JOPLIN, Mo. - Southern Arkansas Volleyball, under second-year head coach Alli O'Banion, won twice on opening weekend in the "Show Me" State to jumpstart the 2023 season. The Muleriders returned home at .500 following a 3-1 season-opening win against Cameron and a straight-sets victory over Newman. SAU won two of its first three matches of a season for the first time since the 2018 season behind its first season-opening victory since 2019.
In the opener, the Muleriders used 11 aces and 55 kills to dispatch the Aggies for SAU's fourth win overall and second-straight against Cameron in the 11th meeting all-time between the programs.
Junior transfer Jada Hudson delivered 11 kills at .364 in her Mulerider debut and true freshman Brinklee Dauenhauer followed with nine kills and team-highs in total points (12.0) and digs (26). Junior Kayte Delong added nine kills at .350. Senior Morgan Schuster and junior transfer Macie Shaver combined for 43 of SAU's 52 assists with Shaver recording a double double with 21 helpers and ten digs.
Following a kill from Delong that put SAU up 10-7 in set one, Schuster rattled off four-straight service aces to push the Muleriders out front 14-7. Cameron would manage to get as close as only five to the SAU lead as the Muleriders used three kills from junior Landry Rogers, a put away from junior Lauryn Moultrie and a Dauenhauer service ace to take the opening set of the season.
SAU trailed 3-2 early in set two, but engineered an 18-5 run to lead 20-8. The Muleriders used a dozen kills and two aces as part of that +13 run which aided in grabbing a 2-0 match lead. The Aggies would respond in set three as a 9-2 run lead forced a fourth frame. CU built a 12-7 lead in the fourth set, but kills by Delong bookended a 10-5 spread that led to a 17-17 tie. From there, the Aggies used a 4-0 run after falling behind 20-18, but it was the Muleriders that used a trio of kills courtesy of Hudson and an ace by Rogers that aided a 5-1 run to close out the match.
In Saturday's opener, it was all Southern Arkansas from the start. The Muleriders committed no more than four attack errors in any of the three sets against Newman and hit north of .210 in the first and third sets. SAU took advantage of 25 Jet attack errors and used seven aces and nine total blocks to win its second-straight match against NU in the third meeting ever between the programs.
Tied 8-8 in the opening frame, SAU used a 9-1 run that included just three Mulerider kills to move out to a 17-9 lead. A kill from Moultrie coupled with a kill and block in consecutive points by junior Isla Olivas were part of a 5-1 run that gave SAU a 22-13 advantage. Delong and Moultrie would soon combine on a block to end set one 25-15.
SAU jumped out to an 8-1 lead in set two to cruise to a 2-0 set lead in the match. In set three, the Muleriders held a 16-11 advantage and proceeded to close the match on an 9-4 run highlighted by kills from Hudson, Dauenhauer, Schuster and Olivas.
The Muleriders dropped their second match of each day in Joplin. SAU battled Southwest Baptist and claimed a 27-25 set two win after dropping the opening set and weathering a late 9-4 run by the Bearcats in set two. An early 11-3 SBU run in set three and a 12-2 run to erase an early SAU advantage in set four served as the distance for the Great Lakes Valley Conference opponent in the second match of the season.
In the finale against host Missouri Southern, SAU nearly forced a fourth set after a sluggish start led to a 2-0 match lead for the Lions. In the third frame, the Muleriders outhit MSSU and used a 6-1 run to pull to within 24-23 before the Lions used a block to end the match.
For the weekend, Delong led SAU with 23 kills at 1.92 per set behind a team-best .274 attack clip. Hudson recorded 22 kills at .203 and Moultrie followed with 21 kills at the same rate. Both Delong and Hudson produced 26.5 points. Moultrie led with 32.0 total points in 14 sets played (1 of 5 Muleriders to play all 14 frames) highlighted by 14.0 total blocks.
Schuster delivered 65 assists and a team-best nine service aces with Rogers following with six aces to produce 25.0 total points. Shaver and Mary Insalaco combined for 66 helpers. Insalaco led four other players that recorded at least 20 digs with a team-leading 66.
For the tournament, the Muleriders registered 23.0 total blocks as Isla Olivas followed Moultrie with 8.0 total blocks, while Hudson (7.0) and Delong (6.0) rounded out Muleriders with five or more.
The seven set wins during the weekend are the team's most in an opening weekend since winning 11 as part of a 3-1 start to the 2018 season.
The Muleriders head west to Lubbock, Texas for a four-match weekend at the Chaps Classic hosted by Lubbock Christian University. Three in-region foes, Oklahoma Christian, host Lubbock Christian and Minot State await SAU on Friday and Saturday. The Muleriders open and close the weekend against OCU. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
