Box Score
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Freshman middle hitter Logan Tolbert totaled a season-high 17 kills to lead the Southern Arkansas volleyball team past visiting Northwestern Oklahoma in five sets on Saturday afternoon inside the W.T. Watson Center.
 
The opening set went to the Lady Muleriders (10-6, 3-2 GAC) by a score of 25-23, but the Rangers (1-13, 0-6 GAC), who were looking for their first conference win of the season, rallied and won the next two sets to put the SAU's backs against the wall heading into the fourth set.
 
In that fourth set, SAU would jump out to a 6-2 lead, but a three-point run by the Rangers cut the Lady Mulerider lead to a point, 6-5. Later in the set, NWOSU took a two-point lead, 13-11, after another three-point run. From there, the Lady Muleriders would score three unanswered points to take a 14-13 lead. That lead change would be the last of the set as the Rangers would only manage to tie the set on a couple of occasions before SAU cruised to a 25-21 set four win to force a decisive fifth set.
 
To this point in the season, the Lady Muleriders had played in two five-set matches, going 1-1.
 
On Saturday, the Lady Muleriders used a 6-0 run midway through the set to take a commanding 12-8 lead in the first to 15 decisive set. Consecutive points by the Rangers brought them to within two points, 12-10, but the Lady Muleriders would get a kill from Tolbert and two kills from Hailey McNee to close out the set and the match win.
 
Tolbert led all attackers with 17 kills and McNee was second with 12 kills. Current GAC Setter of the Week Gabby Clark handed out all but one of the Lady Muleriders' 49 assists. Libero Lauren Woods continued her quest for 1,000 career digs as she came away with 23 digs to lead the team. Woods now needs 65 digs to reach that milestone.
 
The Lady Muleriders will hit the court at home again on Tuesday, October 8 as they take on GAC rival Ouachita Baptist. First-serve is set for 6:30 p.m. inside the W.T. Watson Center.