MAGNOLIA, Ark. – It was all Southern Arkansas on Tuesday night. First-year SAU head coach Alli O'Banion's Muleriders showed up, as did the home crowd, and showed out in a dominant straight-sets victory (25-17, 25-19, 25-14) over bitter league rival Arkansas-Monticello inside the W.T. Watson Center in what served as the former's home opener. The win evens up the Muleriders' Great American Conference record at 1-1.
 
The win snaps a 12-match league losing streak for SAU and stands as the first straight-sets GAC win by the Muleriders since a 3-0 decision against East Central on October 21, 2016.
 
A 7-2 run early and a 9-1 run midway through the opening set pushed Southern Arkansas out front with a 1-0 match lead. The Muleriders hit .237 in the first frame of play putting away fourteen balls to just five errors. The momentum, backed by a lively fan base, carried over into set two as a 6-2 run from Southern Arkansas helped build a 16-10 lead. SAU would score four of the final five points of the match highlighted by kills from sophomores Anna Crittenden and Lauryn Moultrie.
 
Runs of 9-2 and 9-3 in set three dictated the action as an 18-5 lead all but sent the Muleriders into the win column as kills by sophomore Landry Rogers, Moultrie and sophomore Kayte Delong put away the Blossoms down the stretch. Southern Arkansas hit .353 in the third set with just three miscues in 34 attempts, while totaling 15 kills.
 
The Muleriders' 41 kills are the most in a three-set match this season and the fourth-most overall. The team's swing clip of .257 is the highest mark against a DII opponent in a dozen matches.
 
Crittenden recorded a career-best 14 kills at an impressive .464. Rogers followed with 11 kills at .308 and she was one of four players with eight or more digs. Junior Sakura Thomas led defensively with 14 digs as SAU's 52 for the match are the most in a three-set affair this fall and the third-most this season. Junior Morgan Schuster delivered 25 assists and now sits a pair of helpers away from taking over the career mark.
 
A trip to Arkadelphia to face Ouachita looms on Thursday. First serve is set for 6 p.m. Live coverage links will be available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.