A five-match conference road trip crescendos into a showdown with long-time in-state foe Mobile Tuesday night at 7 p.m. Interestingly enough, this is the second straight season with a quintet of away games against Mobile, William Carey, Loyola, Blue Mountain and Talladega. The lone difference being the Talladega game was nonconference last season and this year the Tornadoes are members of the SSAC.

The two teams are separated by one game in the congested league standings--just two matches separating first and fifth. With Mobile one game back of a three-way tie at first at 4-2, Faulkner could draw even with the Rams in fourth with a win sitting at 3-3. One of the two teams will snap a multiple match losing streak with Mobile falling to Loyola and William Carey. Faulkner and Mobile played the same opponents in the same venues thusfar with the difference in results coming in the form of Mobile beating Blue Mountain in five while Faulkner fell to the Toppers in straight sets.

REVERSE THE TIDE

After a five-match win streak, Faulkner has hit a skid, dropping three straight. In order to snap it before returning home in 10 days, Lady Eagles face a task that historically has been one of the most challenging in program history. Just once in 13 trips down I-65 has Faulkner emerged victorious--taking a 3-2 decision in 2007. Despite the road struggles against the Rams, the Lady Eagles have evenly split the last six matches with the reigning conference champions. The most recent matchup was an instant classic during the conference tournament last season. After winning the first two sets, the Lady Eagles narrowly fell in five with the total point count falling 109-106 in favor of the eventual league champs in the semifinals. 

MIDDLE BATTLE

The SSAC is not shy of strong middle blockers and Tuesday's match will feature the statistical top net defenders in the league. Julia Rice's breakout season has impressed, placing third in the league in attack percentage (.272) and second in blocks per set (.95). For Mobile, Rachel Hart's blocking ability pushed her to a conference-best .98 blocks per set with 19 solos and second-best attack percentage at a .275 clip. Hart is the reigning SSAC defender of the week after posting 19 blocks in two matches for an outrageous 2.11 blocks per set average with seven solos in one match. Rice is no stranger to the league awards, claiming defender and attacker of the week on consecutive weeks. 

ATTACK AND DEFEND

Mobile boasts the best attack percentage (.201) while holding opponents to the lowest attack percentage (.086) in the league. The combination could prove to be one of the toughest tasks the Lady Eagles faced by the defenders and attackers so far. Abby Andrews placed third in kills per set (2.95) in the league in the outside hitter role for the Rams. Mobile libero Malea Meadows tops the league in digs per set with 4.72. Hannah Bryan ranks sixth in the SSAC with 2.73 kills per set while the Lady Eagles place third in digs per set with 16.39.

SET IT UP

Alyssa Stagner places third in the league with 8.52 assists per set and first in total assists with 545. Sarah Warren runs the Mobile offense with 6.19 assists per set and shares some setting duties with Tatum Beech who averages 3.35 per set. 

COVERAGE

The match will be broadcast by Mobile in a PPV format at https://team1sports.com/umobilerams/. Live stats will be available at https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/wvball/2021-22/boxscores/20211005_iwpr.xml.