MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Mulerider Volleyball is back inside the W.T. Watson Center this week as the unit is set to face in-state foe Central Baptist College for the 2025 home opener on Tuesday (Sept. 9) evening at 6:00 PM. The Blue and Gold look to make a turnaround in a big way after the squad's opening weekend of competition in Pittsburg, Kansas, at the 2025 Gorilla Classic.
 
Southern Arkansas comes off its first four matches of the still-fresh campaign, as the Muleriders fell in all four matches while in the Sunflower State. SAU seeks to gain some momentum with its home-opening match against the Mustangs before the group prepares for a trip to the Lone Star State for the Javelina Volleyball Classic, which is put on by Texas A&M-Kingsville.
 
A Look at SAU
After the trip to Kansas, the Muleriders saw quite the production out of transfer Claire Johnson, as the junior was recently named to the 2025 Gorilla Classic All-Tournament Team for SAU. The native of Fowler, Colorado, wrapped up the invitational with 38 kills on 111 attacks and finished the weekend with an attack percentage of .189. Johnson was also responsible for 4 total blocks (all assists). For the weekend, the Centennial State native played in all four matches and started in three, accounting for 40.0 points, the second-most on the team.
 
Leading the Muleriders in points for the weekend was one of the two captains for the Blue and Gold, Brinklee Dauenhauer. The Lone Star native collected 42.0 total points on the weekend, with 39 kills, 4 block assists, and a service ace.
 
Once again ranking high in the Great American Conference for digs is Sadie Kabisch, as the Muleriders' other captain is currently ranked third in the league for her total digs of 84 and her digs per set of 5.60. For both stats, the Henrietta, Texas native ranks 18^th in DII.
 
A Look at CBC
The Mustangs enter Magnolia with a 1-6 start in 2025, as the group started their season with a victory over Missouri Valley (3-0) and have dropped their last six matches to Grand View, Central Methodist, William Woods, Ozarks, and Tougaloo.
 
Central Baptist's top attacker has been sophomore outside hitter, Lakyn Johnson. The sophomore leads the Mustangs in attack percentage, as Johnson has accounted for 43 kills on 120 attacks with just 14 errors. With that, Johnson's attack percentage comes out to .242, a team-best with at least 50 attacks.
 
CBC also houses a pair with 50+ kills each in freshman Avary Smith and sophomore Aubree Ruggles. Smith leads the team in kills thus far with 58, but has also collected 39 errors over the course of her 206 attacks (.092). Ruggles sits just one kill behind Smith at 57 with 30 errors on 142 attacks (.190).
 
Broadcast Information
The game will be broadcast live on HudlTV with Connor 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 Central Baptist, click here.
 
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