By: By: Jacob Pumphrey
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JOHN BROWN UNIVERSITY
GOLDEN EAGLES
4-0 |
WILLIAMS BAPTIST COLLEGE
LADY EAGLES
0-4 |
vs. John Brown University
Tuesday, August 29 | 4 p.m.
Southerland-Mabee Center - Walnut Ridge, Ark.
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at Williams Baptist College
Tuesday, August 29 | 6 p.m.
Southerland-Mabee Center - Walnut Ridge, Ark.
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MATCH NOTES (PDF)
FIRST SERVE
The 2017 Lady Mulerider Volleyball season begins on Tuesday night at the Williams Baptist Tri-Match and high expectations abound this season under second-year Head Coach
Britney Davis as Southern Arkansas sets its sights on returning to the Great American Conference Tournament after missing out on the eighth and final spot in 2016.
SAU opens its 2017 campaign in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, with a pair of matches against John Brown University and host Williams Baptist College. The NAIA doubleheader will serve as a tune-up for the Lady Muleriders, who begin NCAA Division II play on the road this weekend at the South Central Classic in Durant, Oklahoma.
John Brown University enters Tuesday night with an unblemished 4-0 record and have won 11 of their past 13 matches dating back to last season, when the program posted a 21-12 record. The Golden Eagles average 11.7 kills per set and 12.8 digs per set, while five players have recorded 20 or more kills so far this season.
For Williams Baptist, the Eagles have went winless in four matches to start the 2017 season, and own an offensive attack that averages just over six and a half kills per set. Last season, the Lady Muleriders picked up a three-set win over WBC in Magnolia.
The Lady Muleriders return two-time All-GAC Honorable Mention performer
Alli O'Banion as well as senior classmates
Brittany Lampkin,
Savannah Pillow and
Alexia Southern. Outside Hitter
Seven Powers will be called upon to be a six rotation player in her sophomore campaign. Southern Arkansas will look to its newest recruiting class to make a dominant impression early as five freshman and a pair of transfers will be in the mix from the outset.
Offensively, SAU returns almost 60% of its kills from last season, including four of its top six kill producers. Defensively, sophomore defensive specialist
Riley Marsh returns after posting 198 digs as a freshman: the top mark for returners in 2017.
Live stats and pay-per-view live video will be available for tonight's matches inside the Southerland-Mabee Center. First-serve in the season opener against John Brown University is scheduled for 4 p.m., with the matchup against Williams Baptist to follow at 6 p.m. Match recaps and stats will be made available on www.muleriderathletics.com as soon as possible following the matches.
PICKED ELEVENTH IN GAC
The Southern Arkansas Lady Muleriders were picked to finish in 11th place this fall by the league's head coaches in the annual Great American Conference Preseason Coach's Poll. SAU looks to bounce back after a 9-21 campaign a year ago as they return eight lettermen and a pair of starters, while featuring a talented recruiting class that includes five "ready-to-play" freshmen and two "quick-impact" transfers.
SECOND TIME AROUND
SAU head coach
Britney Davis prepares for her second season at the helm of the Lady Mulerider Volleyball program, which went 9-21 in Davis' first year. Twelve of SAU's 15 players were recruited by Davis, while returning All-GAC Honorable Mention selection
Alli O'Banion and senior classmate
Savannah Pillow have been with Davis since the latter's two year stint as a graduate assistant for the program.
NEW FACES TO IMPACT EARLY
Seven newcomers join the Lady Mulerider Volleyball program for the 2017 season and all seven will be looked upon to impact the program early. Freshmen
Bailey Cagle (Justin, Texas),
Morgan Gross (Bandera, Texas) and
Alana Perez (Crosby, Texas) have spent valuable time with the first unit and will play in multiple rotations this fall, while classmates
Madi Pfeifer (Greenwood, Ark.) and
Lauren Smith (Heath, Texas) will provide much needed depth on the front line. Junior transfer defensive specialist
Bailey Zoss (Des Moines, Iowa) brings collegiate experience to a relatively young back court, while transfer sophomore setter
Alexa Bass (Fort Worth, Texas) will help engineer the offensive attack.
SCHEDULE OUTLOOK
SAU opened the 2016 season with a grueling 13-game road swing that saw the team compile a 3-10 record. Much is the same in 2017, as the Lady Muleriders open with their first 11 games on the road, before beginning play inside the W.T. Watson Center in a league-clash with Arkansas Tech on September 12. That Tuesday night affair will mark the beginning of five-straight home games with six of their next eight games to be played in Magnolia.
In that five-game stretch, the Lady Muleriders will play three games at home as part of the inaugural Dr. Margaret Downing Invitational; the first SAU-hosted Volleyball event in a dozen years. In mid-October, fans will be treated to a three-game home stand that includes a pair of league meetings with Oklahoma Baptist and reigning GAC Tournament Champion Southern Nazarene and a non-conference matchup with Central Baptist.
Late down the stretch, SAU will end the regular season exactly how it started it: on the road. The Lady Muleriders play five of their final seven games, all league contests, away from the W.T. Watson Center, before the GAC Tournament on November 16-18.
HOT SPRINGS HOPEFUL
After narrowly missing out on the eighth and final spot in the 2016 Great American Conference Tournament at Bank of the Ozarks Arena in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the Lady Muleriders have their eyes set on trip back to the Spa City, where in 2015 they reached the tournament championship match, before falling in four sets to Southwestern Oklahoma State. It marked the first tournament championship match the program had competed in since joining the GAC in 2011.
