SHAWNEE, Okla. – Junior Seven Powers delivered her first-career double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs in Southern Arkansas' straight-sets loss (23-25, 22-25, 12-25) to Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday afternoon in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
 
It was set of runs in the opening frame between the Muleriders (7-15, 1-8 GAC) and the Bison (13-12, 6-3 GAC as OBU jumped out to a 5-1 lead, before Southern Arkansas rallied to take a 9-8 advantage behind a 6-0 run. An additional 5-1 run placed Oklahoma Baptist out front 13-10, before the Muleriders engineered a 7-2 run to take a 17-15 lead.
 
The Bison's third 5-1 run of the set gave them the match advantage heading into set two. Trailing 14-13 in set two, SAU fell victim to a 6-2 OBU streak that pushed the Bison lead to 20-15. However, the Muleriders would rally with four straight points to pull within a point of the lead, before Oklahoma Baptist scored six of the next nine points to go up two sets.
 
A 7-1 start to the third frame for the Bison set the tone as it grew into a 10-2 lead and eventually a 16-7 advantage in a set that ended with an 8-1 OBU run.
 
Sophomore Lauren Smith added five kills, five blocks assists, five digs, and two assists, while freshman Ciarra Wright chipped in with five kills as well. Camryn Bihary led SAU with 15 digs, while classmate setters Lexi Kruse and Caitlin Murdock combined for 23 of the Muleriders' 28 assists.
 
UP NEXT
Southern Arkansas returns home to finish off the Oklahoma scheduling of their 2018 Great American Conference slate as the team welcomes in East Central and Southeastern Oklahoma State on October 12 and 13, respectively. It will be "Dig Pink" Weekend in the W.T. Watson Center. Live coverage links will be available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.