JACKSON, Tenn. – The University of Arkansas at Monticello volleyball team closed out day 1 of the Union University Volleyball Invitational. The Blossoms played just three sets in the first match, falling to Mississippi College, and were taken down by tournament host Union University in three sets to close out the season openers.
UAM closes out the first day of the 2022 volleyball campaign 0-2 after losing its two matches on Friday.
Match 1
The opening set with Mississippi College began with a 4-0 rally from the Choctaws to take an early lead. The Blossoms were resilient, fighting their way back to an 11-9 lead as the match began. MC found a second gear, regaining the lead over UAM after an 11-1 rally when it mattered most. The set would come to and end with a 25-15 loss.
In the second set UAM struggled to find some momentum as Mississippi College jumped to an early 7-1 lead. The Blossoms began to find their stride, grabbing a few rallies of their own before going point for point with the Choctaws throughout a majority of the match. Though they were able to bring the score back to a 20-17 game, UAM was unable to find the points they needed and eventually lost the set 25-18.
The third set began with a different momentum. Both Mississippi College and Arkansas-Monticello went back and forth to a 6-6 score. The Choctaws began to pull away, outscoring UAM 7-2 to take a 13-8 lead. The match went on and the blossoms tried to keep up with the lions. UAM went on an 4-1 run as a last effort to bring the game back to one point, but MC would score the final point and close out the match 25-23.
Riley Krenek lead the Blossoms in kills with 8.
Mia Smalls contributed 19 assists in the match.
Defensively, the Blossoms were lead by Stasha Adams, Kalin Duncan, and Jamie Agnew, who each had 8, 7, and 7 digs.
Match 2
In the second match of the day UAM battled the tournament host, Union University, coming out with a loss in three sets.
The Bulldogs were the first team to score and put a foot down on the gas as they took an early 6-1 lead. UAM struggled to keep up with the momentum of the Union University team. There fight did not pay off as they would fall in set 1, 25-13
Set two began in very similar position to the first as UU jumped out to an early 9-1 advantage. The set continued with a dominant performance from the opposing squad. In the end, UAM was unable to hold off the Bulldogs, dropping the second set 25-10.
The third set was a stronger performance from the Monticello team, but the Blossoms were unable to stop the Union offense. The final set would end with a 25-17 score to finish the match.
Offensively, Jamie Agnew lead the Blossoms in kills with 6.
Kalin Duncan led the team in the assist category again dishing out 14.
On defense, Stasha Adams tallied another 11 digs to lead the team.
UP NEXT
UAM returns to the court on Saturday, August 27 for day 2 of the Union University Invitational Tournament. The team takes on Belmont Abbey College at 11 a.m. for game 1 and Texas Women’s University at 5:30 p.m. for their final game of the tournament.
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