LUBBOCK, Texas – Southern Arkansas wrapped up its second weekend of action at the Chap Classic hosted by Lubbock Christian in west Texas earning a win and displaying promising fight throughout its 15 sets of action. The Muleriders earned a 3-1 win over Minot State and took sets from Lubbock Christian and Oklahoma Christian as the squad carries a 3-5 record overall into Tuesday's Great American Conference-opening match with Harding (6 p.m.; Tuesday, Sept. 12). The three victories in the season's first eight matches mark the best start to a campaign since 2018 and it's the best eight-match start away from Magnolia since 2016.
 
In the win, Southern Arkansas' first ever meeting with Minot State and its third match of the tournament, the Muleriders took an early advantage with set wins of 25-22 and 25-23 after forcing MSU into attack percentages of .033 and .032, respectively. The Beavers responded with a 25-18 win to force a fourth set.
 
In the final frame, the Muleriders jumped out to an 11-3 lead highlighted by kills from four different players as well as a pair of service aces from junior setter Macie Shaver. SAU held off Minot State late as the Beavers cut the early deficit to 21-19, but the Muleriders responded with a kill from Shaver, a block courtesy of juniors Jada Hudson and Lauryn Moultrie and a match-clinching ace by senior Morgan Schuster as part of 4-0 to close out the contest.
 
True freshman Brinklee Dauenhauer led in the victory with a double-double effort of 10 kills and 14 digs. Hudson trailed with nine kills and matched Moultrie in blocks with three. Junior Isla Olivas delivered seven kills and two blocks with junior Ava Tanner also recording seven kills to go along with a dozen digs. Shaver paced the attack with 17 helpers and Schuster followed with 11 and four aces. Junior Mary Insalaco recorded a dozen digs.
 
The Muleriders dropped both of Friday's matches to its Lone Star Conference opposition who enter the new week a combined 13-2 on the season.
 
SAU battled in its opener with Oklahoma Christian holding a lead beyond its 16^th point of each set. Southern Arkansas attacked .303 in the first set with a dozen kills to just two errors. The Muleriders carried a 17-16 advantage, tied the match at 19-19 and pulled to within 23-22 of the lead in set one. OCU edged SAU 28-26 in set two, but not before SAU rallied down 24-18 by engineering an 8-1 run to take a 26-25 lead before a trio of kills gave the Eagles a 2-0 match lead. The Muleriders held a 16-15 lead in set three before OCU closed on a 10-5 run.
 
Against the host, the Muleriders forced a fourth set after outhitting LCU .292 to -.049 in set three. SAU built a 10-3 lead and after the Chaps pulled to within two points of the lead at 14-12 and 18-16, the Muleriders closed on a 7-1 run as Olivas recorded a pair of kills and two blocks with Landry Rogers to close out the frame. That was just the fourth set unbeaten LCU dropped in seven matches this season.
 
In the rematch with OCU, SAU overcame a 25-11 opening set defeat to win 25-19 in set two. A 10-4 run closed out the set for the Muleriders as six kills, half of which came off the attack of junior Kayte Delong, and an ace highlighted the action. Delong started off red hot notching ten kills in her first dozen attacks of the match. She finished with a dozen put aways behind a team-best .450 clip. Moultrie and Hudson followed with ten kills each with Moultrie hitting .368. In what would be the final set of the weekend, SAU led 8-4 and carried the advantage through its 16^th point before the Eagles used a 10-4 run of their own, allowing SAU to get as close as 19-18, before taking the match in four sets.
 
For the weekend, Dauenhauer and Hudson each produced 31 kills and Moultrie added 21. Four other Muleriders recorded 15+ kills. Shaver led with 63 assists and Schuster followed with 57. SAU recorded 26 service aces on the weekend and totaled 25.0 blocks. Dauenhauer and Schuster each led with six service aces and Shaver added five. Olivas' 14 blocks paced the Mulerider defense with Moultrie trailing with 11. Seven Muleriders logged at least a dozen digs led by Insalaco's 52. Dauenhauer followed with 31 with Schuster (23) and Rogers (22) each notching over 20.
 
The Muleriders prepare to open Great American Conference play on Tuesday, September 12 at home inside the W.T. Watson Center. SAU looks for its first conference-opening win since 2012. First serve is set for 6 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.