MAGNOLIA, Ark. — Muleriders Volleyball (3-7 | 0-1 GAC) opened up Great American American play inside the W.T. Watson Center as Southern Arkansas hosted the reigning GAC champions, the Ouachita Baptist Tigers (8-1 | 1-0 GAC). The Blue and Gold took on the challenge of facing the defending champs head on as the Muleriders finished last season as the only team in the league to defeat the Tigers twice.
Ouachita Baptist jumped ahead early with a 2-0 lead and jumped to as much as a 4-1 advantage before the Muleriders came back to tie with a 4-1 run for a 5-5 score. The largest spread between the two squads in the entire set ended up being just three points, both in favor of the Tigers (4-1, 16-13, 21-18). At that 16-13 mark was when the Muleriders rattled off a 4-0 run started by a kill for Brinklee Dauenhauer and followed by a kill from Jessica Porten, a OUA attack error, and then a Dauenhauer service ace for a 17-16 lead. Ouachita didn't sit back for long as the squad recorded a 4-0 run of its own after a couple of back-and-forth points, giving the Tigers the 21-18 lead. The Blue and Gold began to crawl back and would even take the lead due to an attack error by the Tigers. Even facing a set point, Ouachita never backed down as the group recorded a kill to tie and was assisted by an SAU attack error to give the Tigers set point, 25-24. Freshman Addy Vollmer prevented to set to end with a kill off the assist from Jaci Moore and thanks to an attack error by OUA, the Muleriders were granted set point again, 26-25. With a couple more kills and on more error by SAU, the Tigers would go on to take the elongated set one, 28-26.
From the get-go, Ouachita Baptist handled the second set as the group gained a quick 4-0 advantage before the Muleriders could claim their first point, a kill by Porten. While the Blue and Gold never overtook the Tigers, the group did tie the set at 12-12 and 13-13 before OUA began to separate themselves 7-1 run for a 20-14 lead. SAU would only be able to tack on three more points before the Tigers claimed the second set, 25-17.
Now down 2-0 in the match, the Muleriders were backed against a wall, but the group refused to back down to the defending champions, and with the help of a raucous Blue and Gold student section backing up Mulerider Volleyball, the squad took it to the Tigers in set three. The Muleriders bagged with the early advantage, up 2-0. Ouachita went on to take that advantage back, going up 3-2, but SAU kept the set tight, with the two not separating by more than one point until OUA claimed a 9-7 lead. Then on, the Muleriders looked as if they were unstoppable world beaters with a 10-3 stretch to go up 17-12. The Tigers would add on one more point, but the Blue and Gold went on to account for eight more, winning the set 25-13 and forcing a fourth set.
Ouachita Baptist did not let the previous set slide as the group went on to start the fourth set with a 6-1 lead, and the group would not let up their advantage as the set was only brought within one point at one point during the set (8-7). After the Muleriders brought the set back within thee at 18-15, the Tigers recorded a 7-0 finish to the outing, claiming the match 3-1 with a 25-15 set four win.
Next Up:
The Muleriders jump back into non-conference play for one final weekend as Southern Arkansas travels to Searcy, Arkansas for the Harding Tournament. The Blue and Gold are set to face Crowleys Ridge College on Friday (Sep. 19) at 12:00 PM, Arkansas-Fort Smith on Friday at 7:30 PM, and Trevecca Nazarene on Saturday (Sep. 20) at 12:00 PM.
