MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner was nothing short of impressive in tonight's Southern States Athletics Conference victory over Dalton State (1-4) here at Tine Davis Gymnasium. Armed with a rowdy crowd, fierce serve and scrappy defense, the Lady Eagles channeled two weeks worth of frustration into a spectacular display in their first win of the season 25-22, 19-25, 25-9, 25-14.

Tonight, Tine Davis was a proving ground for the home team. Faulkner has struggled to find its identity on the court and with an 0-8 recored weighing heavily on its shoulders entering this evening's conference opener, a lot more than just a win was riding on the match.

With no less than three complete overhauls to the system since the team reported for preseason training, the Lady Eagles were in desperate need of consistencey and effectiveness and tonight things finally clicked.

Cassie Bailie, who was an all-conference libero last season has transitioned into a six-rotation outside hitter and led the Faulkner offense in kills l against the Roadrunners.

Defensive specialist, turned setter, turned libero Julianne Wilkes was the team's dig leader.

Middle blocker, turned right side hitter, turned outside hitter, turned 5-2 front row setter, Krystalynn Leomiti racked up 12 assists on the evening.

Confused? So were the Lady Eagles for the longest time.

"We just kept having to rework things after almost every set in our first eight games," said head coach Tori Bartels. "We would be really strong hitting in a particular rotation, but might have struggled covering things defensively. We were getting great productivity out of a 5-1 offense, but then were getting hurt on the block. We kept changing and tweaking and shifting people around until what we had was effective and we had the right energy on the court and this wild setup seems to work."

And work it did. 

Faulkner opened with a dominating performance, boasting an 11-3 surge right out of the gate. 

Dalton State gained traction, however, and narrowed the margin as the closing points were tallied in the opener.

The Roadrunners found high energy in the ensuing set leaving the home team playing catchup, but by set three, there was little the visitors could do to stop the Lady Eagles' momentum.

Faulkner had a staggering 13 service aces in the match and compiled only 20 total errors in the outing; the fewest of any match this season.

Faulkner outhit Dalton State .201 to .130 and out-blocked the visitors 12 to seven.

Bailie had a career-high offensive night with 11 kills, hitting .286. The junior was also third defensively with 11 digs and three total blocks.

Alysa Klassen was also stellar up front. The senior middle had nine kills, hitting a whopping .500, and had five total blocks.

Madelyn Cheatham had seven kills, hitting .174, and added four digs.

Katie Musser had 18 assists, nine digs and five aces on the night. Leomiti added three total blocks to her 12 assists.

Wilkes led the back row with 20 digs and also had five aces.

Ashley Ingwersen was second with 13 digs and had four kills and a pair of blocks.

Faulkner will next travel to Gainesville, Ga., to take on Breanu in SSAC action on Saturday. The match is set for 1 p.m. central.