MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas Volleyball team is set for their annual "Dig for the Cure" Night to raise awareness for breast cancer as they welcome in a pair of opponents in Arkansas-Monticello and Central Baptist College into the W.T. Watson Athletic Center with the first match beginning at 3:00 p.m.
 
The Lady Muleriders (13-12, 5-6 GAC) look to get back to .500 in Great American Conference play as they open today's Tri-Match slate with a league contest against Arkansas-Monticello (8-14, 1-10 GAC) before finishing the evening with a nonconference affair against CBC (7-25). UAM and Central Baptist will matchup at 5 p.m.
 
SAU has previously played both schools this season as the Lady Muleriders defeated UAM on the road in Monticello in straight sets (9/29), three days after they knocked off Central Baptist with a sweep on the road (9/26). In those matches, Southern Arkansas hit at an average clip of .294, including a season-high .402 against the Blossoms.
 
Led by junior Serena LeDuff's 3.80 kills per set, Southern Arkansas attacks opponents at a clip of .208, while holding opponents to a swing percentage of .175. LeDuff leads the team in kills with 350, while senior Shelby Lauterbach (276) and sophomore Alli O'Banion (222) help carry the load, offensively.
 
Senior setter Taylor Reaume is one of only three players in the conference to average 10+ assists per set and does so at a clip of 10.19. Her 999 assists this season lead the league.
 
One of the keys to the Lady Muleriders' success offensive has been serving. Four players place in the top-20 in the category of the GAC led by junior Paige Mays' .32 service aces/set. Her 33 service aces are in the top-three in the conference.
 
Defensively, junior Hannah Rice, who was recently awarded her second GAC Defensive Player of the Week honor, paces an SAU back row with 542 digs at 5.53/set. O'Banion and junior Kaitlyn Reiner lead a frontline defense with 53 and 48 blocks respectively.
 
For UAM, they are led by junior Caroline Gasparini with 2.75 kills per set and .38 service aces per set. Junior Alissya Theis  averages 7.49 assists per set, while seniors Kaila Kikugawa and Sydni Schulz average 3+ digs per set.
 
Players and coaches will be wearing pink throughout the contests and teams will compete with a pink ball. Fans are encouraged to attend wearing pink. Be sure to visit muleriderathletics.com for all future updates and match recaps of the 2015 Lady Mulerider Volleyball team.