By Ryan Bartels

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner (18-11) snapped a 16-year drought this morning when it punched its ticket to the Southern States Athletic Conference tournament title game with a hard-fought victory over red-hot Loyola (19-19) 23-25, 25-19, 22-25, 27-25, 15-12 in the semifinal showdown here at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex. It's the team's first-ever appearance in the SSAC championship and the first in any league since winning the GACC title in 2001.

"Words can't express how proud I am of this team and how much they keep teaching me about their willingness to give everything for each other," said head coach Tori Bartels after the emotional win.

"This was our fourth straight semifinal game and we finally got over that hump. It wasn't because of talent alone that we made it here. Loyola was the hot team coming into the game and they matched us point for point. It was because we gave a little bit more and that's what it takes to move on."

Without question, it was Loyola that had everyone's attention at this year's tournament. The seven seed stormed through its pool with a 3-0 record while helping eliminate the two and three seeds.

Adding to the already sizable obstacle for Faulkner was the fact that Loyola also packed an explosive block and, statistically, the best in the tournament.

"The regular season doesn't matter now," Bartels told her team before the game, referring to their sweep of Loyola. "Bethel did the same thing to us and we beat them here. Expect nothing less than the best they can throw at you."

The opening confrontation was lackluster for the Lady Eagles early. Hitting errors registered costly while a the Loyola block helped thwart or divert several other shots that would otherwise have found their mark.

The Lady Eagles never backed down, however, and even orchestrated a nice run deep in the frame, but the flustered, out-of-system offense hit its stride too late to rally further and the Wolfpack stiff-armed its way into a young lead.

Despite some highly questionable calls, or lack there of, that hurled a monkey wrench into Faulkner's otherwise blistering assault, little seemed to phase the Lady Eagles en route to the biggest win of the contest.

Loyola sparked late in the third episode to gain a set advantage, but the deficit brought new life to the Faulkner lineup. Twice in the later points the Lady Eagles had to fight out of ruts to clinch the must-have win in extended points.

That vigor held strong through the turn in the final bout and Loyola couldn't muscle its way back into control.

Kirsten Carter and Krystalynn Leomiti were both explosive for Faulkner with 16 kills each and Carter rocked a .353 hitting percentage while scoring them.

Leomiti booked a double-double with 18 digs while Carter added seven more. Both hitters had four block assists.

Madelyn Cheatham wasn't far off the pace with 15 kills and contributed seven digs and two block aids.

Kortney Barnes tallied 14 kills and six total blocks while fellow middle Tori Marchant led the team with seven total blocks and had 10 kills.

Setter Katie Musser produced new career-best figures on both sides of the ball with 59 assists and 24 digs.

Libero Julianne Wilkes, meanwhile, had a court-best 31 digs.

Faulkner will enter a rematch against Mobile in this afternoon's title game at 2. The Rams won the precious bout 3-1 and is the only team to defeat the Lady Eagles in the tournament.