Winter Park, Fla. – The Southern Arkansas volleyball team won their first set of the season, but ultimately fell 11-25, 18-25, 25-23, 14-25, to host Rollins College Friday afternoon at the Rollins College Invitational at Warden Arena.
After the Lady Muleriders (0-2) took a 2-1 lead in the first set on freshman attacker
Alli O'Banion's kill, Rollins (1-0) scored 24 of the next 33 points to take the set. The Tars finished the set with a .370 attacking percentage, while the Lady Muleriders posted a .048 swinging clip.
Down 12-18 in the second set, SAU scored four straight points behind the service of junior
Emilie Aase. Rollins then scored seven of the last nine points to run away with the set. The Lady Muleriders finished the second set with a -.050 (6-20-7) attacking percentage. Freshman O'Banion and junior
Taylor Reaume led the way with four kills apiece.
SAU took a 4-2 lead in the third set with three Tar attacking errors helping the cause before Rollins' Kate Stefanski recorded a kill and Chelsea Boretti followed up with an ace to tie the game. Boretti followed with a service error before junior
Angela Gaignard executed back-to-back service aces to give the Lady Muleriders a 7-4 advantage.
With the game tied 8-8, SAU scored the next five points on three more Tar attacking errors and a kill each from senior
Amanda Monge and O'Banion to give the Lady Muleriders a 13-8 lead. Behind six Monge kills, the Lady Muleriders took the third set.
Rollins blew open the fourth set by starting on an 8-1 run. The Tars held the lead, scored the last four points of the match and held a comfortable lead despite SAU having just one less kill than Rollins in the set.
The Tars accumulated a .267 (50-116-19) hitting percentage for the match, while the Lady Muleriders struggled attacking the net, hitting just .097 (34-103-24).
Monge and sophomore
Hailey McNee led the Lady Muleriders with eight kills apiece, and Reaume recorded an impressive seven kills from the setter position.
SAU takes the court again at Warden Arena tomorrow first at 8 a.m. CT versus UNC-Pembroke and again at 4 p.m. CT against University of West Georgia.
