MONTGOMERY, Ala. - In a battle of the No. 6 and No. 4 teams in the SSAC standings before first serve on Friday night at Tine Davis Gymnasium, Faulkner (5-6, 1-2 SSAC) pushed receiving-votes William Carey (7-7, 2-0 SSAC) to the brink in sets one and two before coming out on top in the third but running out of gas in the fourth and final frame of a 3-1 loss (23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 21-25).
The Lady Eagles and Lady Crusaders both posted double-digit kills in each set. The lowest percentage by any team in a frame was .132 by Faulkner in the first. It was an evenly matched contest all the way through, as WCU led in kills 57-50 but had 26 errors to 23 for Faulkner. The Lady Eagles led in aces 8-3, blocks 11-6 and digs 51-49, as the Lady Crusaders led in kills, assists and hitting percentage, which was enough for them to pull out the hard-fought win.
The match featured 21 lead changes, including a whopping 10 in the second set. The runs were mostly traded back and forth, whether the response was in the same set or the ensuing one. It came down to who sustained their runs most often and effectively, and that was WCU tonight.
Sofia Bettini, Natalie Bartholomew and Agnes Hegardt all scored double-digit kills for the visitors, Bettini leading in number with 17 and Bartholomew leading in percentage with a .542 on her 15 kills. Hegardt scored 12, Alyssa Portee added nine and Zoie Mitchell chipped in four. Katarina Vulic and Maurin Reyes dished out 27 and 20 assists, respectively. Riley Carter led at the net with five blocks. Libero Kayla Benedic finished with 12 digs, with Vulic putting up 11 and Bartholomew 10.
On a .313 hitting day, Allyse Rudolph put together her fifth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 13 attacks, leading Faulkner in both, while adding three blocks and three aces. Kaleigh Moss put up 10 kills as the Lady Eagles' other hitter in double digits. Riley Deem scored eight kills on a .357 outing with four blocks. Ellie Cyr led the team in hitting percentage with a .429, with six of her 14 attacks hitting their mark, while also leading the Lady Eagles with 22 assists and adding two aces and four digs. Mandi Hart, the other half of Faulkner's 6-2 scheme, had her fifth double-double of the season with 20 dimes and 10 scoops. Jaylyn Strength kept 10 WCU attacks alive as well. Charlee Jordan and Madison Martin each scored five kills. Jordan added five digs and two aces, while Martin added four digs and a team-leading six blocks, three of them solo. In two sets of playing time, Kendall Rice scored three blocks, one solo, and two kills.
With the standings updated to today's results, Faulkner remains in sixth place and takes on the previously ranked second-place but currently fifth-place squad in the conference in Loyola tomorrow at 1 pm back at Tine Davis.
