ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - Southern Arkansas came into Clark County for the final instance in the 2023 season following a dominating performance against Arkansas-Monticello. The Muleriders came into the Sturgis Physical Education Center with heads held high after defeating their bitter rival, but the Ouachita Baptist Tigers used their momentum from the three consecutive victories prior to overwhelm SAU's efforts in four-set match (12-25, 25-20, 21-25, 20-25).
TOP PERFORMERS
Kayte Delong led the offense as she recorded 15 kills on the evening with a .364 hitting percentage while Lauryn Moultrie tallied 11 kills and a .409 percentage. Morgan Schuster orchestrated the offense with 29 assists along with 11 digs for her eight double-double of the campaign. Landry Rogers accounted for four service aces to add on to her ten total points. Isla Olivas and Delong led the front line with four assisted blocks each. Alessia Sonzini was responsible for 27 digs around the backline to prevent the Tigers at all cost.
THE MATCH
During the first set, OUA had full control of everything happening for the vast majority of the set as they held a lead of 3-19 at one point. SAU would counter with a 9-6 run, but would suffer a 12-25 set one loss. The second set saw much improvement for the Riders as they used a 7-0 run to gain and keep the lead for a set two victory of 25-20. Set three was once again a back-and-forth competition as Southern Arkansas jumped to a 20-18 lead late in the set, but would succumb to a Tiger burst of 1-7 to drop set three 21-25. Set four saw a very similar outcome as the Muleriders held a lead early with a 4-0 advantage that would not be given up till late in the set. OUA fired off a 2-9 run from the 18-16 mark to defeat Southern Arkansas in the fourth set.
UP NEXT
The Muleriders keep the look out for a Great American Conference Tournament berth as they set their sights ahead for their final road trip to Searcy, Arkansas for the face-off against the Harding Bison on Monday (Nov. 6) at 6 p.m. For more on Mulerider Volleyball and other athletic events, check out www.MuleriderAthletics.com or look us up @muleridersports on X, Facebook, and Instagram.