JACKSON, Tenn. – The Southern Arkansas University volleyball team picked up their second win of the weekend as they took down Union University in five sets (19-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-13, 15-11) on Saturday afternoon. The Muleriders fell 3-0 in their first matchup of the back-to-back against Carson-Newman University. SAU finished the Union University Volleyball Invitational with a 2-1 record.   Game One

Game one saw the Muleriders and Eagles have a tight first set. The two teams would trade points before tying the game at seven. SAU would stay within a point at 10-9, but CNU used a 10-2 run to gain separation, which helped them win the set 25-23. Despite holding CNU close in the early parts of set two and three, SAU was unable to keep up as they would fall 25-18, 25-16, which gave CNU the win.
 
Abby Bermudez, Landry Rogers, and Victoria White all collected six kills in the contest. Morgan Schuster finished with a game high 25 assists, while Bailey Kirk came away with a game high 12 digs. Schuster and Samantha Still also tallied six digs in the match. Schuster had a .400 attack percentage, while Abby Bermudez finished with a .333.
 
Game Two
 
Despite dropping the first set against host school Union 25-19, the Muleriders did not back down as they were able to come away with a five set victory. Set two saw the Bulldogs jump out to an early 5-2 lead, however the Muleriders used a 9-2 run to pull away mid-set. Union was never able to regain the lead, as SAU cruised to a 25-18 set win. Both SAU and Union had a tight battle throughout set three, until Union was able to use an 8-4 run to close out the set at 25-21.
 
The Muleriders fell behind early in set four at 4-3, but quickly turned things around as the squad used a 21-10 run to close out the set at 25-13. Playing in the game deciding set, the Muleriders were able to overcome a Bulldog team who would stick around, trailing 10-9 midway through. SAU would then use a 5-2 run to close out the set and give them the match win over Union.
 
Rogers and White led the Muleriders with a game high 20 kills each. Ava Tanner collected 10 kills in the contest. Schuster collected a season high and game high 52 assists in the match. The Muleriders had five players finish with double digit digs, as Samantha Still came away with a game high 20, followed by White (13), Schuster (11), while Kirk and Ava Tanner came away with 10 digs.
 
Southern Arkansas finished with a .305 attack percentage in the contest. Still finished at .500, while Bermudez hit .400. Schuster and Landry both hit .375 in the match.
 
The Muleriders will return to play as they are set to travel to Monticello, Arkansas, to take on the University of Arkansas at Monticello on Tuesday, September 21.
 
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