsey Ortner tallied 31 digs overall to lead the defense. Delricka Anthony added 19 and Cassie Bailie had 15.

KK Lo and Morgan Wilson once again split duties feeding the attack and had 37 and 34 assists respectively. 

"The takeaway from the Milligan match was consistency," said head coach Tori Bartels. "We connected the points well, didn't backpedal too much and after some uncertainty in the second set, we hit the gas and did what we needed to do. Southeastern kept us out of rhythm and at times we played on our heels. We did a lot of things good, but it really wasn't until later in the final set that we started doing a lot of things right and through several points. In the end we couldn't overcome the obstacle in our way and the Fire got a great win."

Faulkner (6-3) will open the final round of the Invitational against Webber International at 11 a.m. on Saturday. They follow with Freed-Hardeman at 3.

To view the Southeastern gallery, click HERE.