The Missouri Southern Lions volleyball team raced out to a fast start in match one of its game against Henderson State Sept. 6.

“We won the first game pretty handily,” said Debbie Traywick, head volleyball coach.

Game two was a different story. Southern watched as the Lady Reddies went ahead by as much as 10, before coming back to make it a two-point game before the end of the match. After a brief time out, play resumed and HSU claimed victory, 30-26.

“Henderson came out and played really well in game two, and we let down a little and so they came back on us,” Traywick said.

In games three and four, Southern was on a mission.

The Lions had just lost by four points to a team that beat them by 10 in the first match. The team proceeded to defeat HSU, 30-16 and 30-17, in games three and four, respectively.

“We came back mentally in games three and four and played much more consistently. I think that’s why we won the match.” Traywick said.

At one point in game three, the ball looked like it was completely beyond the reach of the Southern defenders. The team kept its cool and managed to not only get the ball back into play, but to eventually force a point from the Lady Reddies.

“When you get a really good kill off of a hit or you make a great defensive play, it really gives your team a mental edge to go to the next play,” Traywick said.

“We had two or three in a couple of the games where we really went after the ball with brilliant effort.”

On Sept. 9, the Lions put their 3-0 record on the line against Arkansas Tech.

Southern won the first match by five and didn’t look back. The Lions swept the Golden Suns in three straight sets.

“We controlled the match, and I think we controlled it with our offense,” Traywick said.

“We played very aggressively, and we forced some errors on their part.”

Southern plays again Sept. 12 and 13 at the Central Arkansas Tournament in Conway.