Women's Volleyball | 9/21/2017 10:49:00 AM
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – After an 0-2 start in Great American Conference play against two of the league's best teams at home, the Southern Arkansas Lady Mulerider Volleyball team hits the road for their first conference road test of the season as they travel to Arkadelphia for a 6 p.m. first-serve against Henderson State in the Reddies' home opener inside the Duke Wells Center.
OF NOTE
- Southern Arkansas (6-10, 0-2 GAC) has suffered a pair of GAC losses to #24 Arkansas Tech and Ouachita. Both teams are No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the league standings entering tonight.
- The Lady Muleriders are currently tied for 10th in the conference standings, but their six wins overall are the seventh-most.
- Henderson State (7-6, 1-1 GAC), under first-year head coach Philip McDaniel, dropped its league opener to Harding, before topping Arkansas-Monticello on the road this past Tuesday. The Reddies are currently tied for fifth in the GAC standings.
- Thursday night will mark the first action inside the Duke Wells Center this season for HSU. The Reddies opened the 2017 campaign with 13-straight road games; similar to SAU's 13-game road swing that began the '16 season. The first home outcome for the Lady Muleriders last year: a thrilling five-set win over Henderson State.
- The Lady Muleriders are 11-1 against Henderson State in the dozen meetings the programs have had since the two joined the Great American Conference in 2011. The lone HSU win came last year in the regular season finale: a four-set victory in Arkadelphia.
WHO TO WATCH
- Southern Arkansas has been led by a trio of attackers with senior Alexia Southern pacing the club with 131 kills at 2.43 per set. Sophomore Seven Powers follows with 115 kills at 2.13 per set, while senior Alli O'Banion eclipsed the 100-kill mark on Tuesday and currently has 106 at 1.86 per set.
- Sophomore Alexa Bass facilitates an SAU offense that averages 11.16 kills per set by leading the team in assists with 344 at 6.14 per set; eighth-best mark in the GAC. Bass' output is coupled with senior Savannah Pillow's efforts of 3.52 assists per set to help SAU deliver just under 10.3 assists per set.
- In year two under head coach Britney Davis, blocking has greatly improved as the Lady Muleriders own 103.0 total blocks with four players recording 20 or more. O'Banion leads the team with 46.0 and freshman front liner Bailey Cagle follows with 43.0. Powers has added 23.0 and Southern has produced 20.0.
- In terms of past seasons, SAU's current blocks per set average of 1.8 would be the best mark since joining the GAC in 2011. The most total blocks in a season since that time is 208.0 in 2014.
- Bass leads the team in service aces with 18 and is one of three players to record 100 or more digs this season. Sophomore Whitney Brown is the team leader in the category with 146 at 2.86 digs per set, followed by Bass' 111 (1.98). Southern is third in digs with 103 at 1.91 per set.
- For Henderson State, Courtney Bolf is the lone Reddie with 100 or more kills and leads the team with 152 at the league's second-best kills per set average of 3.62.
- Sariah Boney's 267 assists are tops for HSU and her 6.07 assists per set are ninth-most in the league. Adrianna Hartmann averages 0.91 blocks per set; seventh in the GAC.
- The Reddies are currently leading the league in digs per set with 19.16. Sydney Skelton's 5.56 digs per set lead the league and Bolf's 4.05 digs per set are tenth in the GAC. The Lady Muleriders own the fourth most attacks in the conference so Thursday night's meeting in Arkadelphia should be full of action.
HEAD TO HEAD
| Henderson State (7-6, 1-1 GAC) |
Team Statistics |
Southern Arkansas (6-10, 0-2 GAC) |
| 13 (44) |
Matches Played (Sets Played) |
16 (57) |
| 556 (12.6) |
Kills (Kills per Set) |
636 (11.2) |
| 254 |
Errors |
342 |
| 1,760 |
Total Attacks |
1,889 |
| .172 |
Attack Percentage |
.156 |
| 517 (11.8) |
Assists (Assists per Set) |
585 (10.3) |
| 75 (1.7) |
Aces (Aces per Set) |
74 (1.3) |
| 42 (1.0) |
Reception Errors (RE per Set) |
103 (1.8) |
| 843 (19.2) |
Digs (Digs per Set) |
785 (13.8) |
| 79.0 (1.8) |
Total Blocks (Blocks per Set) |
103.0 (1.8) |
Bold – League Leader
LIVE COVERAGE
