SAU Sports Information
The Southern Arkansas Lady Mulerider Volleyball team is set for their first action of the 2015 season as they are prepared to open up in Huntsville, Alabama, at the Hilton Garden Inn South UAH Volleyball Classic hosted by the University of Alabama-Huntsville.
The Lady Muleriders will play four matches in the span of 30 hours beginning with Stillman College (Ala.) at 11 a.m. today, followed by a 7 p.m. contest with host-UAH, who went 3-1 in matches with Great American Conference opponents last fall. SAU will then conclude the season-opening tournament on Saturday with a pair of matches beginning with an 11 a.m. tilt against Treveca Nazarene (Tenn.) before finishing the weekend against regional opponent William Jewell College (Mo.) at 3 p.m.
Southern Arkansas returns several key players from the 2014 campaign that saw the Lady Muleriders reach the Great American Conference Tournament for the fourth-consecutive year. Senior setter and 2014 GAC Volleyball Newcomer of the Year award winner Taylor Reaume returns after a junior year that produced 1,054 assists (4th in the GAC) and 234 digs.
Shelby Lauterbach enters her final year after a successful campaign as a junior where she finished with 184 kills and 264 digs for an average of 2.24 digs per set; the second highest total among returning Lady Muleriders. Hannah Rice enters her third year as a Lady Mulerider. In 2014, Rice led the Lady Muleriders and was fifth in the GAC with 552 digs; an average of 4.64/set.
Alli O’Banion returns for her sophomore year after posting a top-20 hitting percentage in the GAC as well as finishing seventh in the conference in blocks with 110, an average of .94/set, as a true freshman.
Allie Cecil and Emilie Aase join Reaume and Lauterbach as the only seniors on the 2015 team and look to add depth for SAU after playing in a combined 60 sets last fall.
Joining head coach Steven Gream’s squad for the 2015 campaign are six new faces that look to play big roles and offer added depth as Southern Arkansas looks to replace All-GAC and All-Central Region performer Amanda Monge.
Brittney Johnson, Serena LeDuff, Kaitlyn Reiner, Paige Mays and Gillian Newman all enter their first year for the Lady Muleriders after competing at the NJCAA level for the past two seasons. The newest recruiting class includes one junior college All-American, two All-Region performers and three All-Conference selections.Also looking to contribute this year is freshman Aarika Froehlich, who was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Phenom list as a high school prep star.