MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas Volleyball hits the road this weekend for the first time this season with the first of two scheduled trips into Oklahoma beginning with four matches at the South Central Classic hosted by Southeastern Oklahoma State in Durant on Friday, August 31 and Saturday, September 1.
 
Awaiting the Muleriders in the Sooner State include a pair of competitive programs from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAA) in No. 19 Central Oklahoma and Washburn as well as a pair of teams representing the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in New Mexico Highlands and Western State Colorado.
 
"We know this weekend we are going to play better teams and it is exactly what we need going into conference play the following week," remarked head coach Britney Davis when asked about the competition awaiting her team in Durant. "We focus on our side and what we need to do to improve. As a program we do not care what your ranking is or your record. We only care about the game at hand and what we are going to do to win."
 
FAST START
The Muleriders have jumped out to a 3-1 start courtesy of a strong showing at the second-annual Dr. Margaret Downing Invitational. The fast start stands as the program's best four-game start to begin a season since 2011.
 
The best eight-game start to a season for Southern Arkansas in the Division II Era (1995) is 6-2 and it has happened four times. The most recent 6-2 start for the Muleriders came in 2012 when that year's team went 23-12 with an 11-3 record in league play. SAU also went 6-2 to begin the season in 2003, 2001 and 1996. Additionally, there have been a trio of 5-3 starts in that same time span.
 
The three non-conference wins for Southern Arkansas inside the W.T. Watson Center last Friday and Saturday improve the Muleriders to 10-1 under Davis in non-league home games in the past three seasons.
 
YOUNG GUNS
The top storyline for SAU Volleyball leading up to the start of the 2018 campaign was the team's youth. With just six returners, which included four sophomores, Southern Arkansas imported 11 newcomers; eight of which were freshmen. During the team's four matches at the Dr. Margaret Downing Invitational, six freshmen made their collegiate debuts with four playing in all 17 of the team's sets, while the other two, Ciarra Wright and Rylea Brimhall, combined to play in 24 sets and produced a collective 48 kills, 41 digs and nine blocks.
 
"The 3-1 start is exactly what this revised program needed," stated Davis. "I am proud of the girls and how they handled those regional matches. I have said it before but the youth of this group is not something that we question or are concerned about when we make decisions of what line up to put in. This entire team's mindset is different. They are here to win and they won't stop until they do."
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Southern Arkansas' success offensively this past weekend came due in large part to the facilitating play of freshmen setters Fabiola Rivera (85 assists) and Lexi Kruse (77 assists). The duo combined for 162 of SAU's 182 assists in the team's first four matches. Additionally, Rivera logged a double-double in a five-set loss to Texas-Permian Basin, while Kruse joined the former as both recorded double-doubles in a four-set victory over Mississippi College.
 
NOT ON OUR BLOCK
One of the lone bright spots last season for head coach Britney Davis was her team's front row blocking. The Muleriders' 220.0 total blocks a season ago currently stand as the fourth-most for an SAU team since 2000 and the most in a single season since 2007. Their 1.88 blocks per set in 2017 ranks fifth in a single season in the RSE and is also the highest per set average since 2007. Additionally, SAU's 342 block assists in 2017 are the second-most in a single-season since 2000 and the most in a single season since 2003.
 
With that, it appears that Southern Arkansas is headed for a second-straight productive campaign defending along the front row as the team's 36.0 total blocks through four matches are a league best as is its 2.12 blocks per set. Sophomore middle Lauren Smith, who placed her name in the program record books last season as a result of her blocking, led the charge for SAU last weekend as she finished with 19 total blocks (2 solo, 17 assisted) at a 1.12 blocks per set clip. Three other Muleriders join Smith with ten or more blocks so far this season: classmates Bailey Cagle (11) and Morgan Gross (12) and freshman middle Abby Bermudez (13).
 
SHE CAN DIG IT
Freshman defensive specialist Camryn Bihary could arguably be one the most exciting players to watch in the Great American Conference this season and her production proves it. The rookie back row player is currently second in the league in digs (74) and fourth in digs per set (4.35). Playing with a controlled, reckless abandon, Bihary has recorded 15 or more digs in three of the four matches this season, including an early career-best standard 28 in a five-set win over Cameron.
 
Bihary received high praise from her head coach following her first weekend of collegiate action. "She had an outstanding weekend defensively. She was an important part of our success," noted Davis. "Camryn actually apologized after our team's five-set win over Cameron. She told me that she needs to do better. She knows what she is capable of and she is not going to settle or stop until she gets there."
 
ACED IT
SAU's 29 service aces are the third-most in the league and the 1.71 per set average ranks fourth. Bihary and Rivera have each produced 17 aces and junior Seven Powers has delivered nine. All three players rank in the league's top 10 in the season's early going.
 

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NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS UNIVERSITY COWBOYS
W/L: 0-4 (0-0 Rocky Mountain)
Top performers: Stacy Johnson, Tiffany Matchett, Samantha Sjogren
Schedule | Season Statistics
 
The Cowboys enter the South Central Classic winless in 2018, but they haven't shied away from competition. NMHU dropped all four matches, while winning just one set, during its opening weekend stint at the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational hosted by Angelo State against teams that combined for 87 wins last fall.
 
WASHBURN UNIVERSITY ICHABODS
W/L: 4-0 (0-0 Mid-America Intercollegiate)
Top performers: Allison Maxwell, Erica Montgomery, Faith Rottinghaus,
Schedule | Season Statistics
 
Washburn cruised through the competition at its own Invitational last weekend dropping just one set in four match wins. The Ichabods are hitting .322 as a team; currently the sixth-best attack percentage in Division II. Additionally, WU holds a top-20 mark nationally in team service aces (30) at an average of just over two per set.
 
WESTERN STATE COLORADO UNIVERSITY MOUNTAINEERS
W/L: 0-4 (0-0 Rocky Mountain)
Top performers: Cammi Baumann, Hanna Hendrickson, Kathleen Kasel,
Schedule | Season Statistics
 
The Mountaineers struggled at the highly competitive Microtel and Travelodge Classic hosted by Minnesota State-Moorhead; winning just two sets, which came in a five set loss to Minot State, in four total matches. WSCU hit just .084 as a team in 14 sets last weekend, but own one of the better service ace totals through the first weekend with 24 which ranks in the top 60 in the country. Additionally, Western State competes with a balanced roster of eight underclassmen and eight upperclassmen.
 
#19 UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA BRONCHOS
W/L: 3-2 (0-0 Mid-America Intercollegiate)
Top performers: Taylor Bevis, Haley Deschenes, Jordan Spence
Schedule | Season Statistics
 
The nationally-ranked Bronchos are coming off a midweek sweep of Great American Conference foe Oklahoma Baptist. Selected 16^th in the AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll to begin the year, UCO dropped three spots to No. 19 after a 2-2 start to the season at the Tarleton State Invitational. Taylor Bevis' 60 kills are the 18^th most in Division II following the opening weekend of action.