MOBILE, Ala. - Faulkner (0-2) showed grit but didn't have enough to get over the hump and put an entry in the win column on the season's opening weekend in the Mobile Tri-Match.
MOBILE 3, FAULKNER 1 (25-12, 22-25, 25-13, 25-20)
Mobile showed why it is ranked No. 24 in the preseason NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll and three points back of Loyola for second place in the preseason SSAC Volleyball Coaches' Preseason Poll. The host Rams (4-1) stormed out of the gates with the first seven points and an 11-1 lead. The run was bolstered by a kill by Kaylin Johnson in a sign of things to come in the match, three aces from Riley Warren and four Faulkner attacking errors in addition to two bad sets. Mobile never lost the momentum, eventually scoring six of seven to get to set point before a service error gave the home team the match lead as it outhit the Lady Eagles .261 to -.067 in the frame.
The teams volleyed runs of three and five straight points to give the second set a different flavor. Trailing 19-16, Faulkner tied it helped by a kill and an ace by Jakaya Smith. Her ace was the third for the guests in the frame after Caroline Sticker and Olivia Kelly each had one. They took the lead on kills by Emma Hayes, Sticker and Riley Deem. Emmagin Spencer added one to make it 23-21, a bad set made it set point and Deem tallied another kill to tie the match.
From there, Mobile steadily took back the match lead with sustained runs from two to five straight points in the third set. Deem and Kynsi Hazzard then tied the fourth set 3-3 off Kelly dishes before Mobile scored five of the next six points on kills, four from the hand of Johnson. A pair of errors and an ace gave the Rams an 11-5 lead, though the Lady Eagles stormed right back to within one on a Sticker kill, a bad set and three attack errors. However, eight of the next 10 went the way of the hosts, which essentially sealed the deal.
Faulkner had a four-way tie for most kills between Hazzard, Smith, Deem and Sticker. Deem, Sticker, Hayes, Spencer and Madison Martin each split two blocks, while Hayes delivered one solo. Smith paced the defense with 17 digs. Libero Jaylyn Strength was just behind with 14 scoops. Kelly divvied out 16 assists in her first Faulkner game and scooped eight attacks. Chasity Broadhead, the second setter in the Lady Eagles' 6-2 system, put up nine assists and six digs.
Meanwhile, Johnson was the engine that made the Ram offense go, as Kelly's former West Florida teammate tallied 16 kills, twice the second-most on the team, on 32 attacks. Mobile outhit Faulkner .254 to .080 and led in every major category but blocks. The Rams tallied 53 kills to 33 and served up 11 aces to just three for Faulkner.
SUNO 3, FAULKNER 2 (26-24, 15-25, 19-25, 25-22, 15-10)
The Lady Eagles were set to respond with an opening set win over the Knights out of the HBCUAC as, in a frame of runs traded back and forth, the former had set point 24-22 with a Strength kill. However, three straight kills from SUNO (1-0) turned the tide and would have an undeniable outcome on the match's outcome.
Faulkner would respond to that setback, turning a one-point lead in the ensuing frame into a tied match thanks in large part to a 9-2 run with kills from Spencer, Deem, Hazzard and Smith and a Sticker ace to make it 18-10. The momentum would carry into the third set even as the Knights jumped ahead and eventually led 10-8. Trailing 12-11, Faulkner scored six of the next seven on four attack errors and kills by Deem and Hazzard off Kelly dimes. Faulkner twice cashed in on three straight rallies to take the match lead.
Trailing twice by five in the fourth, Faulkner got within one and then tied it up at 19- and 22-all, using kills by Aubrie Hinson, Spencer and Smith to go with a SUNO error the first time and a Hayes kill and a block by Deem and Sticker the next time. The next three rallies went the way of the Knights though, setting the stage for the fifth frame.
Once again SUNO jumped out to a quick lead, and once more the Lady Eagles rallied, tying it at 5-all and taking a 9-8 lead on a Sticker kill. However, seven of the last eight rallies went to the Knights thanks to two aces and three kills by Taszia Adkinson, who led her team with 12 kills and 21 assists, as well as two of SUNO's nine aces.
Smith tied for the match lead with 12 kills and Deem was just one behind. Sticker put up nine kills, 10 digs and two aces. Spencer scored eight kills, and Hazzard had six kills and six digs. Strength paced the floor with 22 digs. Kelly dished out 27 assists. Broadhead put up 11 while scooping 11 on the defensive end, while the third setter, Maddie Harden, assisted nine in the first playing time of her college career.
Faulkner returns home for the 26th annual Faulkner Invitational. It will face Webber International at 1 pm and Reinhardt at 5 pm on the first day, Friday, August 28.
