MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The shortest road trip of the year yielded a pair of wins for the Lady Eagles as Faulkner knocked off a pair of NCAA opponents at the Huntingdon Trimatch, sweeping Tuskegee and beating the hosts in four Wednesday night.

FAULKNER 3, TUSKEGEE 0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-13)

In the first meeting between the two schools separated by less than 35 miles, Faulkner played as close to a clean attacking match as possible, hitting just seven errors across the three sets with a mesmerizing 14 aces. 

The second set proved the most dramatic as Faulkner saw its lead at just one at 17-16 with the Golden Tigers serving but Victoria Wheeler's kill earned a side out where Alexis McInroy served the match out including a couple aces. 

Hannah Bryan and Molly Presnell combined for 19 kills and just one error on 33 attacks for an absurd .545 attack percentage to lead the way. Bryan had 11 on 19 swings with one error while Presnell found eight on 14 with no errors. 

Presnell also led the way from the service line with four aces. Also with four one hitter quitters  was the libero McInroy who paced the team with nine digs. Alyssa Stagner assisted 27 of the team's kills with three aces.

FAULKNER 3, HUNTINGDON 1 (25-16, 27-25, 24-26, 25-20)

The Lady Eagles continued their win streak over crosstown foe Huntingdon in the first meeting between the two sides since before COVID, extending the run to 14 in a row dating back to 2005 in a close battle with Hawks.

One of Presnell's career-best 20 kills in the contest gave Faulkner a set point in set two before a block from Bryan and Mallory Black put Faulkner in the driver's seat with a 2-0 match lead.

Leading 15-14 in the fourth set, the Lady Eagles pulled away from the DIII side with a 7-2 run to put the match comfortably in their hands. 

Presnell delivered her career high kill count with another .500 attack percentage. McInroy also had a career high with 26 digs. Setters Mandi Hart and Stagner both turned in double-doubles with 23 assists a piece and Hart recording one more dig than Stagner's 10. Bryan also had a double-double with 15 kills and 10 assists. 

The Lady Eagles conclude non conference play for the season at 12-4 and now have an overall record of 19-8. Faulkner travels to Loyola and William Carey Friday and Saturday for two more important SSAC matches trying to avenge home sweeps.  Read Full Article