Magnolia, Ark. - Despite a 25-21 set one victory over Oklahoma Baptist, Southern Arkansas was unable to produce another set win throughout the game and dropped a four-set match (25-21, 17-25, 8-25, 18-25) Thursday night to disrupt their perfect home record. The Muleriders drop to 2-1 at home and 2-6 in conference play going into their Friday afternoon matchup against Southern Nazarene in the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.
OBU recorded 62 kills over SAU's 41 and bested Southern Arkansas' .156 hitting percentage with their own .349%. The Muleriders recorded more total blocks (12.0), block assists (10), and less service errors than the Bison, but were still bested in the Thursday night matchup.
Right off the bat, the two teams put up quite the fight, with the lead changing five times with nine tie scores. The Riders went on runs of 5-0 and 4-0 to pull away from the Bison and take the first set. The second frame was highlighted by kills from Landry Rogers (3) and Anna Crittenden (5). Southern Arkansas tied the game up at 14 points before OBU went on a 6-0 run and two runs of 4-0 to leave the Muleriders behind and hold them below 20 points. The Muleriders could not find their footing in set three, putting up just eight points throughout the dominant Bison play. The fourth set deemed an unsuccessful comeback for the SAU, as OBU once again held them under 20 points.
D'Erricka Frierson led the Bison offence in kills (17) for the fifth game in a row. Frierson also led the team, with her .536 hitting percentage and 18 points. Rylee Martin totaled 30 assists against the Riders followed by Abrey Galt with 26. Martin also recorded three service aces, her most this season.
Mulerider offence was piloted by sophomore Anna Crittenden with her 10 kills, followed by sophomores Landry Rogers with 9 and Isla Olivas with 7. Junior Morgan Schuster recorded 24 assists along with her one service ace. Sophomore Ava Tanner led the team with her .250 attack percentage and Olivas followed with .222%.
Southern Nazarene defeated the University of Arkansas at Monticello 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-12) tonight, to post a 5-3 conference record going into their matchup in Magnolia on Friday. SNU recorded 33 kills and eight aces in the three-set game.
The Muleriders take on SNU at home at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Live coverage links will be available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.