ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Southern Arkansas Volleyball capped its opening weekend of play at the Triton Invitational hosted by Missouri-St. Louis. The Muleriders, led by first-year head coach Alli O'Banion, dropped its four-match slate with a pair of three-set defeats to Missouri S&T and host (RV) UMSL on Friday, before battling a pair of opponents in Emporia State and Saint Leo to four sets on Saturday.
 
In Saturday's action, the Muleriders recorded consecutive matches with an attack percentage of .225 or better for the first time since mid-October 2018 when SAU produced a three-match Great American Conference stretch at .225 or better.
 
Saturday's Slate
 
vs. Emporia State
(20-25, 19-25, 25-12, 25-27)
 
Southern Arkansas and Emporia State met for the first time ever early on Saturday morning. ESU took the opening set after capitalizing on a 7-1 run that broke an 11-11 tie and 4-1 run that fended off a pesky effort by the Muleriders late. SAU rallied after that 7-1 Hornet run as sophomore Landry Rogers cut the lead to 20-15 moments before junior Morgan Schuster assisted sophomore Ava Tanner on three of SAU's next four points which brought the Muleriders to with two at 21-19. ESU used a pair of kills and two SAU attack errors to hold off the late surge.
 
In the second set, Emporia jumped out to a 6-1 advantage, but SAU tied the set at 10. A kill from Tanner, who delivered a career-high 17 kills in the match, pulled SAU to within two at 19-17. However, the Muleriders would find trouble on the attack as three consecutive errors allowed ESU to grab a 22-17 lead and eventually a 2-0 match advantage.
 
The third set was owned by Southern Arkansas on Saturday. Trailing 2-0, the Muleriders turned a 7-5 set three deficit into a 14-0 run that included five kills from three different players, an Alexa Heard service ace and eight ESU errors of which seven occurred directly off of the attack as SAU held a comfortable 19-7 lead. The two sides would trade points until sophomore Lauryn Moultrie and Rogers finished off the Hornets in the frame with back-to-back kills off the assist from Schuster who eclipsed 40 helpers in a match for the 21^st time in her career. SAU hit .500 in the third set committing just two errors in 22 attempts with 13 kills.
 
Southern Arkansas held leads of 6-4 and 7-5 early on in set four, rebounded from a slight deficit midway through the frame to tie the fourth at 16 and the two sides went back and forth until a three-kill stretch by Schuster, sophomore Isla Olivas and Tanner put SAU up 21-20 and in position to force the winner-take-all fifth. Rogers would put the Muleriders at set point with a put away to place SAU on the brink of set five at 24-22, but the Hornets engineered a 5-1 run to win 27-25 and take the match 3-1.
 
The Muleriders outhit ESU .255 to .203, but the Hornets took advantage of nine service aces. Rogers followed Tanner's career-high output in kills as the former delivered 16, while Olivas added ten. Schuster added a team-high 17 digs in a double-double effort, while sophomore Samantha Still and junior transfer Sakura Thomas each followed with a dozen. Tanner totaled 18.5 points as a result of three block assists in addition to recording eight digs.
 
vs. Saint Leo
(27-29, 22-25, 25-22, 19-25)
 
The Muleriders faced a quick turnaround on Saturday as its matchup with Saint Leo followed its 9 a.m. start vs. ESU. It was the first meeting all-time between the Muleriders and their Florida counterpart.
 
Southern Arkansas withstood an 11-4 Saint Leo run midway through the first set as the two sides exchanged blows late. SAU sat at set point twice down the stretch, but the Lions managed to hang around before using a handful of attack miscues to claim the competitive first frame.
 
Set two saw several runs as a pair of 5-0 decisions by SLU early helped the Lions to a 10-4 start. The Muleriders answered with runs of 6-1 and 7-2 to gain a 22-21 advantage before Saint Leo rattled off four straight points to take a 2-0 match lead. The Muleriders were efficient in its attack in the second set hitting .344 with 16 kills in 32 total attempts.
 
In the third set, SAU started with a pair of kills from Tanner and one from Olivas who added a block as part of a 5-0 run to begin the frame and it wasn't until a late 4-0 stretch by the Lions that Saint Leo managed to pull within four points of the Mulerider lead as Tanner bookended the set with a put away.
 
Saint Leo regained the momentum early in set four with a 7-2 lead, but SAU would pull within 15-14 before the Lions distanced themselves with a 7-1 run to take a 22-15 lead. The Lions produced 14 service aces in the win.
 
Rogers led with 16 kills, sophomore Kayte Delong delivered a career-high dozen kills behind a highly-efficient .417 attack clip, Tanner added a dozen kills as well, while Olivas rounded out double-figure kill totals with ten. Schuster's 51 assists marked the fifth time in her career that she reached the half-century mark in a match. She added a dozen digs and two service aces as did Mackensie Williams who led the team in digs with 18. Still followed with 15 digs and Olivas added four block assists and a block solo.
 
Friday's Slate
 
vs. Missouri S&T
(17-25, 20-25, 13-25)
 
The Muleriders dropped its season opener to the Miners in the first meeting between the two teams since 2015. SAU struggled on the attack and was unable to limit S&T offensively which hit .290 for the match. Late in set two, Moultrie and Schuster combined for a block that brought SAU to within a point of the Miner advantage at 20-19, but S&T sandwiched a pair of kills with consecutive blocks, which were part of 11 total on the day, to pull away and take a 2-0 match lead and the momentum.
 
Olivas led the team in kills with ten (.500), Rogers followed with nine and Tanner chipped in with six. Schuster recorded 30 assists and Still collected 11 digs as the Muleriders matched the Miners in the category with 39.
 
at (RV) Missouri-St. Louis
(16-25, 8-25, 8-25)
 
The Tritons, fresh off of an NCAA Midwest Regional appearance last fall, showcased a powerful attack as the host hit .379 for the match powered by Mya Elliot and the two-time GLVC Player of the Year in Charlotte Richards. Moultrie produced four blocks and Olivas followed with three. Rogers and Olivas each recorded four kills, Schuster collected 14 assists and Still led with 11 digs.