MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Mulerider Volleyball is set to be back in action for home play as the unit will take on Ouachita Baptist for the first Great American Conference (GAC) play of the 2025 campaign. The two will be set to face off inside the W.T. Watson Center on Tuesday (Sep. 16) at 6:00 PM.
 
Series History
Last season, Southern Arkansas ended up being the only team in the GAC that the Tigers fell to twice. The Muleriders began the season sweeping with a win in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, 3-1, and followed it up by defeating OUA 3-2 in Magnolia. Between the two programs all-time, SAU leads the series 42-34.
 
A Look at OUA
The Tigers have started off hot in the new campaign, as the unit has begun their year at 7-1 with their only loss coming against the seventh-ranked Bronchos of Central Oklahoma, 3-0. Ouachita has yet to go to a fifth set this season, with the Tigers allowing no more than one set win to their opponents besides their one loss.
 
Most recently, OUA comes off their joint home challenge with Henderson State, in which the Tigers defeated Arkansas-Fort Smith (3-1), UT-Dallas (3-0), and Auburn-Montgomery (3-0).
 
Ouachita's top offensive player entering the week has been Leah Gardner, who has played and started in all eight matches. While Gardner doesn't lead the Tigers in kills, she does lead the GAC in attack percentage with 74 kills on 132 attacks and just 11 errors, producing a percentage of .477.
 
Defensively, the junior is also leading the Tigers in total blocks with 23.0 and has recorded 12 solos with 11 assists.
 
A Look at SAU
The Muleriders are coming off their first three wins of the new season, as the group collected victories against Central Baptist College (3-0), Bridgeport (3-0), and Lake Erie College (3-0). Overall, for the five-match week, Southern Arkansas went 3-2 and brought their overall record to 3-6.
 
Following that marathon of a week for the Blue and Gold, the Muleriders saw their first GAC weekly honor in over a year as senior libero Sadie Kabisch was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week after hitting the century mark for digs and recording 5.88 digs per set.
 
Leading the Muleriders in total kills this season has been Brinklee Dauenhauer. The captain is currently sitting at 85 kills with 276 total attacks and averages 2.74 kills per set. Right with Dauenhauer in kills has been the transfer, Claire Johnson. The junior from Colorado has recorded 78 kills thus far on 214 total attacks. She averages 2.69 kills per set and leads the Blue and Gold in attack percentage with at least 100 attacks (.210).
 
Broadcast Information
The game will be broadcast live on HudlTV with Jeff Harrington calling all the action. Click here for the Southern Arkansas University team site to watch all the action.
 
To buy tickets for the game against Ouachita Baptist, click here.
 
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