MATCH NOTES (PDF)
FIRST SERVE
After a 1-1 start to their season, the Southern Arkansas Lady Mulerider Volleyball team will begin Division II play this weekend at the South Central Classic in Durant, Oklahoma, on September 1-2.
All four of SAU's opponents at the regional invitational will be beginning their 2017 seasons and the Lady Muleriders' slate includes Friday matchups with Dallas Baptist (10 a.m.) and Cameron (2 a.m.) and Saturday meetings with Texas A&M International (10 a.m.) and #21 Central Missouri (Noon). SAU played three of this weekend's four opponents last fall which included a season-opening straight sets victory over Texas A&M International, a 3-1 loss to Cameron, and a 3-0 loss to then #11 Central Missouri.
Southern Arkansas brings game experience into this weekend's play after having started the 2017 season on the road at the Williams Baptist Tri-Match on Tuesday night. The Lady Muleriders dropped the season-opener to John Brown University (6-0), before salvaging the evening with a 3-1 victory over host Williams Baptist (0-6).
On Tuesday, in her collegiate debut, SAU freshman right side hitter
Morgan Gross collected 26 total kills and 22 total digs, while logging her first career double-double with 18 kills and 10 digs in the win over WBC.
Senior
Alexia Southern added 13 kills, 13 digs and four service aces in the two matches, while sophomores
Alexa Bass (39 assists, 13 digs, 6 kills),
Riley Marsh (18 total digs), and
Seven Powers (11 total kills) all recorded productive evenings on Tuesday night.
Match recaps and stats will be made available on www.muleriderathletics.com as soon as possible following the matches. Live stat and video links can be found at www.muleriderathletics.com.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
DALLAS BAPTIST
Dallas Baptist will open their 2017 season against the Lady Muleriders. The Lady Patriots are coming off an 8-20 campaign a season ago. Senior Sidnee Jo Fitzpatrick headlines the returners for DBU after earning First Team All-Heartland Conference honors last fall by producing 255 kills at 2.58 kills per set.
CAMERON
Cameron's first action of the 2017 season will take place at the South Central Classic. The Aggies managed just a 3-26 record last fall with one of those wins coming against the Lady Muleriders in four sets at the South Central Classic. Joining five letter winners from last season to make up the 2017 team include a new coach in Tatiana Booth (Two-time All-GAC performer at East Central) and a dozen newcomers (8 transfers).
TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL
For the second-straight season, Texas A&M International and Southern Arkansas will meet at South Central Classic. TAMUI will open their season in Durant. Last season, the two teams began their respective years in a matchup that saw the Lady Muleriders claim a 3-0 win. The Dustdevils won just two games a year ago and will feature nine newcomers in 2017 that join key returners Alejandra Bustamante and Megan Unrath.
CENTRAL MISSOURI
Central Missouri defeated the Lady Muleriders in straight sets last season at the Peggy Martin Crossover Challenge. The #21 Jennies begin their 2017 season in Durant after a 2016 campaign saw the club tally a 23-10 record overall; a season-high in losses in nine years. Head Coach Flip Piontek enters his ninth season at the helm of the UCM Volleyball program and brings in ten newcomers to add to the likes of All-MIAA performers Kylie Hohlen and Molly Lawrence and an experienced back line.
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.
