MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas Volleyball wrapped up its second-consecutive weekend trip to Missouri on Saturday. The Muleriders, under first-year head coach Alli O'Banion, battled a pair of nationally prominent teams in (RV) Rockhurst and #13 Southwest Minnesota State, while also playing weekend hosts Southwest Baptist and Drury. Box scores of all four matches are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
 
Friday's opener against Rockhurst, the first NCAA meeting between the two programs, was highlighted by attack clips of .250 and .333 from the Muleriders in sets two and four, respectively. In the opening set, Southern Arkansas used a 5-1 run to take a 10-7 lead courtesy of back-to-back put aways from sophomore Landry Rogers who finished with a team-high 15 kills at a season-best swing rate of .306. Rogers was one of two players with ten digs in the weekend opener as junior Morgan Schuster led with 11 and facilitated 36 points behind her third double-double of the season.
 
Against the Hawks, Southern Arkansas matched its opponent in aces with 10, while out-blocking its opposition 13-10. Schuster led with four aces, junior Mackensie Williams followed with three and sophomore Samantha Still chipped in with a pair. On the defense, Schuster and sophomore Isla Olivas delivered four blocks each and sophomore Kayte Delong added three.
 
Back and forth action in the first followed SAU's aforementioned three-point lead, but with the opening frame tied at 14, Still assisted junior Kenadee Poye to break the tie, Williams followed with a service ace and a block by Olivas and a kill from Rogers quickly sent SAU ahead 18-14. A kill from Olivas and an ace by Still would hold off the Hawks before the former pulled to within 20-19, but Southern Arkansas responded following an RU attack error as Schuster dropped in a three aces including back-to-back to close out the set moments after Moultrie stuffed an attack effort by the Hawks.   
 
Rockhurst would respond in set two and build an 18-15 advantage, however a 5-1 run highlighted by consecutive kills from sophomore Lauryn Moultrie, a Schuster service ace and a kill from Delong pushed SAU out front 20-19. A kill from Delong tied the match at 21 and Rogers put away an assist from Schuster to even set two at 22 before the Hawks pulled away with a trio of late kills to even the match at 1.
 
In Friday evening's tilt against SBU, Rogers led with nine kills and sophomore Carlin Whaley followed with a career-high eight. Still's 11 digs were tops on the team and Rogers chipped in with ten as she recorded back-to-back double doubles on Friday.
 
Saturday's opener pitted the Muleriders against one of the top teams in the country in #13 Southwest Minnesota, winners of 21 matches last fall, and currently unbeaten at 8-0 in 2022. Still finished with 11 digs and Delong recorded a career-best five blocks, while SAU forced the Mustangs into 20 attack errors over three sets.  
 
In the weekend finale, the Muleriders swung it well in the opening set against Drury in Springfield. Fourteen kills to only two errors in 47 attempts resulted in a .255 attack percentage. Rogers led with eight kills and sophomore Anna Crittenden, who debuted for Southern Arkansas over the weekend, produced seven to finish with a dozen total in her first three matches of the season. Still added 15 digs and has recorded ten-plus in seven of the team's eight matches this fall. Junior Sakura Thomas followed with ten digs, while Crittenden along with Moultrie and Olivas all recorded a pair of blocks.
 
The Muleriders' attention turns to Great American Conference play where a Tuesday trip to Russellville awaits in the league opener. First serve against the Golden Suns (1-8) of Arkansas Tech is set for 6 p.m. from inside Tucker Coliseum. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.