MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas Lady Mulerider Volleyball team will welcome in a pair of Great American Conference opponents this weekend as they are set for their first-ever meeting with GAC-newcomer Oklahoma Baptist at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 16, before a 2 p.m. matchup with Southern Nazarene on Saturday, October 17.
 
The Lady Muleriders (11-10, 3-4 GAC) continue to rank among the top-three in every major offensive category, while also boasting the league's fourth-best opponent hitting percentage (.177) and digs per set mark (16.49).
 
Seniors Emilie Aase and Serena LeDuff and junior Kaitlyn Reiner rank in the top-20 in hitting percentage led by Aase's 16^th-best clip of .239. LeDuff and senior Shelby Lauterbach combine to average over six kills a set and both place in the top-20 in points per set, while senior Taylor Reaume leads the GAC in assists with 806 and is tied for second in assists per set at 9.95.
 
League-leaders in service aces, Southern Arkansas places four players in the top-15 of the category led by junior Paige Mays' fourth-best service aces per set average of .38. Junior Gillian Newman leads SAU in blocks at .71 per set, while junior Hannah Rice paces the defense with 5.28 digs, the fourth-best clip in the conference.
 
For Oklahoma Baptist (11-10, 6-1 GAC), the Bison rank around the middle of the pack in most major statistical categories and boast the best digs per set average of 18.51. Senior defensive specialist Kaitlyn Lucy leads the league at 6.10 digs per set and is 18^th in service aces with .29 per set. Senior Cat Roth leads the Lady Bison with the 11^th-best hitting percentage in the GAC at .261, while freshman setter Kynnedy Myers is  7^th in the conference with 8.57 assists per set while also ranking 13^th in the GAC with an attack percentage of .250.
 
For Southern Nazarene (9-12, 5-2 GAC), the Crimson Storm boast one of the top defense's in the league by allowing opponents to hit at the third-lowest mark of .174, while averaging the second-best blocks per set (1.76) and digs per set (18.04) in the league. Junior McKenna Qualls and sophomore McKayla Benner place in the GAC's top-20 in points per set, led by Qualls' 11^th-best mark of 3.42. Junior Abbey Bell is second in the league with 5.60 digs per set and Benner ranks second in blocks per set at .95.
 
First-serve for Friday night's contest is scheduled for 6 p.m., while Saturday's matchup will begin at 2 p.m. Be sure to check out muleriderathletics.com for all your Lady Mulerider Volleyball news and updates and future coach's shows with head coach Steven Gream.