MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Faulkner (5-7, 1-3 SSAC) took on Loyola (11-5, 2-1 SSAC) at Tine Davis Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon, still sitting at No. 6 in the SSAC standings after their Friday loss to then-No. 4 William Carey, while Loyola fell to just one spot above the Lady Eagles after falling via sweep at Mobile on Friday night. After Faulkner rallied to take the opening frame, it was the Wolf Pack who claimed the last three to win (24-26, 25-18, 25-17, 25-18).
Statistically, things were mostly evenly matched until midway through the third set, which Loyola closed with a 12-3 lead. Loyola then scored 20 points via kill to just 10 for the hosts in the final period. The Wolf Pack thoroughly won the hitting battle .305 to .133 as they tallied 55 kills to 43 for Faulkner while committing just 15 errors to 26 for the latter. The only statistical categories the Lady Eagles claimed were blocks and digs, each by just one, while Loyola took the others convincingly.
Faulkner was one rally away from a potential sweep, as Loyola led 24-22 in the opening frame. Riley Deem then scored a kill to get it within one. With Anna Prempramot serving, the Lady Eagles induced an attack error to tie it before Charlee Jordan killed it to flip the script completely with a 25-24 lead. On the next rally, Madison Martin and Kaleigh Moss blocked the attack by Ivana De Carvalho Peixe to go up 1-0 for the match. From then on, despite Faulkner narrowing the margin and taking the lead a few times, Loyola was able to respond every time and kept the momentum on their side for the rest of the contest.
Jordan earned her second career double-double, as she led the team with 10 kills to go with a pair of aces. She, Jaylyn Strength and Allyse Rudolph tied for the team lead in digs with 12. Rudolph scored nine kills and Riley Deem had eight. Martin led the Lady Eagles with five total blocks while contributing seven kills on the offensive side. Setters Ellie Cyr and Mandi Hart had 22 and 19 assists and seven and five digs, respectively. Moss and Deem each scored three blocks, and Rudolph and Kendall Rice added a pair apiece.
The path gets no easier for the Lady Eagles as they leave the friendly confines of Tine Davis for their next four contests, starting with a contest on Friday, Sep. 19, against the top squad in the SSAC standings in Blue Mountain Christian.
