MAGNOLIA – The SAU Volleyball team welcomed Ouachita Baptist into the W. T. Watson Center tonight in their home opener, and despite taking the opening set, the Muleriders had to fight back from down two sets to one to force a fifth set against the Tigers.

A furious 8-3 start for the home team and scoring five of the last six points in set four saw the Muleriders force a deciding set, but were unable to recover from a 7-3 deficit.

The Muleriders came back in set one after being down 22-17 to score eight of the last nine points to take the set.

The visitors responded by starting the next set by a 15-5 margin and taking the set despite a Mulerider comeback that saw them within reaching distance; and after scoring nine of the last 11 points in set three, the Tigers took a 2-1 lead.

The Muleriders recorded 14 blocks to the Tigers' 8 and 54 assists to 53, but the Tigers out-killed the hosts 59-56 and out-dug the Muleriders 93-87.

Morgan Gross led all players with 19 kills. The senior owned a .211 attacking percentage, a 71-point increase from last week's contest. Additionally, she was one of three Muleriders to record a double-double with 12 digs.

On the season, Gross is responsible for a third of all Mulerider kills (34 of 99).

Victoria White notched 13 kills and 12 digs to her name, in addition to three service aces and a pair of blocks.

Morgan Schuster assisted 49 Mulerider kills on the night as well as 17 digs; libero Brianna Nipper recorded 26 digs in her name, far outdoing the 10 she recorded in her collegiate debut; and, Landry Rogers recorded 11 kills and three solo blocks on the night.

Lauren Smith and Abby Bermudez each recorded four block assists, with Smith hitting a .304 on eight kills and Bermudez adding three aces.

The Muleriders are back in action next Tuesday when they travel to Searcy to take on Harding.