SEARCY, Ark. – Mulerider Volleyball (3-8 | 0-1 GAC)has concluded action in its first day of the Harding Invitational, as Southern Arkansas went on to collect a win in the morning slot, but fell to cap off the day. In the morning outing, the Muleriders ended up sweeping the Southwest Baptist Bearcats (8-3). In the afternoon, the Blue and Gold took on the Missouri Southern State Lions (4-5), and despite winning the first set, SAU was unable to pull off the win and fell 3-1.
Vs. SWBU (W, 3-0)
Southern Arkansas had three Muleriders with double-digit scoring figures, with the group being led by
Brinklee Dauenhauer's 14-kill bout. Following Dauenhauer was
Allie Cooper with her 13 kills and
Peighton Killeen with her 11 kills.
Two members in the Blue and Gold recorded double-digit digs in the match, as
Kendall Toliver led with 18 and
Hayden Pinard had 10. Pinard carried the offense almost single-handedly with her setting, as the senior from Roseburg, Oregon, led the squad with her 41 assists, a career-high at SAU.
Set One (W, 25-17)
The Muleriders got off to one of their best starts yet, as the unit jumped to a very quick 10-2 advantage in the opening set. The unit held on to that lead and expanded to a 10-point lead until the Bearcats revolted with a 5-0 run, cutting the advantage in half to 15-10. SAU responded accordingly with a stretch of 6-1, jumping the Blue and Gold back out to a 10-point lead to 21-11. After some points going back and forth and a late resurgence from SWBU, SAU handled the first set with a 25-17 win.
Set Two (W, 26-24)
The second round went much differently than the first, as it seemed that both groups had completely awoken from the early morning start in set two. Both groups went head-to-head in the second set, as the Muleriders eventually created some separation with a four-point lead after a 4-0 run, 12-8. The Bearcats quickly closed that gap with a three-point stretch, but the Muleriders did not let up so easily until Southwest Baptist gained the lead after tacking on a 4-0 stretch for a 21-19 lead in favor of the Bearcats. Following the Blue and tying the set at 21-21, SWBU forced match point with a 3-1 stretch, 24-22. The Blue and Gold responded with a four-point stretch of their own to win the set in extras.
Set Three (W, 25-21)
The third, and final, set of the match started similarly to the previous. The back-and-forth set went on until Southern Arkansas broke the tight round with an 8-1 stretch after being up 7-6, 15-7. While the Bearcats continued making efforts to close the gap, and nearly did so with a 19-17 lead in favor of SAU, the Muleriders went on to clinch the match in sweeping fashion.
Vs. MSSU (L, 3-1)
The Muleriders had one member in the double figures for kills in game two of the day, as freshman
Peighton Killeen led the group with 13 kills. Three individuals tallied double figures for total points, with
Brinklee Dauenhauer and
Courtnee Morgan each recording nine kills, as Dauenhauer tallied two service aces (11.0 points) and Morgan recorded two assisted blocks (10.0 points).
Three members of the Blue and Gold accounted for double-digit digs, as
Kendall Toliver once again led with 29 digs and was followed by Dauenhauer (13) and Killeen (10). With those 10 digs and her 13 kills, the Flagstaff, Arizona native tallied the first double-double of her collegiate career.
Set One (W, 25-22)
The opening set belonged nearly completely to the Blue and Gold, with the Muleriders getting another hot start like their match earlier, jumping to a 10-3 advantage. The Lions ended up closing the gap to a three-point deficit before the Muleriders jumped back up six points with a 16-10 lead. MSSU retaliated right back with a 4-0 stretch to cut its deficit to two, 16-14, but SAU countered with its own 4-0 stretch before giving up another one to the Lions, 20-18. The set then got cut to a one-point lead for SAU with a 3-2 stretch by MSSU, 22-21, but the Muleriders closed the comeback with a 3-1 final run.
Set Two (L, 25-18)
Nearly the entirety of the following set was a neck-and-neck race to the finish, as the largest lead by either team in the set was a couple of three-point leads for MSSU. That stood until the Lions blew the set wide open with a 7-1 final stretch to win the second set.
Set Three (L, 25-23)
Early in the ensuing round of action, Southern Arkansas looked to have made a complete turnaround from the previous set, as the Muleriders pounced on the Lions with a 12-7 advantage and kept the lead going for a bit, up to holding a six-point advantage at 15-9. Following that, the tide of the third set had a full switch, as MSSU went on a 9-1 run to capture the lead at 18-16. SAU then responded with a large stretch of its own, going on a 6-0 run to reclaim the lead and seemed to have the momentum, 22-18. The Blue and Gold did have the momentum until Missouri Southern responded with a 7-1 stretch to win the set and go up 2-1 heading into the fourth set.
Set Four (L, 25-22)
Just like before, the next set began with the two units looking evenly matched until both groups went on significant runs of large sums, as the Muleriders began that trend this time after being down 12-11. SAU recorded a 5-0 stretch to take the advantage and a four-point lead, 16-12. The Lions quickly clawed back, and the two were back neck-and-neck. With the end of the set coming, the two were tied at 21-21, and MSSU went on to snuff out SAU's chances of coming back with a 4-1 stretch.
Up Next:
The Muleriders have one more contest in Searcy, Arkansas before getting back to conference play, with the Blue and Gold set to take on the Missouri S&T Miners at 9:00 AM tomorrow (Sep. 12).
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