MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner stormed back from two sets down to make tonight's match a five-set thriller, but Mobile ran away with it in the final frame to get a marquee 3-2 win (25-18, 25-17, 22-25, 17-25, 15-5) and end both teams' regular seasons on Senior Night at Tine Davis Gymnasium. The Rams led in every team category but blocks, and rode a complete team performance to up its record to 21-5 and 10-4 in conference play, and made the Lady Eagles slump to a 12-15 overall record with a 6-8 mark against SSAC competition.

Tonight's match marked the last home game for six Lady Eagles graduating this school year. This year's is a decorated class; three of them, Jordan Stewart, Sarah-Gracen Watts and Alysa Vinson, have split libero duties this season as well as playing various other positions, and they, along with fellow key contributors Alyssa Stagner, Mallory Black and Courtney Reeves, were recognized after the game. 

In a mostly back-and-forth opening set, Mobile began to widen a slim 10-9 lead with a 5-0 run made up of three Faulkner errors and kills from Rachel Hart and Abby Andrews. The Rams answered every Lady Eagle rally to end the first. Similarly, leading 10-8 in the second, the visitors went on a key 8-2 run, via five errors and three combined kills from Andrews and Carli Rouse. Down 10 at set point, the home team started to show some resiliency with three consecutive points, two from Hannah Bryan and one from Haven Owings, before a Rouse kill tucked away the second. 

It might have seemed at that point that Mobile would run away with this one when they held a 5-1 lead in the third period, but the Lady Eagles proceeded to put those thoughts to bed. After pulling the Rams' advantage to 9-7, Faulkner would take the lead by scoring five of the next six points, four of them from errors by Brinkley Hearn, Kiara Garrett and Hart. Then, after surrendering a Garrett kill, the hosts scored the next five off of kills by Bryan, Julia Rice and Vinson and two Andrews errors to go up 17-11. Trailing 19-13, the Rams threatened to still end it after three with the next seven scores. Faulkner would respond again, however, with a 5-1 run, from three errors and Vinson and Owings kills, pushing it to set point before Alexis McInroy's kill won her team its first set of the night. Stagner assisted the latter two kills. 

Up 6-5 in the fourth, Faulkner went on a 7-2 run, with kills interspersed from Vinson, McInroy, Stagner and Bryan. After Mobile pulled the margin to two points, Faulkner's next run was 11-5, which sent the game to the fifth set, almost setting the stage for a huge comeback. Seven of the points in this span were from errors, and the kills came at the hands of Vinson, Rice and Bryan. However, the Rams killed the Lady Eagles' momentum with 10 of the first 13 points of the final period, and with an 11-5 advantage, scored the final four to seal the deal. Faulkner was unable to gather any runs in the fifth, with each point responded to immediately by Mobile.  

Stagner set the ball to her standard in her final game at Tine Davis, assisting it 41 times with eight digs. Watts and Stewart scooped it 10 and 14 times, respectively. Bryan led the team in the following categories, racking up 14 kills with a .178 attack percentage, 14.5 total points and 21 digs. Vinson tallied 17 digs, eight kills and four blocks with 10 points. Rice scored seven kills, four digs, seven blocks and 10.5 points. McInroy got eight kills, eight digs, five blocks and 12.5 points, and Owings added seven kills, five digs, four blocks and nine points. 

Andrews fired 17 kills and 16 digs, and Garrett tallied 12 kills and three blocks for the visitors. Kennedy hit nine kills for a .240 percentage, with five total blocks, three solo and two assisted. Hart had five kills and a team-high .364 percentage, with the same stat line for blocks as Kennedy. Sarah Warren scored 35 assists, her third-highest match total of the season, combined with 10 digs. Tatum Beech added 22 assists and five digs, and Rouse had 13 kills. Madison Bergeron registered 14 digs, and libero Melea Meadows totaled 36 digs and three assists. 

All that remains for Faulkner is the SSAC Tournament in downtown Montgomery at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl. Depending on the result in the game between Blue Mountain and Talladega, the Lady Eagles could have a shot at a rematch with Mobile, who has won the last three in the in-state rivalry, starting with the five-set thriller in the conference tourney last spring that helped to send Faulkner packing. Mobile, meanwhile, will have a shot at nationals thanks to its impressive record in a tough SSAC this season.