MONTGOMERY, Ala. ---- The Life University women's volleyball team returned to action this weekend at the Faulkner Invitational. The Running Eagles finished the tournament 2-1 to improve to 11-2 on the year.
NOTES
• Life U fell to Keiser in the opener, as the Seahawks are the only team to hand the Running Eagles a loss. Life U bounced back with 3-0 sweeps over Talladega and hosts Faulkner to finish 2-1.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Fayola Louis totaled 26 kills for the Running Eagles in the three matches. She added five block assists in her performance.
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Lena Pucnik also finished in double figures in the Faulkner match with 12 kills as
Mary Zimmerman finished the weekend with 16 kills.
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Kennedy Neal and
Brie Montgomery split duties as the setter for the Running Eagles. Neal totaled 41 as Montgomery finished with 40.
• Defensively, Black paced the Running Eagles with 52 digs.
WEEKEND RECAP
• Life U got off to a slow start in the weekend dropping the first two sets 25-10 and 25-14 against Keiser, who improved to 20-0 on the year. The third set saw the Running Eagles take a break 15-14 advantage. The Seahawks launched an 8-2 run to take a 22-17 lead. Neal provided a kill late, however Keiser took the match 25-20. Life U led Keiser 6-5 in blocks, however the Seahawks held the advantage in every other statistical category.
• In the second game of the day, Life U was able to take care of Talladega in three sets. Life U maintained control of the first set as kills from Zimmerman and Furness finished the set 25-17 in favor of the Running Eagles. A mid-set 7-0 run from Life U put the Running Eagles ahead 13-5 in set two. A late 7-0 run from the Tornadoes gave Talladega a 21-20 lead. Life U responded with a 5-1 run to take the second set as Zimmerman finished the set with a kill. Life U led 19-14 in set three, but another late Talladega 6-0 run put the Tornadoes ahead 20-19. Talladega battled and earned two set-point opportunities, however the Running Eagles remained resilient and ended the match on a 3-0 run with an ace from Montgomery, 29-27. Life U hit .132 in the set and led Talladega in every statistical category in the win.
• Life U closed out the weekend with a 3-0 sweep over hosts Faulkner University 25-16, 27-25 and 25-13. The Running Eagles controlled the tempo in set number one never trailing. Life U led late in set two 22-21, however a quick 3-0 run from Faulkner put the Eagles on set-point 24-22. Life U finished the set on a 5-1 run to take the set 27-25. Life U led 13-10 early in set three and used an 8-1 run to put the match away 20-11. The Running Eagles took the match 25-13 with a 4-0 run to close out the set. Life U finished with its best hitting percentage of the tournament with a .221 mark and 38 kills as they limited Faulkner to a -.034 hitting percentage. Life U dominated Faulkner in blocks 13-4 and led in digs 54-48.
UP NEXT
• The women's volleyball team will return to action on Friday, February 12, as they host Talladega College in the Eagles' Nest at 6 PM.
