SEARCY, Ark. – Mulerider Volleyball (4-8 | 0-1 GAC) has begun play at the Harding Tournament, hosted by Harding University, for the group's final regular season tournament before jumping back into conference play next week. To begin the day for Southern Arkansas, the unit faced Crowley's Ridge College at noon and later faced Arkansas-Fort Smith that evening.
Vs. Crowley's Ridge College (W, 3-2)
The Pioneers jumped out ahead of the Muleriders early with a 3-0 lead off the rip in Searcy. SAU then came back to tie with a 4-1 run that was led by a CRC service error and followed by three SAU kills. The two groups were neck-and-neck the whole set until the Pioneers went on a 6-1 run for a 16-11 lead. Thanks to a 5-1 run by the Muleriders, SAU hung around in the set to then make it 17-16, CRC on top. Crowley's Ridge went on to stretch its lead to three at 20-17 before Southern Arkansas went 5-1 again and claimed the advantage for the first time in the set, 22-21. Even though SAU seemed to have found its spark, the Pioneers went on to win the opening set with a 4-1 finish, 25-23.
The second set saw a much different look, as the Muleriders wasted no time hitting the gas with a 5-1 run out of the gate. After Crowley's Ridge brought it back within one for a few more points. The Blue and Gold rattled off a 6-0 run to stretch their lead to a 13-7 advantage. The closest the Pioneers could get to the Muleriders from then on was a five-point differential, as SAU would go on to win the second set 25-18.
The third set saw a very similar ending, but a much different path, to the first set, with the Pioneers eventually winning 25-23. While Southern Arkansas gained a 3-1 advantage early, the Muleriders were upended by a 5-0 run from the Pioneers, 6-3. From that point, CRC looked to have control of the set, as the squad gained a lead by as much as eight (22-14) before the Muleriders looked to pull off an incredible comeback. Southern Arkansas looked to have all of the momentum with a 9-2 stretch to bring the set back within one (24-23). The effort ended up being all for not in the third as a Pioneer kill sealed a second set victory for Crowley's Ridge (2-1)
The Muleriders needed the fourth, and eventually a fifth, to go their way. To begin that trend, the group was once again going back and forth with CRC up until Southern Arkansas began to separate themselves from the Pioneers after the two were tied at 12-12. SAU began to pull away from Crowley's Ridge with an 8-2 run for a 20-14 lead. While the Pioneers would go on to add four points to their score, Southern Arkansas would cap off the fourth with a pair of kills from
Jessica Porten and
Addy Vollmer for the second 25-18 set win for the Blue and Gold.
SAU took care of its business in the fifth early, as the unit skipped to a 4-0 lead and never looked back, gaining as much of a lead as eight (13-5). After a bad set by CRC, the Muleriders went on to win the slugfest with a 15-8 fifth set, the Blue and Gold's first five-set win since defeating Arkansas-Monticello on November 12
th, 2024.
Vs. Arkansas-Fort Smith (L, 1-3)
Early on in the opening set of the Muleriders' second match of the day, SAU and UAFS went back and forth until the Lions had gained a 12-7 lead after being up only one. With Fort Smith looking to seize control of the match early, the Muleriders had other plans, however. The group went on a 7-0 run to claim their first and only lead of the set. UAFS did not back down to the pressure, as the Lions went on a 4-0 run and reclaimed their lead and retained it for the rest of the opening set for a 25-21 set one win.
Set two was handled fairly early by UAFS after the unit jumped to a 4-1 advantage and never lost said advantage, gaining a lead of eight in the process (22-14). With set point at 24-19, SAU attempted another comeback, but would come up short, falling in set two 25-21.
Set three looked to be handled by the Lions as well, as the group managed to gain a 16-10 advantage. Southern Arkansas, slowly but surely, began its comeback with a 3-0 run to cut the deficit in half at 16-13, and would later rattle off a 6-0 run after being down four (20-16) to take the lead (22-20). UAFS could not get back at the Muleriders this time, as the Blue and Gold went on to win the set 25-22.
After a 2-0 advantageous start for the Muleriders in the fourth set, the Lions quickly roared back with three points of their own. With a tied set at 5-5, UAFS began to separate themselves with a 5-0 stretch for a 10-5 lead. While the Muleriders would continue attempting to cut the deficit down, the group continued to come up short, with the Lions going on to win the set 25-18, along with the match.
Next Up:
Southern Arkansas is set to compete in one final match of the Harding Tournament. The Muleriders are scheduled to face Trevecca Nazarene on Saturday (Sep. 20) at noon. Following that outing, the Blue and Gold will be in full swing for the Great American Conference season.
