MAGNOLIA, Ark. – After 11 matches away from the W.T. Watson Center to begin the 2017 season, the Southern Arkansas Lady Mulerider Volleyball team is set to open the home portion of their schedule beginning with a Tuesday night clash against (RV) Arkansas Tech in the Great American Conference opener for both teams. First-serve from Magnolia is slated for 6 p.m.
 
OF NOTE

• The Lady Muleriders (3-8, 0-0 GAC) are 5-1 in home openers since joining the Great American Conference in 2011. Of those six home openers, three have been against GAC Opponents. Southern Arkansas owns a 2-1 record in such matches.
• In terms of conference openers, SAU is 1-5 in their first league game of the season over the past six years. The lone win came in 2012 in a five-set win over Ouachita Baptist in Magnolia.
• Tuesday's meeting marks the third season in a row that the two programs open Great American Conference play against each other.
• (RV) Arkansas Tech (9-0, 0-0 GAC) enters the first league match of the year unbeaten. The Golden Suns have dropped just two sets all season and have won five-straight matches in three sets.
• The Golden Suns, picked third in the GAC Preseason Coaches Poll, rank atop the league in hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, assists, and kills, while ranking second in blocks per set, and third in service aces.

 
WHO TO WATCH

• SAU has a trio of players ranked in the top-10 of GAC statistical categories. Freshman Morgan Gross' 17 service aces are currently a league-high, while her 0.50 service aces per set is tied for fourth. Senior Alli O'Banion's 33.0 total blocks are tied for the third-most in the league and her 0.87 blocks per set ranks eighth. Sophomore Alexa Bass' 6.03 assists per set is the ninth-highest mark in the GAC entering Tuesday.
• The Lady Muleriders have four players with 60 or more kills highlighted by sophomore outside hitter Seven Powers' team-best 72 (2.06/set). Classmate defensive specialist Whitney Brown leads the team in digs and digs per set with 81 (2.53/set).
• Through 11 games in 2017, Southern Arkansas has recorded 66.0 total blocks at 1.74 blocks per set, which is 23 more total blocks and 0.79 more blocks per set than the team's output in the category through last season's first 11 games.
• In just two weeks, ATU has seen a player capture the league's offensive player, defensive player and setter of the week honors. Hunter Eshnaur, the league's reigning Offensive Player of the Week, leads the Golden Suns attack with 86 kills at 3.31 kills per set and her 0.58 service aces per set are the second-most in the GAC.
• Last week's Defensive Player of the Week freshman Lexie Johnston owns a league-best hitting percentage (.404) and the conference's seventh-most blocks per set at 0.88. Sophomore Greer Rogers averages 1.23 blocks per set; the top mark in the GAC.
• Sophomore Amanda Milnick has won the past two Setter of the Week honors and currently leads the league in assists at 10.23 per set and also owns the fifth-highest hitting percentage at .330.

 
HEAD TO HEAD
 

(RV) Arkansas Tech (9-0, 0-0 GAC)	Team Statistics	Southern Arkansas (3-8, 0-0 GAC)
9 (29)	Matches Played (Sets)	11 (38)
433 (14.9)	Kills (Kills per Set)	398 (10.5)
133	Errors	224
974	Total Attacks	1,226
.308	Attack Percentage	.142
395 (13.6)	Assists (Assists per Set)	357 (9.4)
52 (1.8)	Aces (Aces per Set)	54 (1.4)
17 (0.6)	Reception Errors (RE per Set)	72 (1.9)
424 (14.6)	Digs (Digs per Set)	487 (12.8)
63.0 (2.2)	Total Blocks (Blocks per Set)	66.0 (1.7)

Bold – League Leader
 
LIVE COVERAGE

• Live Video – https://livestream.com/accounts/10140781
• Live Stats – http://www.sidearmstats.com/saumag/wvball/