MAGNOLIA, Ark. — Mulerider Volleyball went toe-to-toe with the Lady Bisons of Harding University as the group pushed HU to a five-set match, the Muleriders' first in conference this season. Southern Arkansas sought its first victory over the Lady Bisons since 2015, and nearly accomplished just that with the five-set match before Harding halted the Muleriders from gaining their first league win this season.
Southern Arkansas saw many electric performances against one of the GAC's top squads, of which included players such as Courtnee Morgan and Allie Cooper. Morgan led the Muleriders for attack percentage with a .611 after recording 12 kills on 18 attacks and had just one error. Cooper kept the Lady Bisons on their heels the whole evening as the junior from Brownsboro, Texas native tallied 18 kills on 32 attacks with one error for a .531 attack percentage.
Hayden Pinard and Jaci Moore orchestrated the offense nicely with Pinard accounting 31 assists and Moore recording 25. Taking the brunt of the Lady Bisons attacks was the nation's leader in total digs, Sadie Kabisch. Despite Harding's constant pressure the group put on the Muleriders, Kabisch consistently kept the Blue and Gold's hopes alive nearly the whole evening with 25 digs, the most by any player of the night.
The two units could not separate from one another in the start of the match as both teams were tied up at 7-7 early on in the first set. After three-straight points for the Muleriders, with some help from the Lady Bisons, SAU had gained a 10-7 advantage. HU pulled off a 5-2 stretch to tie the set once more at 12-12. Once again, the two groups were neck-and-neck until it looked like the Lady Bisons were going to pull away for a set one win, being up 21-18. However, SAU refused to back down, as the squad ripped a 7-0 run to claim the set against the Lady Bisons, for the just the fifth set surrendered by Harding in conference play this season.
Early on in the second set, HU showed its distain for the finish in the first set as the group opened up with a 5-0 lead. The Muleriders recorded a pair of points with a Kendall Toliver kill and a HU error, but the Lady Bisons followed with another 5-0 stretch for a 10-2 lead. Southern Arkansas attempted to claw back into the set, but the Lady Bisons' advantage proved to be too much as the group went onto claim set two 25-11.
After a 3-0 start for Harding in set three, it seemed as if the Lady Bisons had taken control of the match, but SAU refused to go away as the group tied the set at 5-5. Just after Harding had gained an 8-5 lead, the Muleriders rattled off a 5-0 run to overcome the Lady Bisons and gain a lead of 10-8. The Muleriders even stretched the lead to four points, going up 13-9. The group kept up their leading way for a good stretch up until going up 19-15. Soon after, HU reclaimed the lead with an 8-2 run for a 23-21 HU lead. Even after closing the deficit down to one (23-22), the Muleriders still could not take back the lead, as the Lady Bisons claimed set three 25-22.
Much like the opening set, the two groups could not see any separation for nearly the entire set up until the Muleriders gained the separation with a 4-0 stretch for a 20-15 advantage. Both groups went back and forth for a few points, but Southern Arkansas went on to force a fifth set with a pair of Cooper Kills and a service ace by Toliver.
Up until both teams' fifth point in set five, there was no separation before HU gained a 10-5 lead and forced the floor switch after their eighth point. After going down five, the Muleriders needed everything to go their way, and could not cut the deficit below three points as the Lady Bisons went on to win the match with a 15-11 set five win.
Up Next:
The Muleriders are set to travel to Monticello, Arkansas to face the Cotton Blossoms on Thursday (Oct. 2) at 4:00 PM
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