MEMPHIS, TN --- Led by a match-high 14 kills by both Katherine Taju (Sr., Panama City, Panama) and Amanda Sayre (Sr., Del City, Okla.), the University of Arkansas at Monticello Cotton Blossoms 11-6, 3-2 GSC) swept to a 3-0 victory over the Christian Brothers University Lady Buccaneers.

The Blossoms won the opening games 30-22 and 30-28, before falling behind 20-11 in the third game. However, the Blossoms rallied, outscoring CBU 19-5 down the stretch to take the third and decisive game 30-25. 

UAM outhit CBU .192 to .195 for the match.

Nicole Ferguson (Fr., Brentwood, Tenn.) added ten kills in the win. Maegan Martin (So., Burnet, Texas) dished out 45 assists while Taju added 13 digs and Amie Kronk (Sr., San Antonio, Texas) added 11.

The Cotton Blossoms will return to action on Tuesday, October 3, as they host Southern Arkansas at Steelman Fieldhouse. The match begins at 7 p.m.
 

MONTICELLO --- The University of Arkansas at Monticello Cotton Blossoms (10-6, 2-2 GSC) outhit the Ouachita Baptist University Tigers (9-8, 1-2 GSC) .325 to .050 as the Blossoms swept to a 3-0 victory on Thursday at Steelman Fieldhouse.

The Blossoms opened the game with a 30-16 victory before winning a close 30-25 decision in game two, then started game three on a 22-4 run before finishing with a 30-11 victory in the third and decisive game.

Katherine Taju (Sr., Panama City, Panama) led the Blossoms with 14 kills, while Kameshia Melton (Jr., Grapevine, Texas), Amanda Sayre (Sr., Del City, Okla.), and Nicole Ferguson (Fr., Brentwood, Tennessee all had ten.

Maegan Martin (So., Burnet, Texas) dished out 38 assists, while Amie Kronk (Sr., San Antonio, Texas) added 17 digs and Taju added 13.

Ferguson posted a .625 hitting percentage to set a new UAM record, breaking the record set by Katy Stoneking in 2005 against Central Arkansas.

The Cotton Blossoms will return to action Saturday, September 30, as they travel to Memphis to face Christian Brothers. The match is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 

ARKADELPHIA, AR --- The University of Arkansas at Monticello Cotton Blossoms (9-5, 1-1 GSC) dropped a 3-2 decision to the Henderson State University Lady Reddies (12-4, 2-0 GSC) on Thursday night in Arkadelphia. The win was Henderson State’s 11^th consecutive and HSU head coach Rhonda Thigpen’s 400^th career victory.

The Blossoms started out with a 30-28 win in the first game, but the Lady Reddies tied the match with a 30-28 victory of their own in the second game. The two teams fought to a 33-31 decision in the third game in favor of Henderson State, but the Blossoms came back strong to tie the match with a 30-18 victory in the fourth game.

In the fifth game, with HSU holding a 6-5 lead, the Lady Reddies went on a hot streak to close the match, finishing on a 9-1 run to seal the victory.

Amanda Sayre (Sr., Del City, Okla.) led the Blossoms with 23 kills, while Katherine Taju (Sr., Panama City, Panama) added 20 and Kameshia Melton (Jr., Grapevine, Texas) added 15.

Maegan Martin (So., Burnet, Texas) dished out 58 assists, while Amie Kronk (Sr., San Antonio, Texas) led UAM with 23 digs. Taju (19), Martin (17), and Sayre (13) also finished with double-digit digs.

HSU outhit the Blossoms .220 to .178 for the match.

The Cotton Blossoms return to action on Tuesday, September 19, as they travel to Searcy to face Harding. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 

MONTICELLO --- Katherine Taju (Sr., Panama City, Panama) posted 19 kills and Amanda Sayre (Sr., Del City, Okla.) posted 15 as the University of Arkansas at Monticello Cotton Blossoms (9-4, 1-0 GSC) posted a 3-1 victory over the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns (10-6) on Tuesday night at Steelman Fieldhouse.

The Blossoms opened the match with a 30-23 victory in the opening game, but the Golden Suns tied the match 1-1 with a 30-28 victory in game two; but the Blossoms pulled away for the win with a 30-24 decision in the third game and a 30-15 victory in the fourth and deciding game.

Kameshia Melton (Jr., Grapevine, Texas) and Nicole Ferguson (Fr., Brentwood, Tenn.) both posted double-digit kills, as Melton posted 13 kills and Ferguson added ten. Maegan Martin (So., Burnet, Texas) dished out 50 assists, while Sayre led the Blossoms with 19 digs, Taju and Amie Kronk (Sr., San Antonio, Texas) notched 17 digs, and Martin added ten.

The Cotton Blossoms return to action on Thursday, September 14, as they travel to Henderson State to face the Lady Reddies. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 

PENSACOLA, FL  --- The University of Arkansas at Monticello Cotton Blossoms volleyball team (8-4) posted a 2-2 record at the Argonaut Regional Crossover hosted by the University of West Florida.

The Blossoms opened play on Friday, topping Montevallo 3-1 in the opener and then falling 3-2 to #10 Central Missouri State, before picking up a 3-1 win over Missouri Western in Saturday’s opener before dropping their finale 3-2 to Southwest Baptist.

Katherine Taju (Sr., Panama City, Panama) was named to the All-Tournament team after posting 20 kills against Southwest Baptist, 22 kills against Montevallo, and 23 kills against Missouri Western. 

KINGSVILLE, TX --- The University of Arkansas at Monticello Cotton Blossoms (6-2) picked up a pair of victories on the final day of the Texas A&M-Kingsville Invitational, topping Trinity 3-2 and then sweeping past tournament host Texas A&M-Kingsville 3-0 in the day’s finale.

Katherine Taju (Sr., Panama City, Panama) tied the UAM record for kills in a match with 32 in the victory over Trinity. After dropping the opening game 30-21, the Blossoms picked up 30-20 and 30-21 wins in the second and third games, before falling 30-27 in the fourth game. The Blossoms sealed the win with a 15-12 win in the fifth and final game.

Taju’s 32 kills led all players, while Amanda Sayre (Sr., Del City, Okla.) added 15, Kameshia Melton (Jr., Grapevine, Texas) added 13, and Sara Kindred (Fr., Frisco, Texas) added 11. Maegan Martin (So., Burnet, Texas) dished out 65 assists, tying her own UAM record, while Sayre picked up 30 digs, Taju added 23, Amie Kronk (Sr., San Antonio, Texas) added 22, and both Martin and Kara Simnacher (Fr., Victoria, Texas) picked up 11.

Martin added eight service aces with no service errors. UAM out-hit Trinity .217 to .181 for the match.

The Blossoms picked up victories of 30-15, 30-26, and 30-24 over the Javelinas, and were led by Sayre’s 11 kills, while Melton added 11.

Martin dished out 35 assists, while Sayre picked up ten digs.   

The Cotton Blossoms return to action September 9 and 10, as they travel to Pensacola, Florida to compete in a regional crossover tournament hosted by the University of West Florida.
 

KINGSVILLE, TX --- The University of Arkansas at Monticello Cotton Blossoms (4-2) picked up a split on the opening day of the Texas A&M-Kingsville Invitational, topping Texas-Brownsville 3-0 in the opener and then dropping a 3-1 decision to Texas A&M-International in the nightcap.

The Blossoms swept the opener over UTB 30-27, 30-17, and 30-27 behind a 16-kill performance from Katherine Taju (Sr., Panama City, Panama). Both Kameshia Melton (Jr., Grapevine, Texas) and Amanda Sayre (Sr., Del City, Okla) picked up 13 kills apiece in the win.

Maegan Martin (So., Burnet, Texas) dished out 41 assists, while Sayre had 14 digs, Amie Kronk (Sr., San Antonio, Texas) added 12, and Martin added 10.

Martin hit .455 for the match, while Melton hit .407 and Sayre hit .385, as UAM outhit the Scorpions .299-.118, including a game-high .531 hitting percentage in game two.

In the nightcap, the Blossoms opened the contest with a 30-22 victory, but TAMIU tied the match with a 30-23 victory in the second game. The two teams battled to a 32-30 TAMIU victory in the third game, and the Dustdevils won the fourth and decisive game 30-20.

Taju and Sayre led all players with 18 kills, while Martin dished out 47 assists. Taju posted a match-high 17 digs while Martin (13), Sayre (12), and Kronk (11) all added double-digit digs.

The Blossoms return to action on Saturday, facing Trinity and Texas A&M-Kingsville on the final day of the TAMUK Invitational. The first match is scheduled for 9 a.m.