MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner starts the season Thursday and Friday in the Chick-Fil-A Classic hosted by Keiser in West Palm Beach, Fla. with a chance to make a splash against some big names in a highly competitive field. Faulkner will play in four of the 37 matches over a three day span in the Countess de Hoernle Student Life Center including starting the college volleyball season in the nation Thursday morning.
The Lady Eagles are poised to challenge in a very competitive SSAC that got even stronger this year with last season's 13th-ranked team and Mid-South Conference champions Life. Faulkner finished the season fifth in the SSAC and third in its tournament pool.
RETURNERS
Faulkner returns nine players from last season's squad including first team All-SSAC and AVCA All-District athletes
Julia Rice and
Alyssa Stagner. One second team All-SSAC member returns in
Hannah Bryan. Super senior
Mallory Black returns for her fifth year after battling injury last season.
Haven Owings and
Alexis McInroy will begin their fourth season in the program as outside and right side hitters.
Macy Kemper has moved to a defensive specialist role ahead of her third season. Sarah (Sharpe) Boyd is in her third year as a middle blocker and outside hitter.
Victoria Wheeler rounds out the returning group as a middle blocker and right side hitter.
NEWCOMERS
Seven new faces hit the floor for the first time in Faulkner blue including six true freshmen and a transfer. Defensive specialists
Elisa Landry and
Kolbi Bates join attackers
Charlee Jordan and
Kendall Rice.
Ellie Cyr will set and play right side and is joined by setter
Mandi Hart.
Molly Presnell transfers in from UAH where she was a second-team All-GSC performer for the Chargers last season.
FAULKNER at KEISER - 8/18 - 7 a.m. central
Faulkner will compete in the first college volleyball game in the country against the hosts, Keiser, who is one season removed from an undefeated regular season and a national tournament appearance. The sunrise special marks the fifth time in the last three seasons that the Lady Eagles and Seahawks have met and the second match in West Palm Beach. Keiser swept the previous four matches.
Keiser is coming off a 17-22 season and a quarterfinals finish in the Sun Conference tournament. The Seahawks were 8-8 at home in the campaign.
The first serve time is set for the earliest match the Lady Eagles have played since 2017 when they swept Brenau at 8 a.m. local time at the Running Eagle Classic in Marietta, Ga. The match will also be, along with the match starting simultaneously in the same gym between Hastings and Trinity Christian, the first regular season volleyball matches of the year in college volleyball. Faulkner's football team will also play the first game of the pigskin season a week later.
FAULKNER vs. GEORGETOWN - 8/18 - 9 a.m. central
The following match is also against a competitor in the "2020" postseason who had a tougher go of things last year. The Tigers struggled away from their home floor in the 2021 season, dropping all nine road contests and going 4-14 outside of their gym.
The matchup will be just the third meeting between the sides and the first since 2006 as the Lady Eagles seek their first win against the Kentuckians.
FAULKNER vs. TRINITY CHRISTIAN - 8/19 - 3 p.m. central
Faulkner meets the Trolls for the first time in program history for its first match on Friday. Trinity Christian, from the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, went 9-21 last season and 5-13 in league play, but the program is a perennial powerhouse. Last season's struggles snapped a streak of five consecutive seasons in the national tournament for the Illinois-based side.
FAULKNER vs. No. 18 COLLEGE OF SAINT MARY - 8/19 - 7 p.m. central
The final match of the Classic is against a team in last season's tournament field, College of Saint Mary. The Nebraska-based team is coming off a 27-6 season while finishing second in their pool at the final site.
The Lady Eagles have never met the Flames and will mark the first meeting against a team in the top-25 since the first two matches of last season. Before then, it had been since the Opening Round appearance in 2018 that Faulkner had faced a team in the poll.
COVERAGE
The matches will all be streamed by Keiser and will have live stats as well.
