ALVA, OK – Sophom*ore libero Hannah Rice recorded a career-high 32 digs while senior Amanda Monge matched her career-high with 21 kills in Southern Arkansas’ four-set volleyball victory against Northwestern Oklahoma.
The 18-25, 25-21, 27-25, 25-20 games were played Saturday at Percefull Fieldhouse.
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"Our blockers did a really good job of tunneling balls to Hannah," Head Coach Steven Gream said. "But she also made some amazing plays. She was putting her hands on the ball and getting balls up. She was in the zone. It's contagious. When Hannah is getting balls up the way she did today, that's just as good as a kill to Hannah. Monge is the same way. When Monge hits, she hits hard. That gets everybody fired up to do their job as well."
SAU (7-12, 4-3 GAC) found itself in a 4-10 hole in the first set before narrowing the deficit to 8-11 after a Monge kill. NWOSU (10-5, 4-2 GAC) would then rip off three straight points on an Asia Pipkin kill and two Lady Mulerider attacking errors.
The Rangers would soon make another four-point run to push the lead to eight at 19-11. After a Monge kill gave junior setter Taylor Reaume the serve at 18-24, NWOSU would get a kill from Suka Tafao to take the first set.
The Lady Muleriders gained momentum early in the second set, sprinting to a 9-4 advantage. SAU extended its lead to 17-9 after Monge's powerful jump serve went off a Ranger defender for a service ace.
With the Lady Muleriders still pushing for the second set and leading 24-18, the Rangers got two more Pipkin kills and got help from an SAU attacking error to cut the lead to three (21-24). The Lady Muleriders called a timeout, and Alli O'Banion and Shelby Lauterbach combined to stuff Pipkin's attack on the very next point to ice the set for SAU.
After the pivotal third set came to a 4-4 tie, SAU ripped off two straight points on back-to-back Hailey McNee kills before NWOSU responded with six straight to take a 10-6 lead. The Lady Muleriders scored five of the next six points on two kills and three Ranger errors to tie the set at 11.
NWOSU pulled away near the end of the set and held a commanding 24-20 lead. A Logan Tolbert kill handed the serve over to Rice, and the Lady Muleriders got a Ranger attacking error to narrow the deficit to two.
On the next point, a Ranger attacker fired a shot at Lauterbach, who quickly threw her hands up, and soon the ball found Monge for a kill. A Ranger attacking error on the next point made the improbable a reality, the Lady Muleriders completed the 4-0 facing set point and tied the set at 24 apiece.
Monge denied a Ranger attack on the next point before NWOSU recorded a kill to tie the set at 25. Monge responded with another kill before O'Banion intelligently tipped a ball on the next point that found a hole behind Ranger defenders to secure the momentous third set for the Lady Muleriders.
"The momentum for the fourth set was incredible," Monge said. "Our defense was fantastic. Hannah did so great on the back row, and it really lifted the front row to make it easier for the back row."
After trailing 7-9, SAU scored four straight in the fourth set to hold an 11-9 lead. The Lady Muleriders pushed the lead to 15-11, scoring four of the next six points on three kills and a Monge block.
NWOSU scored seven of the next 10 to tie the set at 18 before the Lady Muleriders showed their resiliency. The next five points belonged to SAU after a Tolbert kill sparked the run. After the two teams traded points and Pipkin recorded a kill for the Rangers, Lauterbach sealed the match with a kill that deflected off of a Ranger block attempt.
Rice's career-high 32 digs stands as fourth in single-match digs in the Great American Conference
"I can't take any of the credit really," Rice said. "I knew where the ball was going to be if they got it around the block so I just went to where the block was funneling the ball."
In the first set, NWOSU had a .406 (14-1-32) attacking percentage. SAU responded to the challenge by limiting the Ranger offense to a .093 (35-22-140) attacking percentage in the final three sets, complimented by seven blocks, including three solo from Monge.
The Lady Muleriders return to W.T. Watson Center Tuesday looking to extend their four-game winning streak versus Great American Conference opponent Henderson State.
