MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Muleriders showed the "Nobody Plays Harder" mentality after earning their fourth triumph over an Oklahoma program this campaign for just the third occasion since joining the Great American Conference (2012 – five wins; 2011 – four wins). Southern Arkansas overcame the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs (14-7 | 8-3 GAC) for the first time since 2014 and has now advanced its record to 13-10 and 7-4 in the league. This also marks the first time since 2012 that the Muleriders have had a conference win differential of three or more since 2012, when the Riders started conference play 8-0.
 
STAT LEADERS
Morgan Schuster recorded her sixth double-double of the 2023 season after she tallied up 22 assists along with 24 digs. It was also her first game of her career accounting for 20+ digs. Kayte Delong and Jada Hudson were equally as dominating as each competitor tallied 13 kills with Delong recording an attack percentage of .240 and Hudson a .195. A new season high for assisted blocks by the Muleriders was set this evening after SAU recorded 22 block assists (Lauryn Moultrie – 1 BS | 6 BA, Delong – 5 BA, Isla Olivas – 5 BA, Hudson – 2 BA, Carlin Whaley – 2 BA, Landry Rogers – 2 BA). Moultrie accounted for two of the four team service aces along with Alessia Sonzini and Brinklee Dauenhauer each recording one of their own.
 
SET ONE
SAU started the initial set with a quick 3-0 lead, but was countered with a 1-6 run from SWOSU to go up two. The Riders quickly came right back with another 3-0 run to gain the advantage once again, but once again was stopped by another large Bulldog series of 1-9. SAU would rattle off one more 3-0 run before Southwestern finished set one with a 2-10 run.
 
SET TWO
The first set showed the Bulldogs proving their high-status within the GAC, but high-status alone was not enough to put the Muleriders down. Southern Arkansas came back into the following set with a vengeful look in their eyes and would only lose the edge over SWOSU once in the entire set. The Muleriders started with an early lead and never went down by more than one point at the 10-9 and 11-10 marks. SAU extended its lead to as much as four points and cruised to a 25-22 set two victory.
 
SET THREE
With some confidence and momentum under their belt, the Muleriders came out firing on all cyllinders. An early 9-4 lead for the Riders gave them the advantage to take care of business in the third set. Southern Arkansas' lead never was never below three points for the rest of the set as they eventually widened the gap by nine points up 24-15 over the second-best team in the league. The Bulldogs would tac on two more points, but was all for not as Isla Olivas ended set three with a kill assisted by Morgan Schuster.
SET FOUR
Southern Arkansas gained as much confidence in a game like this that you could after handing SWOSU their second set loss of the evening. The Muleriders went down 1-4 to the Dawgs early, but would come right back with a 5-0 run to go up 6-4. Southwestern notched a 2-6 counter to gain the advantage right back. Following this, the Bulldogs never surrendered their lead as they finalized the fourth set with a 16-25 win to send the match to its fifth set.
 
SET FIVE
Southern Arkansas entered just their second five-set match of the 2023 campaign and the momentum was all in SWOSU's favor. The Bulldogs displayed the same offensive power from the first and fourth sets as they tallied three early points in the final set which would escalate to a 5-2 lead. The Muleriders tied the set back up thanks to a Hudson kill starting a 3-0 series, but was countered right back with a Southwestern 0-4 run to flip the side. After O'Banion called her first timeout, SAU showed that the match was far from over. The Muleriders added on a 3-0 run to bring the set within one point that was followed by a back-and-forth rally from each squad. The final set was now stood at a 10-12 score in the Dawgs favor. This was the moment for Southern Arkansas to turn from a good team to a great team. The Muleriders initiated a 4-0 run from a Moultrie kill followed by three Southwestern errors to give SAU the lead. SWOSU's Zoey Sparks knocked down a kill for the Bulldogs, but that was the last kill Southwestern Oklahoma State would score inside the W.T. Watson Center for the remainder of 2023 as Rogers delivered the final blow to the conference opponent.
 
UP NEXT
Alli O'Banion showed a true display of the ambitions as a rider after defeating an opponent that a Mulerider club has not overcome since the head coach played in the blue and gold herself. The next matchup for Southern Arkansas takes place in Russellville, Arkansas for the final face-off against the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns of the regular season at 6:00 p.m. next Thursday (October 26). For more information on this and other upcoming events, check out www.MuleriderAthletics.com.