MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The host Eagles (15-6, 5-2 SSAC) led in every team category but aces to earn a hard-fought 3-1 win (25-16, 21-25, 25-17, 25-18) over new conference member Life (6-6, 3-4 SSAC) at Tine Davis Gymnasium on Friday night. The victory is Faulkner's fourth in a row overall and in conference play, as well its first win over the Running Eagles since winning the first two matchups in the sides' history with each other in 2018, having lost the last five meetings in getting swept by Life in the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Faulkner tallied 56 kills to just 17 errors for a .289 hitting percentage, including a .500 mark in the third set and a low of .125 in the final one. The Lady Eagles held the SSAC newcomers to a .135 total match mark while forcing eight errors in both the first and last sets for .000 and .032 percentages, respectively. The hosts achieved the strong all-around performance despite the fortitude of the Running Eagles that enabled them to answer almost all of the former's attacks.
"We got shaky on our serve receive," Coach
Tori Renda said after the game. "They went after us and we still found a way to convert out of system, so our out-of-system play is what ultimately, I think, saved our game tonight."
Molly Presnell was the Lady Eagles' leader in kills for the sixth time in seven matches. In racking up 13 kills to just one error for a .387 outing in addition to 10 digs and five of her team's nine aces, she notched double-double No. 13 of 2022.
"We could throw a ball up there and we could trust that she was going to convert or keep them out of system," Renda said of the benefit to her team from Presnell's high performance. "It gave us the opportunity to refocus and then focus on what we needed to do next."
For her part,
Haven Owings tallied 12 kills.
Hannah Bryan and
Charlee Jordan had nine with three assists apiece, and
Victoria Wheeler and
Mallory Black each got six kills. Bryan also contributed 10 digs.
Alexis McInroy registered 14 digs and two aces.
Alyssa Stagner totaled 22 assists and eight digs, while fellow setter
Mandi Hart scored 18 assists and 11 digs.
The first four points of the day went to the home side thanks to a Black kill, a Life set error, a Jordan block and a Stagner ace. A kill by Jordan followed by two more from Owings put Faulkner ahead 7-2. Jordan sandwiched two more scores off Hart assists around her error during a back-and-forth stretch before Stagner provided the before and after to another Life point. Her serve ended in a kill by Black and she then responded by faking the set off the Bryan assist and sending the ball into a space uncovered by the Running Eagles to put her team up 15-9. Life claimed five of the next seven points, only ceding two via error, to get within three before three Presnell kills and two Fayola Louis errors, one by a Wheeler block, made up a 5-0 Faulkner run. Leading 23-15 after one more Presnell kill, the teams exchanged points before Jordan finished what she started and closed the book on the opening frame with the freshman outside hitter's fourth kill of the match.
Life rebounded by taking the second with a 6-0 run to take the lead for good after trailing 13-9. The third set began as the second did due to back-and-forth results. With a slim 6-5 advantage, a 4-0 run during Presnell's service gave Faulkner breathing room. She was responsible for all but one of the points in this stretch, claiming a kill and two aces. Later on, leading 18-14, a Bryan kill and two Jade Watson errors, the second off a block from Wheeler and Bryan, recreated some distance between the squads. After exchanging points for a time once again, three of the last four points went to the hosts. Owings, Jordan and Presnell delivered the kills and each of them were assisted by Stagner.
Trailing 6-3 in the fourth frame, the Lady Eagles tied it up and then responded to two more Running Eagle points by taking advantage of three errors and a Bryan ace. Once Life tied it back, a Black kill, an error and a McInroy ace staked Faulkner to a lead that would stand for the remainder of the contest. Kills by Louis and Kennedy Neal brought the visitors within one before a Louis service error, kills from Bryan and Wheeler and a Presnell ace placed Faulkner ahead 20-15. Once the varieties of Eagles volleyed points back and forth and a Morgan Furness kill made it a four-point game at 22-18, a 3-0 run sealed the deal courtesy of points by Owings, McInroy and Presnell.
Faulkner returns to Tine Davis on Saturday for a 1 p.m. first serve time against Talladega.
"Great confidence," Renda replied when asked what the gritty win gives her team going into the next match. "Confidence to know that even when we were making mistakes in one area, our other side of the game was going to do well. Talladega is an extremely athletic team that is just physical. And so, we've got to make sure we're maintaining the little things well."
