BETHANY, Okla. - The Muleriders rolled into Oklahoma County and struck the Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm in a bounce back match following the loss to Oklahoma Baptist. Southern Arkansas claimed its triumph over SNU on the road three sets to one (25-21, 21-25, 26-24, 25-20), and in the process claimed victory over the Crimson Storm for the first instance since 2012 and the first time in Bethany, Oklahoma. SAU advances its win column to 11 wins in the campaign while recording its fifth victory in the Great American Conference.
TOP PERFORMERS
Junior Kayte Delong led her team in scoring once more as she tallied 16 kills in the contest with her seventh above .400 attack percentage game (.412). With an assisted block, Delong recorded 16.5 points on the evening. Knocking down 12 kills was Lone Star native Landry Rogers with a hitting percentage of .345. This match saw just the third contest in which multiple players recorded 20+ assists as Macie Shaver tallied 27 and Morgan Schuster laid up 25. Three Muleriders recorded multiple service aces as Rogers, Alessia Sonzini, and Jada Hudson all accounted for two.
Lauryn Moultrie held down the frontline once again as she recorded three total blocks (1 solo | 2 assisted). Carlin Whaley and Isla Olivas each assisted with two blocks in the evening. Sonzini led her squad in digs as she recorded 21 of the statistic for her fourth consecutive 20+ dig match.
FIRST SET
Set one was neck-and-neck the whole way as each team countered runs and rallies with their own runs and rallies. When Southern Arkansas had a 3-0 run, the Crimson Storm retaliated right back with their own to either tie or record one of the many lead changes. Southern Nazarene looked to have the final advantage in set one with a 0-4 run from being down 16-15, but the Muleriders countered the effort with an 8-2 finish to claim the initial set.
SECOND SET
The following set saw another back-and-forth match, but this time in strides. Despite Southern Arkansas recording a 5-0 and a couple 3-0 runs, the Crimson Storm was aided by a couple 0-6 runs to give them enough of a lead to succeed in the second set.
THIRD SET
Set three began with an 0-4 start for SNU, but was gradually disintegrated by the persistent Riders. The set was tied at ten-apiece, but soon saw some separation by Southern Arkansas as the Muleriders expanded their lead to a 21-15 advantage that was aided by an 11-5 rally. Southern Nazarene immediately closed the gap with another 0-6 run. The two went back-and-forth till a 24-24 tie that was followed by a set error from SNU and a Delong/Olivas block to end the set.
FOURTH SET
With Southern Arkansas in the driver's seat, the Muleriders cruised to a fourth set victory from the beginning. SAU started with a 6-1 advantage and never looked back. The Mulerider's lead extended to as much as ten points in the final set (20-10) and was cut little-by-little from SNU. The Southern Arkansas victory however was inevitable as SAU concluded the match with a 25-20 set four triumph.
UP NEXT
Head Coach Alli O'Banion's Muleriders will head back inside the chaotic W.T. Watson Center for a couple more Thursday/Friday matchups against Northwestern Oklahoma State on October 19 at 6:00 p.m. and Southwestern Oklahoma State on October 20 at 4:00 p.m. These next two matchups will conclude Southern Arkansas' Oklahoma regular season matchups as they will head back into Natural State competition the following week. For more information on this and more, check out www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
