Magnolia, Ark. – With four games remaining in the regular season, Southern Arkansas Volleyball (3-9 GAC, 5-18) looks to chase down a spot at the GAC 2022 Volleyball Championships. The Muleriders have two games slated for the week- a game at UAM on Tuesday, October 25 and a home matchup versus Arkansas Tech on Thursday, October 27. SAU is currently ranked 10th in the conference, behind the 8th place Golden Suns and 9th place Cotton Blossoms who the Muleriders look to upset this coming week.
Juniors Morgan Schuster and Landry Rogers both remain in the top ten GAC players with Schuster ranking seventh in average assists and Rogers holding a sixth-place spot in average kills and seventh place in points. Between the four remaining games Rogers looks to record a career season, currently trailing her 2021 kills by just 18. Sakura Thomas has recorded 239 digs to represent the only Mulerider to surpass 200 while Samantha Still is close with 193. Lauryn Moultrie leads the team with 50.0 blocks while Isla Olivas is on her tail with 48.0.
University of Arkansas at Monticello
UAM brings a 4-9 GAC record into the Tuesday matchup in Monticello, recording just one more win than the Muleriders.
The Muleriders won their previous clash on September 13 in Magnolia, defeating the Cotton Blossoms in straight sets (25-17, 25-19, 25-14) and holding the rival team to under 20 points in each set. UAM is posting a winning home record at 4-3 with two of the wins coming against GAC teams. The team has dropped their last two matchups against Arkansas Tech (0-3) and Ouachita Baptist (0-3) and has recorded one win in the month of October, a 3-2 win over Southeastern on October 14.
Mia Smalls is recording an average 7.11 assists per set to rank sixth in the GAC, just ahead of Mulerider Morgan Schuster who is averaging 7.09. Stasha Adams is ninth with her average 3.59 digs per set and Camryn McGough us eighth with her .279 hitting percentage.
Jasmine Welton has surpassed the 200 kills mark, recording 231 on the season while Holliday Ellis is close to breaking 200 with her current 199. Smalls has recorded 519 assists, Adams has 317 digs, and Rikey Krenek has 52.0 blocks which all lead the Cotton Blossoms.
Arkansas Tech University
The Muleriders are looking to move a step closer to a winning home record on Thursday, posting a 2-3 record in the W.T. Watson Athletic Center with two home games left in the season.
The Golden Suns will take on the Henderson State Reddies on Tuesday before making the trip to Magnolia. In their previous matchup, Arkansas Tech defeated the Muleriders 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-21) inside the Tucker Coliseum in Russellville. Tech's most recent bout in Russellville resulted in a 3-0 win over UAM to serve as their solo win in the month of October. Arkansas Tech will look to record their first road win against an Arkansas team after earning their 2-7 road record with wins over Oklahoma teams on back-to-back nights. The Golden Suns are 4-9 in conference play and 10-16 overall.
Arkansas Tech is recording the third most service aces in the GAC with an average 1.73 per set with Megan Solberg leading the team with an average 0.36 per set which ranks tenth in the conference. Solberg is also ranked seventh among the conference with her average 4.10 digs per set.
Maddi Siedenburg tops the Golden Suns with her 166 kills followed closely by teammate Heather Thomas who has recorded 165. Brianna Merkel has 373 assists on the season, Heather Thomas has 67.0 blocks, and Solberg has 365 digs to all lead the team.
First serve is set for 6 p.m. on both Tuesday and Thursday. Live coverage links will be available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
You can stay up-to-date with all things Mulerider Volleyball by visiting www.muleriderathletics.com or by following Mulerider Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @muleridersports.
