MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Lady Eagles (3-4) dropped another tough four-set contest, this one to another hot-hitting team in Southeastern (8-1), to start off their Day 2 slate of the 25th annual Faulkner Invitational at Tine Davis Gymnasium on Saturday before salvaging a split with a sweep of Stillman (0-3) to wrap up the tournament.
Southeastern 3, Faulkner 1 (32-30, 25-15, 15-25, 25-19)
The opening set of the battle between the Lady Eagles and the Fire featured a display of sensational volleyball, in which the teams scored a combined 52 kills and registered an almost identical hitting percentage, in a battle royale for the crucial opening frame. That conclusion seemed unlikely after the visitors took the lead from Faulkner with six straight points for a 20-14 advantage and three more later to make it set point at 24-18. The Lady Eagles stormed back with eight straight points to claim set point for themselves thanks to a pair of errors by Yarelis Lopez, a block by freshmen Kaleigh Moss and Addison Smith, three Allyse Rudolph kills and a Mandi Hart ace. It was the first of three SEU set points Faulkner would beat back, with a kill and ace from Rudolph making it 27-26 Faulkner, a Moss kill 28-27 and a Riley Deem kill 29-28. Four of the next five rallies went to the Fire, however, as they took the 1-0 lead and used that momentum to go up 2-0 by outhitting the hosts .179 to -.107 and utilizing three four- or five-point runs.
Faulkner turned it on in the third frame, making good on 12 of its 20 swings without an error while forcing SEU into nine miscues with just 10 kills for a .036 offensive percentage. Faulkner used two 5-0 runs to get the upper hand and narrow the match deficit to one. However, the tables would turn once more as the Fire won the hitting battle in the fourth period .393 to .152 to get the upper hand before traveling back home to Lakeland, Fla.
Rudolph and Moss both led their team with 15 kills, hitting .286 and .343, respectively. Rudolph was also one of three, along with Hart and Kolbi Bates, to tally 12 digs. Libero Jaylyn Strength led in that category with 15 scoops. Lopez was one of three Fire hitters with double-digit kills, as she and Emily Maske scored 14 and Laura Bonomi led the way with 17. Lopez was also one of three with double-digit digs, as she had 16, libero Marysa Connors put up 18 and Bonomi scooped 23.
Faulkner 3, Stillman 0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-18)
Despite several pushes from Faulkner volleyball alum Theresa Berry-Franks' Tigers, the Lady Eagles kept the former SSAC rivals at bay in claiming every statistical category except blocks. No Stillman player had double-digit kills or assists and just one had 10 digs.
Moss tied for the team lead with Charlee Jordan with 11 kills while also leading the defense with seven digs. Rudolph hit .350 with 10 kills on 20 swings, while Madison Martin hit .500 with six kills. Hart dished out 20 assists while Chasity Broadhead added 15. The team totaled 12 aces, with four from Smith, three by Strength, two from Ellie Cyr and one apiece from Hart, Rudolph and Broadhead.
The Lady Eagles begin SSAC play next week with a trip to Georgia as they take on Life in Marietta on Friday, Sep. 5, at 6 pm and Brewton-Parker Christian in Mount Vernon the next day at noon.
