MAGNOLIA, Ark. — The first 2025 Thursday night inside the W.T. Watson Center was definitely one to remember as Mulerider Volleyball (7-12 | 2-4 GAC) was backed by a raucous Blue and Gold crowd as the group embodied the "Nobody Plays Harder" mentality with a five-set win over Southeastern Oklahoma State (6-11 | 1-5 GAC), the Muleriders' first win against the Savage Storm in over two years.
Southern Arkansas was not only supported by an electric audience, but the group saw three performances worth being added to the program's record books by two of the squad's team captains.
Brinklee Dauenhauer and Sadie Kabisch had quite the memorable night with the two combining for three top-three single match records within this one match. Dauenhauer, a junior outside hitter from Springtown, Texas will now see her name at the top of a pair of statistics in Mulerider Volleyball history, as the Lone Star native is now the program's single-game leader for total attacks with 76 and tied for the most kills in a single match with 28. Kabisch etched her need in program history as the senior libber out of Henrietta, Texas tallied 44 digs, tying for the second-most digs in a single match by a Mulerider.
First Set (L, 25-27)
The first set had no room to breathe for either unit besides the Muleriders two moments in which they held a couple of four-point leads. Southern Arkansas' first solid advantage came just after the two groups crossed the 10-point threshold as the Blue and Gold jumped to a 15-11 lead. The Savage Storm then proceeded to go on a 5-0 stretch to claim a 16-15, but just after that, SAU recorded a 5-1 run for a 20-17 lead. The Muleriders then added on three more points to SE's two for Southern Arkansas' second four-point lead at 23-19. But just like earlier, the Savage Storm responded with a 5-0 run to claim the lead again, but SAU did not back down after SE's set point, with the group tying at 24-24. The Muleriders then gained the set point (25-24), but with a 3-0 stretch by the Savage Storm, Southeastern Oklahoma won the first set 27-25.
Second Set (W, 25-16)
Southern Arkansas took that set one loss and responded accordingly, as the Muleriders jumped out to an 11-2 lead. The Blue and Gold never once took their foot off of the gas in the set, as they even mashed on the gas further by gaining high-lead of 22-10 before going onto win the set 25-16.
Third Set (W, 28-26)
Even though dominating the previous set, the Savage Storm never backed down to their new challenge ahead of them. The two units, much like the first set but even more so, stayed neck and neck the entirety of the match. The largest deficit/lead for any team in the set was the Muleriders 14-9 advantage before dropping that lead with an SE 5-0 stretch to tie. Southeastern went on to reach set point (26-25) after the Muleriders had just done so previously (25-24), but were upended by the Blue and Gold scoring three unanswered points (all attack errors) to win the third set 28-26.
Fourth Set (L, 23-25)
Hoping to prevent a fifth set while having the advantage, Coach Harrell and company looked to close out the match, but he group ended up being denied of the earlier victory as Southeastern Oklahoma State held the slight advantage for the majority of the match before surrendering that lead to a three-point advantage for the Muleriders (21-18). Just after that short-lived lead, SE gained their's right back with a 4-0 stretch and eventually went on to gain their second set win of the evening with a 25-23 score.
Fifth Set (W, 15-11)
While most teams feel the pressure on them more than ever before in this moment after coming so close to sealing the deal and falling in the fourth set, the Muleriders did not buckle or yield, no the Muleriders banded together and went on the quick offensive and jumped out to an 8-3 lead very quickly. While the Savage Storm did attempt to comeback and get them back in it, the Blue and Gold prevailed for the triumph with a Courtnee Morgan kill to cap it off at 15-11.
Players of the Game
Brinklee Dauenhauer: 28 kills, 76 attacks, .263 attack percentage, 3 block assists, 13 digs, 30.5 total points
Sadie Kabisch: 44 digs, 7 assists
Allie Cooper: 15 kills, 31 attacks, .419 hitting percentage (5th straight match with .400 attack percentage or higher), 3 service aces, 2 block assists
Courtnee Morgan: 12 kills, 35 attacks, .286 hitting percentage, 2 solo blocks, 3 block assists
Kendall Toliver: 10 kills, 27 digs
Hayden Pinard: 40 assists
Kate Schofield: 22 assists
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