by Ryan Bartels

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner (6-3) overcame early inconsistency and lackluster energy in its first bout of the day against Pensacola Christian College to secure the 25-19, 25-5, 25-10 victory here at the Huntington College tournament this afternoon.

It took Faulkner 13 points to find its rhythm and bat away the cobwebs from 19 days of no competition. The Lady Eagles eventually capitalized on a wicked short serve and increased intensity as the opening set move toward the midpoint, while PCC started to falter under the weight of its own mistakes.

Faulkner exploded with a 10-0 run out of 7-6 deficit catapulting itself into a commanding lead. The Lady Eagles stumbled again through the waning points which allowed PCC to regain a bit of traction, but there was little that could offset the eventual outcome.

Set 2 was an incredibly lopsided assault with Faulkner dominating pole to pole. The opposition recorded just three kills, while the other two points were the result of Lady Eagle blunders.

The final showdown was more evenly paced early on, but a 12-2 Faulkner run down the stretch slammed the door shut in convincing fashion.

"After a slow start I saw the fierceness of the team come alive," said head coach Tori Bartels after the win. "It was great to see the tenacity come out and I know the girls were excited to finally get back on the court. We're going to need that type of play the rest of the season if we want to be successful."

Middle Kortney Barnes ruled the floor up front logging seven kills, while hitting .545, and booked five total blocks, all court-high numbers.

Ashley Ingwersen, Madelyn Cheatham and Kirsten Carter each added five kills and Ingwersen boasted a team-high eight digs.

Tori Marchant was consistent across the statistical sheet with four total blocks and digs and had three kills and aces.

Katie Musser fed the front row with 14 assists and had four digs while fellow setter Ariana Vannoy pushed nine assists and recorded a pair of service aces while matching Musser in the dig column.

Libero Julianne Wilkes offered up seven digs.

Faulkner resumes action this evening at Tine Davis Gymnasium on campus when it hosts William Carey (7-3, 0-1 SSAC) its Southern States Athletic Conference opener at 7 p.m.