Magnolia, Ark. - Mulerider Volleyball continues GAC play this week as they prepare to take on Harding University on the road on Tuesday, September 20 and Henderson State University in the W.T. Watson Athletic Center on Thursday, September 22.
Southern Arkansas was most recently defeated by Ouachita Baptist University, a 0-3 loss in Arkadelphia. Sophomores Landry Rogers and Anna Crittenden both recorded four kills while junior Morgan Schuster recorded 11 assists and seven digs between the three sets.
Harding University
The Muleriders look to disturb Harding's 3-0 conference record in Searcy on Tuesday. Harding leads the GAC with a .260 attack percentage, 13.20 average assists per set, and 14.20 average kills per set. They are holding opponents to a .118 hitting percentage.
The Bison took town Arkansas Tech 3-0 in their last outing, extending their winning streak to 11 games. Kelli McKinnon led their offense with 10 kills, followed by Jacey Lambert with nine while Sarah Morehead recorded 35 assists. McKinnon leads GAC play with a .373 attack percentage while Morehead leads with an average 10.95 assists per set.
The Muleriders and Bison last met on November 9, 2021, where Harding took down SAU in three sets (16-25, 16-25, 16-25). A win in Searcy would serve as the first victory over Harding since November 19, 2015.
Henderson State University
The Muleriders hope to draw out another loud home crowd on Thursday, following the impressive showing of fans at their first home match. Going into their matchup Thursday in the W.T., Southern Arkansas is posting a 1-0 record at home.
The Reddies fell to the University of Arkansas Monticello in their last match, losing 0-3. The loss puts them at 1-2 in conference play and 7-8 overall. Both of their defeats in conference have come in the form of 0-3 losses. They are 1-2 on the road and will head to Magnolia after playing Ouachita Baptist on Tuesday at home.
In their matchup at UAM, Christiane Uzoh led the team in kills with 10, followed by Aleah Stogner with seven and Madison Hatt led with 17 assists. Carson Edwards and Trinity Sharp both recorded 15 digs on the day. Sharp is the only Reddie to find herself on the GAC leaderboard, ranking seventh in average digs per game with 3.80 (205 digs/ 54 sets).
Two Muleriders still find themselves within the top ten in GAC leaders. Schuster is averaging 7.33 assists per set (308 assists/ 42 sets) to rank fifth while Rogers still ranks seventh with 2.88 average kills per set (121 kills/ 42 sets) and tenth with 3.15 points per set (132.5 points/ 42 sets).
The last contest between SAU and HSU was November 11, 2021, the Muleriders' final game of the season. The Muleriders collected more digs (49), kills (42), and assists (38) than the Reddies, but fell 3-0 (24-26, 16-25, 26-28). The last time Southern Arkansas beat Henderson was September 22, 2016, a 3-2 victory at home.
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.
