MAGNOLIA, Ark. - For the first time in over three and a half weeks, the Southern Arkansas Mulerider Volleyball team returns to the W.T. Watson Center for action as they welcome in Great American Conference foe Henderson State for a 6 p.m. tilt. The Reddies enter Thursday night's meeting having won ten-consecutive matches for the first time since 2006, while the Muleriders are looking to snap an eight-match losing skid.  

"My team has overcome a lot of different obstacles this past week with injuries. The girls knew going into this season nothing about it was going to be easy, it was going to take every person on the team to accomplish the goals that we have," remarked head volleyball coach Britney Davis, when asked about her team's health.

The injuries have played a toll for Southern Arkansas the last week as they will be without freshman setter Fabiola Rivera for the remainder of the year, while freshman setter Lexi Kruse is battling through a knee injury. That has opened the door for yet another freshman setter in Caitlin Murdock to join the rotation along with Kruse. 

"We will miss Fabi's energy on the court but she is already finding her role as a leader to her teammates while being on the bench. If you watch her during a match she is constantly cheering on her team and giving them feedback and encouragement," stated Davis and she added, "Lexi had a choice (redshirt or play) after we returned from Dallas. She approached me and told me that she will do whatever the team needs and she is ready to play. Her mindset and mental toughness to be a leader and set for us along side Caitlin is exactly what we need!"
 
Kruse has eight double-digit assists matches this season, including two with 23 or more. Murdock delivered 19 assists, five digs and two service aces against Dallas Baptist and chipped in with a dozen assists and six digs on Tuesday at Ouachita. "Caitlin is confident and we are confident in her. She is extremely coachable and took the role of running a 5-1 against DBU with a lot of confidence. I am so proud of her for stepping up."

Kruse along with freshman libero Camryn Bihary and sophomore middle Lauren Smith hold top 10 rankings within the Great American Conference. Bihary ranks fifth in digs per set at 4.44 and places seventh in service aces per set with 0.37, while Kruse ranks ninth at 0.35. The pair have combined for 29 aces. Smith holds the seventh-best blocks per set clip at 0.91.

The Muleriders are hitting .121 as a team, while opponents are hitting .218. Sophomore Bailey Cagle is nine kills away from hitting the century mark, while Bihary needs just nine digs to reach 200 in her rookie campaign. Behind Cagle in kills is classmate Morgan Gross with 72 and freshman Ciarra Wright with 71.

Thursday night presents a tough task for SAU as Henderson State brings the one of the nation's top front row defenses to Magnolia. HSU ranks third in Division II in team total blocks with 114.0 and eighth in the country in blocks per set at 2.53. The Reddies also hold Top 35 marks nationally in team digs (751 | 32nd) and in team service aces (76 | 33rd). 

Henderson State also owns the Great American Conference's second-best hitting percentage at .232. Behind the a good portion of the success for the Reddies has been the play of Karlie Greene and Adrianna Hartmann. Greene leads the GAC and ranks seventh in the country in total blocks (54) and is twentieth in the nation in blocks per set (1.23). Hartmann boasts the top hitting percentage in the GAC at .387, which ranks 28th in Division II. Additionally, Hartmann ranks 23rd in the country in total blocks (47).