MONTOGMERY, Ala. - Faulkner and Dalton State traded punches in this afternoon's Southern States Athletic Conference showdown at Tine Davis Gymnasium, but it was the home team that ultimately secured the full-sets victory 22-25, 25-20, 25-20, 18-25, 15-11.

The Roadrunners claimed the back and forth win in the opening set, but Faulkner raced out to a rapid 6-0 cushion in the ensuing bout before Dalton State joined the fight. The Lady Eagles continued to draw upon an energy level missing in recent play and extended its control to 16-5.

A barrel full of errors plagued Faulkner late in the set, however, allowing the visitors to creep back into contention. The Lady Eagles did manage to tuck away the win before the Roadrunners could gain the 2-0 advantage.

Set 3 saw Faulkner dominating early as well, but Dalton State did a great job of plugging the leak early. By the midway mark the teams were in a dead heat and it wasn't until Elissa Cargile gave the Lady Eagles some breathing room with three consecutive service aces after a Roadrunner timeout that either side gained any real momentum.

Dalton State's approach in the must-have fourth set looked much like Faulkner's did in Set 2. The visitors held and 11-3 lead early on and in virtually identical fashion the trailing team sparked a run. A 12-4 Faulkner point-spree moved the event into a tie at 15-15, but the Roadrunners claimed the win in the ensuing shootout.

The final set was nothing short of an all out brawl with both sides trading devastating blows. The Lady Eagles finally capitalized on a few Dalton State errors while finding the open court on smart deep-ball play to secure the overall win.

"Both teams were ready to go today," said head coach Tori Bartels after the event. "Dalton State is tremendously talented and I think our teams are a lot alike in many ways. I'm proud of our girls for never giving in. We still have a tendency to string errors together at times, but the heart and energy are at an all-time high right now and that's really what's most important. We have a heavy week ahead and we need to maintain this level of play when we hit the road on Friday."

Hannah Shanley was on fire for the Lady Eagles tallying 17 kills while hitting .263. The kill total is a career-high for the sophomore outside hitter and ties the individual high for any Faulkner player this season.

Sarah Dubberley put double-double performance number 14 of the year in the books with her 12 kills (.244) and 18 digs. The senior outside also had four total blocks.

Bailey Mount and Alysa Klassen each added 10 more kills and hit .300 and .269, respectively.

Setters Jordan Jones and Katie Musser split the assist pool in half with 25 and 24, respectively. Musser was also third defensively with 15 digs and Jones added four.

Libero Cassie Bailie edged out the back line with a team-leading 19 digs.

Faulkner (18-10, 8-4 SSAC) will host Fisk University Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. before returning to league action in a pair of road matchups over the weekend.