Eagles clinch season opener at Dillard
NEW ORLEANS, La. - It was a slow start for the Faulkner volleyball team in their season opener as they faced off against Dillard University in New Orleans, La. Though the Eagles won the first game, the Dillard Blue Devils, with the support of a vocal crowd, played scrappy defense and took game two.
After a brief intermission the Eagles returned from the locker room a new team. “The chemistry really came through from the seniors in game three and carried us through the rest of the match,” said head coach Tori Bartels. The Eagles fought through a six point deficit and came back to win game three 30-23. In game four the Eagles’ powerful hitting and quick defense were too much for the Blue Devils. Faulkner stormed to a blow out victory 30-16.
Senior Brittany Harden had and impressive evening with 16 kills and junior Holly Hutcheson followed with 13 kills and 13 digs. Senior Marci Lobendahn added 10 kills, 3 blocks and 2 aces, while senior libero Carrie Butler lead the defense with 19 digs and 5 aces.
“Overall we played well,” added Bartels. “I thought we executed well, but there are things we still need to work on. We have nine underclassman, five of which are freshman, and we still need to mature a little.”
Faulkner goes up against a strong Loyola team tomorrow in New Orleans.
