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Southern Arkansas University Athletics

Official Athletics Site of the Southern Arkansas University Muleriders
VB vs HSU (9.22.16)
Brenna Johnson
2
Henderson State HSU 6-9, 1-2 GAC
3
Winner Southern Arkansas SAU 4-10, 1-2 GAC
Henderson State HSU
6-9, 1-2 GAC
2
Final
3
Southern Arkansas SAU
4-10, 1-2 GAC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Henderson State HSU 21 21 25 26 12 (2)
Southern Arkansas SAU 25 25 17 24 15 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | By: Jacob Pumphrey

Lady Muleriders relentless in home-opener; take down Henderson State in five sets

Pillow logs first career double-double as four Lady Muleriders record 10 or more kills in win

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – After a taxing 13-game road swing to begin the 2016 campaign, the Southern Arkansas Lady Mulerider Volleyball team opened the home portion of their schedule in dramatic fashion by taking down Henderson State in a back-and-forth five-set affair (25-21, 25-21, 17-25, 24-26, 15-12) inside a rowdy W.T. Watson Center on Thursday night.
 
RECORDS
 
Southern Arkansas (4-10, 1-2 GAC)
Henderson State (6-9, 1-2 GAC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
  • Thursday night's matchup featured a plethora of action as Southern Arkansas held off a late Reddie run in the opening set to take their first set in six games. The Lady Muleriders led by 11, 21-10 in the first frame, but HSU manufactured a 10-1 run to pull within 22-20, before SAU closed the door to take an early match lead.
  • A kill from freshman Seven Powers tied the second set at 10 as Southern Arkansas would not look back the remainder of the frame as it took its third 2-0 match lead of the season.
  • The Reddies rallied in sets three and four as they used runs of 6-0, 5-0 and 5-1 in their third-set victory, while responding to a 14-9 deficit in the fourth frame with a 17-10 sequence that forced a decisive fifth set.
  • In that fifth set, Southern Arkansas found themselves trailing 6-1, before fighting back to tie the set at 10 apiece. Three kills from senior Serena LeDuff and an HSU attack error gave Southern Arkansas match point which came to fruition as junior Alli O'Banion hammered home her 11th kill of the night to send the W.T. Watson Center faithful home happy.
  • The Lady Muleriders posted a .197 attack percentage that included .300-plus clips in the second and fifth frames as SAU averaged a swing rate of .339 that resulted in 22 kills and just five errors in 50 total attacks in those two sets. Five Lady Muleriders recorded 25 or more total attacks during the match.
  • Southern Arkansas held the Reddie offense to a hit percentage of .148; the second-lowest hit mark for an SAU opponent in a five-set match this season.
 
FOR SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
 
  • Four Lady Muleriders recorded 10-plus kills paced by LeDuff's 13 that came on a team-high .333 attack clip; her second-best attack percentage this season. O'Banion's aforementioned 11 kills marked the fifth game with 10 or more for the junior opposite hitter. Senior Kaitlyn Reiner and junior Alexia Southern each added ten kills in the win.
  • Junior setter Savannah Pillow directed the offensive attack for Southern Arkansas with 40 assists, while also recording a season-high 19 digs in registering her first career double-double.
  • Aiding the defensive backline in addition to Pillow for the Lady Muleriders was a trio of seniors in Paige Mays (14 digs), Hannah Rice (12 digs) and Brittney Johnson (9 digs).
  • Mays recorded a game-high three service aces, while Reiner added a pair.
  • Reiner tied a game-high with seven blocks, while Pillow, O'Banion and Southern each added four blocks apiece.
 
 
FOR THE OPPOSITION
 
  • Three Reddies logged double-digit kill totals led by Sharon Tukuaoga's 21. Courtney Bolf added 17 kills and Jessie Jacoby chipped in with a dozen.
  • HSU employed a two-setter offense as Sariah Boney led the team with 36 assists, with Haley Higgins adding 22.
  • Adrianna Hartmann paced the Reddies with seven total blocks.
  • Bolf and Boney combined for 33 digs led by Bolf's 21 as she logged a double-double.
 
OF NOTE
 
  • Southern Arkansas improves to 11-0 against Henderson State since the two programs became charter members of the Great American Conference in 2011.
  • It was the first five-set match between the two schools in that five-year span.
  • The Lady Muleriders snapped a six-game losing streak, while picking up their first five-set win in four such matches in 2016.
  • After leading the GAC in team service aces (46) through the first two weekends of the season, SAU had managed just 10 total service aces in their previous six games. Tonight, the club recorded seven.
  • It was just the third time in 14 games for Southern Arkansas that saw them tie or win the block statistic as both teams recorded 12.0 total blocks. Tonight's dozen set a season-high for the Lady Muleriders.
 
UP NEXT
 
  • The Lady Muleriders have the weekend off before returning to the W.T. Watson Center on Tuesday, September 27, for a 7 p.m. Great American Conference first-serve with Arkansas-Monticello. SAU went 2-0 against the Blossoms in 2015; winning in three sets on the road and in a five-set affair in Magnolia.
  • Live stats for that matchup are available here: http://www.sidearmstats.com/saumag/wvball/.
  • Live video will also be available and can be found here: http://livestream.com/accounts/10140781.
  • Be sure to visit muleriderathletics.com for continuing coverage of Lady Mulerider Volleyball including pre- and post-game updates, weekly notes, and the coach's show with Head Coach Britney Davis.
      
 
 
 
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