SAU Volleyball Nipped by OBU in Season Finale
Posted by Houston Taylor on November 4, 2009 · Leave a Comment
By: Houston Taylor
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas (1-32, 0-12 GSC) did its best to end the program’s longest losing streak on record, but fell 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 16-25, 26-24, 8-15) to Ouachita Baptist (14-20, 2-9 GSC) in Gulf South Conference volleyball action Tuesday at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.
Trailing 6-9 in the first set, the Lady Muleriders scored five unanswered points for an 11-9 advantage that they never relinquished in taking the 25-22 win.
SAU couldn’t get on track in the Lady Tigers’ second and third set wins, but held off a furious OBU rally to claim the 26-24 fourth set victory. Southern Arkansas rattled off an 8-0 run in the midst for a 20-13 margin, before Ouachita Baptist came roaring back to knot it at 24-24. But the Lady Tigers settled things in the fifth, when leading 8-6, scored seven unanswered to claim the match.
The Lady Muleriders posted a second-best 54 kills on the year in a season-high 203 attacks, but were plagued again by attack errors in committing 28 to hit just .128. OBU had 50 kills and hit .187.
Playing in her final match at SAU, senior outside hitter Danielle Sneed (Duncanville, Texas) recorded a match-high 14 kills and added 26 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Jordan White (Longview, Texas) finished with 12 kills, junior middle blocker Maggie Glover (Waxahachie, Texas) had 11, and red-shirt freshman Courtney Smith (Mansfield, Texas) chipped in 10. Junior setter Michaela Scroggins (The Colony, Texas) served up a match and season-high 52 assists to her hitters.
Freshman libero Crystal Roberts (Hutto, Texas) led defensively with 30 digs, pacing five teammates who finished in double-figures.
Megan Askew led Ouachita Baptist with 13 kills and teammate Libby Merritt had 10. Allison Frizzell had a match-high 39 digs for the Lady Tigers.
The five-set affair brought an end to a long year for Southern Arkansas as it closed the season by dropping its final 23 matches. The Lady Muleriders started the year 0-9 before picking up their lone win in a 3-2 decision at East Texas Baptist on September 8. The season also marked the first time that SAU has gone winless in GSC play since joining the league in the 1995 season.
Southern Arkansas went through the year with a lone senior in Sneed and six newcomers, depending heavily on four first-year players. Two sophomores saw significant action for just the first time, and only three other returnees with experience made up the rest of the squad.
