MAGNOLIA, Ark. – In a Great American Conference affair  that featured a pair of teams fighting for their postseason lives, Southern Arkansas found the upper hand as the Lady Muleriders picked up a pivotal three-set victory (25-21,25-23,25-19) over East Central on Friday night inside the W.T. Watson Center.
 
Records
 
Southern Arkansas (9-15, 3-7 GAC)
East Central (7-17, 3-7 GAC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 

• The Lady Muleriders trailed by three, 12-9, in the opening set before a trio of kills from three-different players and a Savannah Pillow service ace gave SAU a 13-12 lead. ECU would regain the lead moments later before Southern Arkansas used a 4-0 run to claim a 17-14 advantage. The back and forth set would heat up down the stretch as the Tigers would tie the first frame at 17, before the Lady Muleriders took advantage of several ECU miscues late to take the set one.
• The largest lead for either team in the second set was three as SAU controlled four three-point leads including a 23-20 lead that SAU used to claim a close second set, 25-23.
• Southern Arkansas opened the third frame on a 5-0 run and increased their advantage to 17-9. East Central would not go away quietly as the Tigers clawed back to pull their deficit to three, 18-15. A 7-4 run from SAU proved to be the difference as they claimed a critical league clash with the three-set victory.
• The two teams averaged an attack percentage of just .144 as a frantic pace developed early on. The Tigers committed just 13 errors, but SAU's 66 digs dropped the ECU attack percentage to just .133.

 
FOR SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
 

• It was a career-night for freshman Seven Powers as the North Little Rock native hammered home a career-best 17 kills on a .278 attack percentage. She set a season-high team-mark for kills in a three set match, while also recording the third-most digs by any player in any match this season.
• Senior Serena LeDuff and junior Alli O'Banion added 11 kills apiece. O'Banion added a pair of block assists, while classmate Brittany Lampkin led SAU with three block assists and registered six kills.
• Freshman Katy Cooper recorded her eighth 40-plus assist match of the season with 43; the most in a three-set match this season.
• Seniors Hannah Rice and Paige Mays combined for 41 digs led by Rice's season-high 27 which tie the single-game season-high set by LeDuff in early September.

 
FOR THE OPPOSITION
 

• Madyson Gill led ECU with seven kills and 14 digs, while adding two assists and a pair of aces.
• Alex Campbell also chipped in with seven kills and Kaci Harrison collected five kills.
• Madeline Mayer registered five blocks and Jessica Sullivan and Campbell added three.
• Taylor Turner led the Tiger offense with 21 assists and Lily Porsa added 11.

 
OF NOTE
 

• Southern Arkansas moves into a tie for eighth-place with the Tigers and holds the potential tie-breaker for the final spot to Hot Springs with tonight's win.
• SAU moves to 6-2 inside the W.T. Watson Center this season, while seven of their nine wins have come via three-sets.
• A win on Saturday will give Southern Arkansas their tenth win of the season. It would be the seventh season in a row that the Lady Muleriders have recorded a ten or more wins.

 
UP NEXT
 

• Southern Arkansas faces a quick turnaround as they welcome in Southeastern Oklahoma State (8-15, 1-9 GAC) for a Great American Conference clash tomorrow afternoon. First-serve is set for 1 p.m.
• Live stats for the contest can be found here: http://www.sidearmstats.com/saumag/wvball/.
• Live video is also available and can be found here: http://livestream.com/accounts/10140781.
• Be sure to visit muleriderathletics.com for continuing coverage of Lady Mulerider Volleyball including pre- and post-game updates, weekly notes, and the coach's show with Head Coach Britney Davis.