MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Mulerider Volleyball (1-3) is set for another weekend of tournament action, as Southern Arkansas will head out to Denton, Texas, for matches on Friday and Saturday. The Blue and Gold are scheduled to compete in the Denton Volleyfest, which is being put on by Texas Woman's University. The Muleriders will get the weekend started at 9:00 AM on Friday (Sept. 4) with the unit playing the University of Texas at Dallas, followed by a 7:00 PM match with Stanislaus State that day. On Saturday (Sept. 5), Southern Arkansas takes on the tournament host, Texas Woman's University, at 11:30 AM before taking on familiar foe No. 15 Central Oklahoma at 3:30 PM.
 
SAU Players to Watch
Offensively, the Muleriders have been led by freshman Peighton Killeen of Flagstaff, Arizona. The Grand Canyon State native leads the unit in kills, with 38 up to this point. For points, the squad is led by senior Brinklee Dauenhauer, as the Springtown, Texas native leads with 41.0 points thanks to her 35 kills and six service aces (team high).
 
Leading the unit in assists thus far has been senior Hayden Pinard. The native of Roseburg, Oregon leads the Blue and Gold with her 75 assists, but ties for the lead in assists per set at 5.36 with sophomore Kate Schofield (55 assists).
 
Defensively, Southern Arkansas has been led by senior libero Kendall Toliver in digs. The native of Wichita Falls, Texas, leads the group with her 66 digs after last weekend, and averages 4.71 digs per set. At the net, the Muleriders are led in blocks by Courtnee Morgan, as the junior from Lufkin, Texas has tallied 15.0 blocks with nine solos and six assists. Currently, her average of 1.15 blocks per set leads the Great American Conference.
 
UT-Dallas (9/4 | 9:00 AM)
The Comets come into the weekend 2-1 after competing in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, last weekend in the Bettye Wallace Invitational hosted by Henderson State. In the tournament, the Comets defeated Arkansas-Fort Smith 3-0 and Henderson State 3-1, but took their lone loss to Augustana 0-3.
 
Leading UTD's scoring efforts is Jane Burkhardt with 33.0 points, 30 kills, two assisted blocks, and two service aces. She currently averages three kills per set and has been a fierce attacker thus far. She has already accumulated 117 attacks over three games and ranks third in the Lone Star Conference for attacks per set with 11.70.
 
Assists have been split between two Comets, with Scarlette Young leading with her 59 assists, while Abby Gentner has tallied 43. Both setters are tied with Avery Gray for the second-most service aces on the team with three.
 
Much like assists, receptions have been split amongst the group, as Avery Gray leads the group with 48 digs and 4.80 digs per set, followed by 43 digs from Mari Hernandez. Multiple Comets have been impressive at the net, with the group being led by Laura Sea with 10.0 blocks.
 
Stanislaus State (9/4 | 7:00 PM)
The Warriors come off a 2-1 start after taking part in the Sunbird Classic in Fresno, California. The unit won matches over Western Oregon 3-1 and Jessup University (Calif.) 3-0, with the group also taking their one loss to Hawaii Hilo 1-3.
 
Sydney Hoffman leads the unit in points so far, as the junior has accumulated 30.5 points thus far with 2.77 points per set. Hoffman is second on the team in kills, as Lauren Gonzalez leads the group in that category with 23 and 2.09 points per game.
 
Assisting with the offense, Reagan Wilkerson leads the group in assists with 61 and averages 5.55 per set. Right behind her is Ireland Avalos with 46 assists and 4.60 per set.
 
Not one person sticks out as the dig leader for the Warriors, but leading Stanislaus State is Leah Mendoza with 35 digs, followed by Lauren Gonzalez with 31.
 
The scoring leader for the Warriors is also the group's top blocker, as Sydney Hoffman leads with 9.0 blocks.
 
Texas Woman's (9/5 | 11:00 AM)
The Pioneers return back to the mainland, as the unit comes off an 0-4 start to the new season, in which the group competed in the Seawolf Invitational in Anchorage, Alaska. At the invitational, TWU faced three teams that were either ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA poll. Their matches consisted of RV Lenoir-Rhyne (L, 1-3), RV Alaska-Anchorage (L, 1-3), #16 Alaska-Fairbanks (L, 2-3), and Chico State (L, 0-3).
 
Texas Woman's offense is currently led by Mary Grace King, tallying 61.5 points and recording 3.84 per set. She also leads the unit in kills with 54, which ranks third in the Lone Star Conference. Her 193 attacks are currently ranked second in the conference and eighth nationally.
 
The Pioneers' offense is orchestrated by Lorena Gomez, who has tallied 128 assists, ranking sixth in the LSC. She is currently averaging 8.00 assists per set.
 
While Gomez is also second on the team in digs with 51, Alyssa Rojo leads the unit in digs with 86, also averaging 5.38 per set. Her total digs currently rank first in the LSC and eighth nationally.
 
The squad has been impressive at the net, as TWU has three players with double-digit blocks; those consist of Montserrat Soto-Talavera (21.0), Trinity Blackwood (14.0), and Charlise Smith (10.0).
 
#15 UCO (9/5 | 3:15 PM)
The Bronchos are back on the Muleriders' schedule for the second-straight weekend, as Central Oklahoma enters the weekend off a midweek loss at RV Oklahoma Baptist (0-3). Prior to that midweek match, Central Oklahoma was in Magnolia for the Mulerider Volleyball Invitational, in which the Bronchos finished with a 3-1 record, making them 3-2 now.
 
Five matches in, the Bronchos are led in scoring by Kate Wells and Georgia Ahlert with 57.5 points each. Ahlert leads the Chos in kills with 47, while Wells leads the group in blocks with 21.0.
 
For assists, Central Oklahoma is led by Riley Roberts with 119 assists. She is also followed by Taylor Nielson with 68 assists.
 
Returning All-American libero Kaitlyn Parrott leads UCO in digs, as the senior has accounted for 92 up to this point, playing in all but one match this season.
 
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