Montgomery, Ala.- The Lady Eagles hosted Middle Georgia State on Saturday afternoon for Senior Day and the last regular-season game of the year. The Lady Eagles came out in commanding fashion to take over the Knights and the 3-0 sweep to clinch the No.6 seed heading into the SSAC Volleyball Championship.
Faulkner 3, Middle Georgia 0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-14)
In the first set, Mandi Hart started the scoring for the Lady Eagles with an ace, but Middle Georgia answered with a kill on the next serve. Faulkner then put up two more points after an error from the Knights and an ace from Kolbi Bates. Middle Georgia drew within one on the next serve with another kill, but Faulkner took another two-point lead after a kill from Rhiannon Keck.
The Knights then put up two straight points for the first time in the set to tie it up at four all. Faulkner took the lead back with a kill from Mandi Hart, but the Knights tied it again with a kill of their own.
Faulkner took a commanding lead with four straight points to lead 9-5 on the next four serves. Middle Georgia then scored three of the next four serves to bring the score back within two. Each team then scored two points on the next four serves, bringing the score to 12-10. Faulkner quickly pushed their lead back to four behind a kill from Keck and an ace from Victoria Wheeler.
The next five serves consisted of three points from Middle Georgia and two from the Lady Eagles. The score stood at 16-13. Faulkner's Charlee Jordan and Riley Deem each put down a kill to grow the Faulkner lead to five, but the Knights answered with three in a row. Each team scored three points in the next six serves to give Faulkner the two-point lead at 21-19. The Lady Eagles then took a four-point lead with three straight kills from Rhiannon Keck Riley Deem and Kolbi Bates to earn the set point. Middle Georgia scored one more point before Faulkner ended the set 25-21 after a kill from Hannah Bryan.
In set two, the Lady Eagles started strong with four straight points. The two teams then traded back-and-forth points on the next seven serves to bring the score to 7-4 in favor of Faulkner, Each team then scored two in a row on the next four serves, starting with a kill from Jordan and Wheeler.
From there, the scoring consisted of several single points and a few runs that would be stopped by the other team until Faulkner took the set with three straight points to earn the set win at 25-19.
The third set saw Middle Georgia score first for the first time in the match, with two right off the bat. Faulkner quickly answered with three in a row to take a one-point lead. Middle Georgia then tied it up with a kill. The Lady Eagles then hit a 4-0 run to lead 7-3. Middle Georgia answered with a singular point before Faulkner tacked on two more.
The Knights drew within one after four straight points, but Faulkner expanded their lead to six after a 5-0 run. The Knights ended the run with a point on the next serve but Faulkner instantly hit another run with four in a row to push their lead out to 18-9.
Middle Georgia drew within seven after two more points were scored, but Faulkner would not let go of their lead as they put up four more to take an 11-point lead. The Knights put another point before Keck put down a kill and Bates served an ace to earn the set point. With the score 24-12, the Knights didn't quit fighting as they put up two more points, but the Lady Eagles ended the set on the next serve after an error from Middle Georgia. The Lady Eagles completed the 3-0 sweep with the final set win with a final score of 25-14.
Hannah Bryan led the Lady Eagles in kills with 10. Three different players had seven kills in the match. Those players were Rhiannon Keck Allyse Rudolph and Charlee Jordan. The Lady Eagles had two players reach double-digit figures in assists. Ellie Cyr had 17, while Mandi Hart had 15. Macy Kemper led the team in digs with nine.
With the win over Middle Georgia, the Lady Eagles head into the SSAC Volleyball Championship as the No. 6 seed. They join the pool of No. 2 Blue Mountain No. 3 William Carey and No. 7 Life. The Lady Eagles return to action on Thursday, Nov. 14, at the SSAC Volleyball Championship. They will play Blue Mountain at 9:00 a.m., followed by Life at 2:00 p.m. They then will play William Carey on Friday at 1:30 p.m. All games will take place at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl.
