San Antonio, Texas – The Southern Arkansas volleyball team swept Texas A&M International for its first win of the season and fell in four sets to host St. Mary's at Bill Greehey Arena in a doubleheader Saturday afternoon.
 
Southern Arkansas 3, Texas A&M International 0
 
Southern Arkansas used a balanced attack with four players recording eight or more kills to sweep Texas A&M International, 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-19), in its first match at Bill Greehey Arena on Saturday afternoon.
 
"We've just been in this rut where we would get so close and get so close," head coach Steven Gream said. "We kept the lead several times, played with confidence, and I was proud of their effort."
 
SAU (1-10, 0-2 GAC) took a 12-8 lead early in the first set before getting four straight points on four kills, three from Amanda Monge. Monge also sealed the set for the Lady Muleriders, firing a kill with a 24-17 lead. Monge finished the first set with seven kills on eight attempts, and SAU posted a stellar .483 attacking percentage in the first set.
 
The Lady Muleriders would find their offense early in the second set, scoring the first five points behind the service of Taylor Reaume and back-to-back kills from Alli O'Banion. SAU increased the lead to 19-11 after junior Allie Cecil's first serve of the season dropped in front of the Dustdevils back row for a service ace. Texas A&M International (0-9, 0-4 Heartland) brought the set to within two before junior Shelby Lauterbach fired a powerful attack into a TAMIU block that found the floor on TAMIU's side to ice the second set for the Lady Muleriders.
 
Holding a slim 8-7 advantage in the third set, SAU scored the next seven points after an O'Banion kill and again behind strong service from Reaume. The Dustdevils would pull within three late in the set (19-22), but the Lady Muleriders shut the door by scoring the next three points to record their first victory of the season.
 
O'Banion showed her superior athleticism and versatility throughout the match, recording a team and season-high 12 kills with an astonishing .733 (12-1-15) attacking percentage, complemented defensively by a game-high seven blocks. The .733 attacking percentage recorded by O'Banion currently stands as second best in a single match in the Great American Conference this season.
 
"Our passing and back row were on point," O'Banion said. "Taylor [Reaume] did a great job setting. The sets were fast and we were all connecting. It felt great to finally get the rhythm going with our team."
 
Lauterbach, Monge and Logan Tolbert each fired nine kills apiece and Hailey McNee added eight kills. As a team, the Lady Muleriders posted a season-high .317 (50-18-101) attacking percentage.
 
Southern Arkansas 1, St. Mary's 3
 
The Southern Arkansas volleyball team had a strong showing defensively but ultimately dropped the match, 1-3 (25-20, 15-25, 9-25, 23-25), versus host St. Mary's in its second match of the day at Bill Greehey Arena on Saturday afternoon.
 
All tied at 12 in the first set, SAU (1-11, 0-2 GAC) would go on a 4-0 run via two kills, a block and a Rattler attacking error. After pushing the lead to 24-20, Alli O'Banion would reject a Rattler attack to clinch the set for the Lady Muleriders.
 
St. Mary's (3-5, 2-2 Heartland) took control of the second set by building a 14-4 lead. The Lady Muleriders would make a 4-0 run after trailing 11-21, but the Rattlers would respond with a 4-0 run of their own to close out the set and tie the match at one set apiece.
 
SAU kept the third set within reach early, down only 7-8, but the Rattlers would score the next 16 points to take a comfortable 24-7 advantage. The Lady Muleriders would score the next two points before Savannah Pillow's serve would sail out of bounds to give the Rattlers a pivotal 2-1 set lead.
 
Late in the fourth set, the Lady Muleriders would come back from three points down to tie the set at 19. The Rattlers would score the next three points, but SAU would closely follow, trailing by just one (23-24) with O'Banion to serve. Rattler attacker Kelsey Huber's tip found the floor on SAU's side on the next point to secure the win for St. Mary's.
 
Monge led the Lady Muleriders offensively with eight kills. O'Banion made her presence felt defensively, recording a career-high seven blocks (three solo). SAU held a 14-5 total team block advantage in the match but also committed 11 service errors to St. Mary's four.  
 
The Lady Muleriders return to action Tuesday, hosting a tri-match versus conference foe Arkansas-Monticello at 3 p.m. and facing Central Baptist College at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at W.T. Watson Center. Arkansas-Monticello and Central Baptist will face each other in between SAU matches at 5 p.m.