MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Faulkner Lady Eagles (7-10, 2-5 SSAC) dominated in all facets to knock off Point (13-9, 1-4 SSAC) in three sets (25-23, 25-15, 25-21) at Tine Davis Gymnasium in the Battle of I-85 on Friday night to help shake up the SSAC standings and earn their first win over Point since 2021 and just their fourth in 12 tries.
Faulkner tallied 38 kills to Point's 32 and outhit the Skyhawks .270 to .151. It was on the block and behind the service line that the Eagles truly outdid themselves, tallying nine blocks to Point's three and serving up 11 aces to Point's four. They held the SSAC's leading and second-leading hitter in total kills, Point's Tianna Kynard and Jasmyn Ceasar, to eight kills on 27 swings and six on 17, respectively.
The offense operated with great efficiency with Addison Smith at libero, her first career start in the alternate-colored jersey, and she made good on her opportunity with eight digs and three aces. Riley Deem was a one-woman dynamo, leading both teams with 10 kills, doing so on 15 swings for a .467 offensive percentage while assisting on three blocks. Charlee Jordan and Kaleigh Moss scored seven kills apiece. Jordan assisted three blocks and scored her seven kills on just 11 attacks to lead Faulkner with a .636 output; Moss had three digs as well. Allyse Rudolph and Madison Martin each contributed four kills. Rudolph dug 11 attacks and had a pair of blocks; Martin led the team with five blocks, two of them solo. Jaylyn Strength dug five balls and added an ace. Mandi Hart and Ellie Cyr put up 18 and 15 assists, respectively, with Cyr adding a pair of aces.
Faulkner jumped out to early leads of 5-1 and 8-4 thanks to runs that each included a Moss kill and a pair of aces, by Rudolph and Smith, respectively. Following a trade of points and runs, Point took eight of 10 rallies to take its first lead at 17-15. Following a timeout, though, six of the next seven went to Faulkner started by a service error, as Rudolph proceeded to score consecutive aces, Martin scored two kills and Moss grabbed another. Faulkner answered every Skyhawk point from then on to grab set one, as Deem scored points 23 and 25, which sandwiched Jordan's kill for set point at 24-22.
The second set largely followed the same back-and-forth pattern, as the Lady Eagles didn't pull away until they led 18-14, at which point they broke off a clinching run of 7-1. Following a service error, Deem kicked it off with a perfectly placed kill on Point's back line ahead of a solo block by Rudolph, a Point attack into the net and back-to-back split blocks by Jordan and Deem. The final frame was another tightly contested one with no run lasting more than three points. Leading 23-21, Deem accomplished the same feat as point 23 with a kill off the Cyr dish before Martin finished things off with a solo block for the match.
Coming off consecutive wins for the first time since Sept. 6 and 9 over Brewton-Parker Christian and Pensacola Christian, the Lady Eagles have a week-long layoff before their toughest home contest yet. No. 25 Mobile comes to town for a battle at 6 pm on October 3 between the SSAC's Alabama schools and longest tenured volleyball coaches, with Tori Renda and Jon Campbell both in Year 21 in charge of their programs.
