by Ryan Bartels

PULASKI, Tenn. - Faulkner (15-9, 7-6 SSAC) did today what it couldn't do last night: force a do-or-die fifth set and take home a critical Southern States Athletic Conference victory, this time over Martin Methodist (17-9, 8-5 SSAC). The Lady Eagles again overcame a 2-1 deficit to force a full-sets episode, thanks in large part to a handful of career performances, and a strong effort through the middle points ultimately carried the team to the 25-22, 22-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-11 decision.

Though Faulkner's front row weapons were exceptionally deadly this afternoon, those hitters wouldn't have generated the same affect without the outstanding numbers from setter Katie Musser.

The junior chambered the rounds for hitters Krystalynn Leomiti, Tori Marchant and Kortney Barnes, dishing out a career-high 58 assists.

Musser's back row play was also exceptional as she registered a career-high 21 digs, and was second only to libero Julianne Wilkes who closed play with 25.

Leomiti, meanwhile, booked career kill digits against the RedHawks. The junior utility player fired 18 rounds by the opposition while hitting .269. Leomiti joined Musser with a double-double effort thanks to 15 digs. She also had three serving aces.

Marchant was radically efficient rocking 17 kills while hitting an incredible .517. The junior middle also offered up three digs and a three total blocks.

Fellow middle, Barnes, added 13 kills, hitting .300, and had five total blocks, which included three solo stops.

Faulkner had five players with double-digit digs in the match. Cassie Bailie and Ashley Ingwersen dug 19 and 11 shots , respectively.

"We played extremely flat after winning the opening set, but we fought back and gained a lot of confidence," said head coach Tori Bartels. "We grew as a team and this was a big win for us. Martin Methodist did a great job of exploiting some of our weaknesses, but we made adjustments and the girls handled that well. We had fun in sets four and five and it really made a huge difference. We still need to learn to keep our competitive edge following a win, but I'm happy with how they recovered when it mattered most."

Faulkner well close out the regular season in Mobile on Thursday. The Lady Eagles take on the regular season champion Rams at 7:30 p.m.