MONTICELLO –  First-year head volleyball coach for the University of Arkansas at Monticello Peter Cruz is pleased with his team’s efforts despite an 0-4 start to the 2012 season. The Cotton Blossoms are back in action this weekend with a trip to Russellville for the Arkansas Tech/Hampton Inn Spikefest.

Talking about his team’s performance at the Texas Woman’s Holiday Inn Express Classic last weekend, Cruz noted that the team “didn’t compete as well as I think we should have on the first day, but we turned it around the second day… We are a lot closer to solidifying a lineup.”

The Cotton Blossoms face McKendree, Central Oklahoma and Lindenwood this weekend in addition to getting their first look at defending Great American Conference champion Arkansas Tech.

“Our players are excited about this weekend,” said Cruz. “We feel we are getting closer to being able to compete with teams like Tech… I really feel we are close to the level we need to be, which is a great feeling to have this early in the season.”

Cruz visited with uamsports.com on Thursday to discuss his team’s performance in at the TWU tournament last weekend and what to expect this weekend in the ATU Spikefest. To watch the full interview, visit the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVPhnXk2XnE&feature=youtu.be. The video is also available at uamsports.com.

The Arkansas Tech Athletics Department will provide live statistics and live streaming video of all matches this weekend through the tournament home page at http://athletics.atu.edu. UAM opens play in the event on Friday against McKendree at 2 p.m. inside Tucker Coliseum and later plays host Arkansas Tech at 7 p.m. in a non-conference matchup.