MAGNOLIA, Ark. - The Muleriders used the home court advantage on Thursday evening against Arkansas Tech and put themselves back in the win column. Southern Arkansas bounced back from the loss against Henderson State earlier this week and topped the Golden Suns 3-1 (21-25, 25-17, 27-25, 25-15). The Muleriders advance to 11-11 this season with a 5-9 record in Great American Conference action.
 
The Muleriders showed off strong and steady offensive skills against the Golden Suns as they recorded a total of 49 kills on 155 attempts. The team recorded 9 total service aces, 11 blocks, and 77 digs over the four sets.
 
Senior Carlin Whaley led the team in scoring contributing with 17 points as she tallied an impressive number of 14 kills on a .462 attack percentage. Kayte Delong and Brinklee Dauenhauer tallied 9 kills each and contributed with 14 and 11 points respectively. Macie Shaver assisted the offense as she recorded 27 assists over the four sets. Sadie Kabisch led the defense as she recorded 24 digs at the back to get the Muleriders back into the rallies. Delong showed a steady performance up at the net as she led the team in blocks with 4 solo blocks and 2 block assists. Samantha Ward recorded an impressive number of 3 total service aces. 
 
In the first set of the match, both teams were neck-in-neck all the way towards the end of the set where the Golden Suns stepped on the gas and took a lead with 21-19. Lauryn Moultrie pulled out back-to-back service aces in an effort to close the gap and evened out the score before the Muleriders dropped the first set 21-25.
 
The Muleriders came out showing a strong offense at the beginning of the second set with impactful kills from Dauenhauer, Whaley, and Delong that set the early pace. Southern Arkansas kept the momentum throughout the whole set and secured key points with the attacks which stopped the Golden Suns' efforts to close the gap and the Muleriders claimed the second set 25-17. The team recorded a total of 17 kills in the second set of the match, 11 more than the set before.
 
Both teams showed off their will to battle in the third set and the points kept on going back and forth. The Muleriders kept the momentum from the second set and started strong with multiple kills from Delong and Whaley but the Golden Suns had recharged after losing the second set and responded likewise. Arkansas Tech took the lead 20-16 and with a strong offensive performance. Despite a good effort from the Muleriders, the Golden Suns quickly moved their way towards a score of 24-19. Southern Arkansas proved their will to battle back and were red hot as they managed to come back with key efforts from Whaley, Dauenhauer, Sadie Kabisch, and Allie Cooper to secure the third set 27-25.
 
The Muleriders went into the fourth set playing with confidence as it ended up being the final set of the match. Still going with the same momentum as the previous sets the Muleriders secured an early lead with kills from Whaley and Shaver and back-to-back service aces from Ava Tanner. The Golden Suns tried to close the gap between the two teams but there was nothing that could stop the Blue and Gold and with a final kill from Whaley assisted by Shaver, Southern Arkansas secured the victory against the Golden Suns.
 
The Muleriders are back in action next week as they are taking on the Cotton Blossoms from Arkansas Monticello on the road on Tuesday (Nov. 12) before they head back to Magnolia for one final home game and Senior Night on Thursday (Nov. 14).