Conference Classic Provides Growth for Eagles

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Coming off a confidence-boosting win at home, the Eagles looked to find their next win in the Conference Classic against other young teams. Nothing helps a team grow better than facing adversity together, and they found lots of experiential development in the Barclay Bears and Manhattan Thunder.

Friday evening's matchup featured the Bears of Barclay College, who were on the hunt for their first win of the season. Faith's frontrunners on offense made quick work of the first set against the Bears, suffocating the front row with rockets into the opposing side. The Barclay defense was a bit staggered (the game also being their first match), and a sluggish start was to be expected. The tides turned in the second set, as Faith's composure and a long string of attack errors limited the Eagles to a rough second set loss. After some encouragement at the break, Faith went back onto the court and regained their footing in the third set, coming back to shut down Barclay's momentum. The fourth and final set became a neck-and-neck race for the finish line, with the Bears standing at the precipice of success in the final minutes of the set at 22-20. Faith's ladies resolved to end the game there and built a brick wall along the net to take back the reins and win the final set victory, 25-22. 

Moving on in the tournament, the Eagles prepared to face a formidable foe in the Manhattan Thunder. The previous season had some foreboding indicators for the matchup, showing the Eagles falling just short against the Thunder in the three regular season games played. Determined to flip the script with this season, the ladies came out swinging for an early lead. The Thunder neutralized early attempts at set plays, reading the Eagles' rotation well enough to get to the point of attack for numerous debilitating blocks. Veterans Rachel Kleczka and Amanda Larson stood their ground, perfectly executing 11 kills to try and jumpstart the rest of the team into a winning spirit. The Eagles battled hard for control in rallies time and time again, but the Manhattan influence in the front row was just too strong to overcome during all three sets, forcing another loss at the hands of the Thunder. Even with the sour note of ending on a loss in the Conference Classic, the young Eagles on the team showed great growth, with freshman Emma Owens throwing her hat in the ring with 5 kills and Audrey Holbert sacrificing for 17 digs, the most out of any player in the game.

The Eagles travel next to Waldorf University on September 7 for an exhibition match, with the live-stream starting at 7:00 PM.