HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Faulkner closed out a 3-1 week on the road with a straight-sets win over Southern States Athletic Conference newcomer William Carey (6-10, 4-4 SSAC) 28-26, 25-16, 25-23 here this afternoon.

The Lady Eagles edged the home team in an extended-point opening bout before clinching a decisive win in the second set.

Faulkner (9-10, 5-2 SSAC) seemed to have the match in hand with a 22-11 lead in the third when the Crusaders mounted a tremendous 9-0 surge, which included three aces in a four-point span, forcing the game into a tight race. 

The visitors kept their composure in the face of the William Carey scramble, however, and extinguished the fire before things got further out of control.

"We did a lot of great things today, especially up front," said head coach Tori Bartels. "We did a great job on the block and had two hitters with double-digit kills. We did let some of William Carey's chaotic runs get us out of rhythm, but I'm proud of the way the girls pulled it together in the end."

The Lady Eagles tallied 10 total blocks on the day and hit .255 as a unit. The Crusaders hit .081 overall and logged a pair of team blocks.

Kiki Coombs and Daijah Washington each had 10 kills attacking from opposite pins. It's only the second time this season multiple hitters have reached double-digit kills for Faulkner and it's the first time in a straight-sets match.

Coombs was absolutely dominant against the Crusaders hitting an impressive .412 while adding six block assists and four digs.

Washington hit .280 and had six digs.

Ashley Ingwersen and Alysa Klassen both hit above the .300 mark as well with percentages of .313 and .308, respectively. 

Klassen matched Coombs with six total blocks and Ingwersen supplied six digs.

Setter Katie Musser registered 21 assists and had seven digs on the afternoon and libero Julianne Wilkes led the floor with 15 digs.

Faulkner returns home to Tine Davis Gymnasium to host (RV) Coastal Georgia at 7 p.m. on Sept. 29.