Eagles “badgered” in close win
Sept. 24, 2007
Montgomery, Ala. – The Eagles entered tonight’s game looking to extend their six game winning streak and improve to 4-1 in the region. With visiting Spring Hill sitting at 3-7 on the season the victory seemed automatic. The Badgers, however, proved a worthy adversary and took the Eagles to five games. After falling back two games to one, Faulkner pulled out the win 30-22, 26-30, 24-30, 30-24, 15-8.
Fans poured into the student multiplex after a mishap with equipment prevented play in the Tine Davis Gymnasium. Parents, students and even the Evangel Family Christian volleyball team turned out to support the Eagles in one of their first major home matches of the season. The multiplex was alive with excitement as athletes from virtually every sport along with countless faculty and staff members were on hand to support the volleyball team. The atmosphere was alive and energetic, but after a promising start in game one the Eagles began to falter.
It looked as if the team wasn’t firing on all cylinders. Little by little the Eagles began to lose rallies and excitement turned to frustration and frustration to further mistakes. Spring Hill continued to play scrappy defense and strategic offense and turned the tables leaving the home team trailing two games to one.
After a few back and forth points at the beginning of game four Faulkner came alive and surged ahead taking the game and tying the match. Game five was all Eagles. Faulkner bolted out of the gate with a rapid 8-3 lead and after switching sides hammered the contest shut.
“We finally gained our focus in games four and five,” head coach Tori Bartels said. “Our block was better late in the match and that was key.” One third of the points the Eagles scored in game five alone came from blocks. Senior Brittany Harden contributed 7 total blocks and added 19 kills. The team had 18 total blocks on th evening.
“We picked up the block toward the end,” sophomore Kimber Holt reiterated. “We were able to take some pressure off of our back row and it allowed us to better utilize the court.” The back row was indeed busy. Senior libero Carrie Butler lead the team with 33 digs joined by Holly Hutcheson who had another 30. Hutcheson also had 11 kills.
Assistant coach Theresa Berry thought communication and cooperation were a problem for the Eagles early on. “I felt that the team came out and tried to play as individuals,” Berry said. “Once they decided to play as a team they were bound for success.”
Sophomore setter Shaleen Knight agreed. “I think we underestimated them and we came out sloppy. We knew we had to protect our home court and after the break we focused and started to play like Eagles.” Knight had 33 assists and 14 digs in the match.
Faulkner improved to 11-5 on the year and pushed the win steak to seven games. The team will try to make it eight in a row tomorrow night against Pensacola Christian. The two teams last played on Sept. 11 of this year and the Eagles were able to close the match in only three games. The event is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Pensacola, Florida.
