MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Lady Eagles will wrap up the season Friday against Blue Mountain after dropping a pair of three set contests Thursday to open the pool play of the SSAC Volleyball Championship at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl, falling to Point before dropping to Mobile.

POINT 3, FAULKNER 0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-20)

The Lady Eagles stumbled late in the second and third sets to start pool play with a loss. Faulkner led 23-20 before the Skyhawks rattled off a five point run in the second to flip the tide of the match. 

After a very slow start the the match, Faulkner rattled off eight straight points with two aces from Jaylyn Strength and three kills from Haven Owings to make things interesting but the first set mountain was too high to climb. 

The second set featured three lead changes and five ties by 19-19. Faulkner tied it at 19 off a kill from Julia Rice before a Kolbi Bates ace split the difference of two Point errors to jump to 22-19. The two teams traded points for a 23-20 lead for Faulkner, but the Skyhawks got three straight kills from Sameily Marquez to tie it before a pair of Lady Eagle errors ended the set and had the Skyhawks grab a 2-0 lead from the jaws of tied at one set a piece. 

The third set was eerily similar with three lead changes and seven ties by 18-all. However, a 7-2  Point run interrupted by a Hannah Bryan kill and a service error from the Skyhawks ended the match in a sweep. 

Victoria Wheeler led the team with nine kills at a .500 attack percentage. Owings added eight and Rice seven. Charlee Jordan added six. 

Ashton McCullar led the team with 15 digs. Rhi Keck dug a career best of 12.

Mandi Hart had 19 assists while Ellie Cyr had 10.  

MOBILE 3, FAULKNER 0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-20)

In a similar fashion to the Point match, the Lady Eagles were in two of the three sets close but just could not find the closeout run against the instate rival. 

In the first set, Faulkner was tied at 18 as both teams were knocking the cover off the ball, combining for 32 kills and just six errors. Tied at 19-all, Mobile slithered away with a 6-1 run to take the opening set. 

The second set started very slow for the Lady Eagles after Mobile rattled off a 10-3 run to open and could not catch back up, only cutting the deficit to five before the Rams ballooned it back. 

After another slow start in the third set and down 15-7, it seemed like it may be a quiet finish, but Faulkner did not go down without a fight. A kill from Ellie Cyr sparked an 8-0 run on the back of the serve of her fellow setter, Mandi Hart, that featured five kills, three blocks and an ace to tie the set at 15. Victoria Wheeler helped seal four of the points with two kills and two blocks and Hannah Bryan three with two kills and a block. Owings got a kill and a block in that span too. 

Mobile struck back with a 3-0 run to jump ahead but Faulkner took the next two to make it 18-17. The sides traded points again before another three point strike from the Rams pushed the match away. 

Owings led the team with nine kills at a .389 percentage and blocked three Ram attacks. Wheeler added six while hitting .250 but dominated the net with six total blocks including a solo. 

Ashton McCullar led the team with nine digs and Rhi Keck had seven. 

Hart led the team with 17 assists. 

Despite trailing in most every other category, the Lady Eagles dominated on the block, outblocking the Rams 8-2.

Faulkner will not advance out of pool play and will wrap up its season against Blue Mountain Friday at 11 a.m.   Read Full Article