Alva, Okla. - The UAM Volleyball team (4-12, 0-6 GAC) dropped a heartbreaking match to the Rangers of Northwestern Oklahoma State University (10-7, 4-2 GAC) by a final score of 3-2 (25-21, 25-17, 20-25, 16-25, 18-20) Thursday night at the Percefull Fieldhouse.
The Blossoms were held to a .169 hitting percentage on 65 kills, alongside 5 aces, 11 blocks, and 81 digs.
Jasmine Welton and
Holiday Ellis led the Blossoms with 18 kills each.
Abrielle Jordan followed with 11 herself.
Mia Smalls assisted on 17 attacks, followed by
Jordan Wehr with 17.
Holiday Ellis also recorded 18 digs, with
Licia Echevarria recording 15.
The Blossoms outmatched the Rangers 65-58 on kills, 63-55 on assists, and 81-67 on digs. UAM also set a new season high on assists with 63 and kills with 65, while multiple Blossoms set new season and career record highs.
FIRST SET (UAM 25-21, UAM leads 1-0)
The Rangers were the first on the board, taking an early 6-3 lead. The Blossoms quickly responded to take the lead for the first time in the set, 8-7. After scoring four unanswered points, NWOSU would take the lead from the UAM, 11-8. UAM scored four unanswered points of their own to make the set, 15-13. With the score even, 20-20, the Blossoms allowed the Rangers only one more point before taking the set 25-21.
SECOND SET (UAM 25-17, UAM leads 2-0)
NWOSU was once again on the board first, 1-0, however, the Blossoms took the scoreboard quickly 2-1. Unlike the first set, both sides of the net kept the score within one point, until tied 12-12. A service error from the Rangers helped the Blossoms dominate, with a match-high seven unanswered points, 19-12. UAM only allowed five more points for NWOSU, 17-24, with a final kill from
Abrielle Jordan ending the set 25-17.
THIRD SET ( 25-20 NWOSU, UAM leads 2-1)
Looking to win set three and sweep for the first time, the Blossoms took a 4-3 lead early. The Rangers would not go out quietly, taking full control of the set 7-12, in part to three errors from UAM. Arkansas-Monticello cut the score to 13-15, but the Rangers would again pull away, 16-19. NWOSU outscored the Blossoms, 6-4, to win, 25-20.
FOURTH SET (25-16 NWOSU, Match Tied 2-2)
Northwestern Oklahoma proved they would want a winner-take-all all-set five when they led the scoreboard 7-1 early. Down 8-18, the Blossoms would start a rally off a kill by
Evalyn Dang, scoring six straight to cut the lead to just four, 14-18. The rally would stop there as the Rangers would only allow two points to their seven, as they took set four 25-16.
FIFTH SET (20-18 NWOSU, NWOSU wins 3-2)
In a winner-take-all set five, the Rangers led early 5-3, before the Blossoms tied it 6-6. The Blossoms found themselves down by two, 8-10, but scored four points on five serves to take the lead 12-11. The Blossoms saw the Rangers lead 12-13, but managed to tie it up, 14-14, pushing the set past the needed 15. The remainder of the match proved to be a fighting defense vs offense, as the set was tied four times, before tied 18-18. The chance for the Blossoms' first GAC win came to a devastating close, with a kill and a service ace from the Rangers, ending the set 18-20.
GAME NOTES
- This evening's match was the 12th meeting between the Blossoms and Rangers.
- The Blossoms recorded a new team-high of 65 kills and 63 assists for the season.
- Jasmine Welton set a new season high with 18 kills.
- Jalen Scroggins set a new season high with six kills.
- Abrielle Jordan set a new season high with nine digs, falling one short of her first double-double (11 kills) of the year.
- Licia Echevarria set a new career high on assists with six.
- Holiday Ellis recorded her second double-double on the year with 18 kills and 18 digs, both also new season highs.
- With 14 digs and 17 assists Jordan Wehr recorded her fourth double-double of the year.
FROM HEAD COACH ARLICIA ORTIZ
"I'm really proud of how we started & I'm really proud of how we finished. I'm going to bypass the third & fourth sets, but the first, second & fifth were really, really special. I feel like we just shook things up a bit. We have another game tomorrow that we have to recover for mentally & physically & build off of tonight."
UP NEXT
The Blossoms return to the court tomorrow Friday, Oct. 11 as they take on the Bulldogs of Southwestern Oklahoma State University. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. from the Pioneer Event Center in Weatherford, Oklahoma.
Links to both live stream and live stats are available as clickable links on the
2024 UAM Volleyball Schedule at uamports.com.
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