ADA, Okla. – The Southern Arkansas Lady Mulerider Volleyball team split a pair of matches on the opening day of the Tiger/Savage Storm Classic as a late rally fell short for the Lady Muleriders in five sets against Texas A&M-Commerce (23-25, 23-25, 26-24, 25-22, 15-10), before topping Oklahoma Panhandle in three sets (25-14, 25-15, 25-17) in the nightcap.
 
In their tournament opener, the Lady Muleriders trailed two sets to none, but rallied in the third set, while holding off a late Commerce rally to force a fourth set. As was the case in the opening two sets, back and forth action dictated the third set as both teams traded points early on before the Lady Muleriders pulled ahead for a 22-18 lead.
 
A 6-2 Lady Lion run threatened to end the match as the run tied the third set at 24. After a Lady Mulerider timeout, Reaume delivered a pair of assists to classmate Shelby Lauterbach who finished off TAMUC in the third set with back-to-back kills.
 
Southern Arkansas refused to go down without a fight as they battled Commerce in the fourth set. The Lady Lions developed an early 4-1 lead, but would be unable to hold off the Lady Muleriders as they produced a 4-0 run to take a 5-4 lead that they would not surrender. Leading 22-21, a service ace by Reaume and a kill from LeDuff forced a decisive fifth set.
 
It was the first time in six games during the 2015 season that SAU went the distance with a five-set match. Trailing 9-8 in the final set, the Lady Muleriders were unable to suppress a critical 4-0 run from TAMUC that gave the Lady Lions the match win.
 
In the nightcap, the Lady Muleriders (3-3) bounced back with authority as they dropped Oklahoma Panhandle in three sets while averaging an attack percentage of .336 over the three sets, while six Lady Muleriders registered an attack percentage of .300 or better. SAU defeated OPSU by an average of almost ten points per set as the offensive output continued to be spread out with eight Lady Muleriders recording a kill. Reaume produced her second double-double of the year with 31 assists and 12 digs.
 
For the day, Reaume registered 74 assists combined in the two matches while junior Hannah Rice collected 52 digs to pace the Southern Arkansas defense. LeDuff garnered 30 kills for the day and Lauterbach finished with double-digit kill totals in both matches with 12 and 10 respectively.
 
Southern Arkansas continues tournament play with a pair of matches tomorrow beginning at 10 a.m. against Cameron University, before concluding play with a rematch with William Jewell College at 2 p.m. Cameron is 4-0 against Great American Conference opponents so far this year going a combined 12-1 against Arkansas Tech, Harding, Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Nazarene. WJC defeated the Lady Muleriders in four sets at the UAH Volleyball Classic.
 
Fans can follow the Lady Muleriders in their final pair of tournament tune-ups here http://www.sidearmstats.com/ecok/wvball/, before they open GAC play on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. first-serve with Arkansas Tech in Magnolia.
 
Be sure to check out muleriderathletics.com for all pregame and postgame releases, game notes and other highlights regarding head coach Steven Gream and the 2015 Lady Mulerider Volleyball team.