DENTON, Texas — Muleriders Volleyball has started a new weekend in the early part of the 2026 season, as Southern Arkansas took a trip to Northeast Texas for the Denton Volleyfest hosted by Texas Woman's University. After the tournament began on Thursday evening, the Muleriders resumed play in Denton on Friday morning with a contest against the UT-Dallas Comets before taking on the Stanislaus State Warriors for the day's night cap. To not only cap off the night, but also start the morning, the Muleriders ended up defeating the Stanislaus State Warriors in a match that was set to begin at 7:00 PM, but did not begin until 10:44 PM and end around 12:55 AM. Despite the long wait, the Blue and Gold persevered through the challenge.
Vs. UT-Dallas (L, 3-1)
The Blue and Gold started the day against the UTD Comets, in which Southern Arkansas fell after another strong start in the match by a final score of three sets to one.
In overall scoring, the unit was once again led by freshman Peighton Killeen, who recorded 13.5 points with 11 kills and 4.0 total blocks. Accounting for an equal amount of kills with Killeen was senior Brinklee Dauenhauer, who also nearly tallied her third double-double of the season in the bout with nine digs.
The assists were split amongst two in the Blue and Gold with Kate Schofield recording the team-high 18 assists and Hayden Pinard accounting for 17.
At the net, Courtnee Morgan again led SAU in blocks with 6.0 total blocks and three solos. Past the net, Kendall Toliver tallied the most digs out of the group with 19.
Set One (W, 25-22)
The Muleriders once again began a match on top, but not very early in the the first set, as UTD started the opening set with a 4-0 lead before Southern Arkansas had to claw back to tie the matcha 8-8. While tying the match, the unit was also in the middle of a 4-0 run to go up 10-8. The set kept going back and forth, with the Muleriders only surrendering their lead once on a 4-0 stretch by the Comets, down 20-19. The Blue and Gold were able to counter thanks to a service error which led to two more points and a 22-20 lead. SAU did not give up that lead again in the set, as the group then went on a 3-1 stretch to go up 1-0 in the match.
Set Two (L, 25-18)
With momentum on their side again, the Muleriders looked to capitalize on the advantage, but the Comets had other plans. The early part of set two was very close up, as SAU was only down 6-5 after a 2-0 run to do so. Following that minimal deficit, UTD began to light up the scoreboard and leave SAU behind with a 12-5 stretch to put UT-Dallas up 18-10. Despite Southern Arkansas' multiple attempts to get back in range to have a chance to win set two, the Muleriders were unable to, losing the set by seven.
Set Three (L, 25-17)
The third set unfolded nearly identical to the second, as the round began with neither team giving up too much ground. SAU kept its ground tied at 7-7, but a 4-0 stretch by the Comets ended up being the start of the groups scoring runs in the set, going up 11-7. SAU managed to get the set back within one with a 5-2 stretch, but was immediately countered with a stretch of five-straight points by the Comets to advance the score to 18-12. UTD went on to seal away set three with a final of 25-17.
Set Four (L, 25-22)
The fourth set of the match ended up being the tightest back-and-forth round of the game, as the Muleriders and Comets traded leads constantly up until SAU had tied the outing at 19-19. Following that, UTD responded with three-straight points to give the group the gap they needed to put the match away, even going up 24-20. Despite back-to-back attack errors by the Comets, the unit capped the match off with one more kill for the 25-22 score in set four.
Vs. Stanislaus State (W, 3-2)
An exciting match til the very end was the end of day two at the Denton Volleyfest, as Southern Arkansas overcame plenty of adversities against the Stanislaus State Warriors to defeat the group from California 3-2 in the Blue and Gold's very first five-set match this campaign. SAU once again got off to a very strong start against its opponent, but history looked as if it was going to repeat itself with the Muleriders losing sets two and three. In the set four, that fire the unit found in the opening set reestablished itself, forcing a fifth set. The momentum regained in the fourth set carried over into the fifth for the Muleriders for the unit to win.
Southern Arkansas was largely led by its freshman from Flagstaff, Arizona, Peighton Killeen. The freshman ended up outdoing herself from a week ago with 18 kills on 47 attacks and with only three errors, recording an attack percentage of .319, the best amongst anyone in the match with 10+ attacks. She was not the lone double-digit kill recorder on the team, as Kendall Toliver, making the move from libero, tallied 11 kills. She also accounted for her first double-double this season with 15 digs.
Toliver ended up being one of four Muleriders with double-figure digs, as Hayden Pinard (15), Brinklee Dauenhauer (20), and Ava Rann (25) all accomplished this.
Pinard also led the squad by orchestrating the offense with 29 assists.
Both Allie Cooper and Courtnee Morgan protected the net, as each member recorded 5.0 blocks, going toward the group's 19.0 blocks in the match.
Set One (W, 25-15)
From the get-go, Southern Arkansas looked as if the team had this match in bag, with the unit ripping off a 9-1 lead to start action late at night. While the Warriors attempted to comeback from the large deficit, SAU kept its foot on the gas, even tallying a couple of 10-point leads and then some. The Muleriders largest lead in the set and match came late in the opening round, going up 24-11. Even though Stanislaus went on a 4-0 run, the Muleriders sealed set one with a Pinard kill.
Set Two (L, 25-22)
The Warriors did not come out nearly as flat as before, as the unit went up 4-1 fast on the Muleriders, knocking back the Blue and Gold a tad. SAU worked its way back into the set, even tying at 11-11, but the unit could not usurp the Warriors yet, until a 3-0 run following a 2-0 stretch by Stanislaus took the advantage, 14-13. After some back-and-forth points, the Warriors seemed to have regained all control again with a 3-0 stretch after being tied to go up 19-16. The Muleriders quickly countered with three-straight points themselves to tie at 19-19, but the Warriors went on to clinch its first set win with a 6-3 stretch.
Set Three (L, 25-19)
Early in the ensuing set, both groups went back and forth, with Stanislaus looking to have claimed a large enough advantage of three points at 9-6, but the Muleriders have already proved that they do not go away easily, countering with three points of their own, 9-9. Following some points going to each group, the Warriors ended up going on a large stretch to go up 21-13. While the Blue and Gold made an attempt to crawl back into the set, the deficit was too large for the unit.
Set Four (W, 25-17)
When the Muleriders looked as of they were gonna have a repeat of their 9:00 AM match, the mojo from set one had returned to the group, as SAU quickly went up 5-1 before extending its lead to 10-2 and then on to 14-4. After a few points scored by the Warriors, Southern Arkansas stretched its lead back to 10 (18-8) and then some at 21-9. Southern Arkansas gained a 23-11 advantage prior to Stanislaus scoring four-straight points and giving the Muleriders a scare, but SAU closed the fourth set with two more kills to force set five.
Set Five (W, 15-11)
The final set of the schedule was once again back and forth, with neither group budging until the 11-11 mark. At that point, an attack error by the Warriors gave the Muleriders their opening to seal the outing away, with a kill from Courtnee Morgan and two more attack errors to win the bout.
Up Next:
Southern Arkansas will take on the Volleyfest hosts, the Texas Woman's Pioneers around 11:30 AM, and will then cap off its trip to Northeast Texas with a match against familiar foe Central Oklahoma at 3:30 PM.
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