MONTICELLO, Ark. -  Arkansas-Monticello volleyball begins GAC play with a pair of matches on Tuesday, Sept. 24, and Thursday, Sept. 26. Tuesday's home game is against the Golden Suns of Arkansas Tech University, before traveling to Arkadelphia, Arkansas, to take on the Tigers of Ouachita Baptist University on Thursday.

"I'm really excited to see just how much our team has grown over the last year to go up against conference competition," said Head Coach Arlicia Ortiz. "We've been in the gym day in & day out since mid-August so it's exciting to finally start conference play. I look forward to seeing great competition that will test us, but I look forward even more to seeing how the girls continue to step up & rise to the occasion."

Below you will find important information regarding live coverage, tickets, game match-ups, and social media links to keep up with the game.

LIVE COVERAGE
Match 11:

• Live Stats Link
• Live Streaming Video

Match 12:

• Live Stats Link
• Live Streaming Video

• Social Media | X Accounts: @UAMsports & @UAMVolleyball |  All scoring information and in-game updates.

UAM TICKETS

• Tickets may be purchased on game day at the gate.
• General Admission - $5
• Children 12 and Under - Free
• Senior Adults 65 yrs and up - Free
• UAM Faculty and Staff - Free
• Click for more information on UAM ticketing

THE MATCHUP
MATCH 11: The University of Arkansas at Monticello Volleyball (4-6, 0-0) vs. Arkansas Tech University (6-6, 1-0) at Steelman Fieldhouse to start conference play for the GAC, first serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, Sept.  24. Tuesday's match up against the Golden Suns will be Weevil Pride Night inside Steelman, with all fans encouraged to wear their UAM Pride.

MATCH 12:  The University of Arkansas at Monticello Volleyball (4-6, 0-0) vs. Ouachita Baptist (8-4, 0-1) at Sturgis Physical Education Center, Thursday, Sept. 26, first serve scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

LAST MEETING
Arkansas Tech University: Both teams won at home in 2023, with the Golden Suns winning match one on Sept. 12, (25-18, 25-14, 25-20). UAM flipped the script on Arkansas Tech on Nov. 6 when they won at Steelman Fieldhouse, 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-14, 25-19). 

Ouachita Baptist University: The Tigers won both match-ups in 2023, taking the Sept. 19 match, 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-15), at home, before traveling to Monticello and taking the Oct. 26 contest, 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-12).

All-TIME SERIES
Arkansas Tech University: Tuesday evening's game will be the 42nd meeting between the Golden Suns and the Blossoms. The Golden Suns currently lead the series 33-8, dating back to 2005. Inside Steelman Fieldhouse, UAM is 6-13 against Arkansas Tech, while they are 2-18 on the road. Throughout all matches played, only two have resulted in a five-set match, with the Blossoms winning both. In the final meeting of the 2023 season, against Arkansas Tech (Monday, Nov. 6), UAM won 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-14, 25-19). The Blossoms led offensively, with sophomore Jasmine Welton recording a match-high 10 kills on 24 swings (.250 attack percentage), while setters Bruna Silva and Jordan Wehr assisted in 18 attacks each.

Ouachita Baptist University: Heading into Thursday evening's match, the Tigers lead the all-time series 29-10, including a record of 15-3 in Arkadelphia, dating back to 2005. Last season, the Tigers defeated the Blossoms 3-1 (21-25, 15-25, 25-23, 18-25) inside Sturgis Physical Education Center (Tuesday, Sept. 19). Outside hitter Jasmine Welton led UAM offensively with 10 kills and seven digs while junior Bruna Silva assisted in 11 attacks. 

LAST TIME OUT

• UAM went 0-3 last week, beginning with a loss to Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-27, 14-25), on Tuesday, Sept. 17, followed by a 3-1 (18-25, 21-25, 25-20, 20-25) loss to William Jewell, and a 3-1 (14-25, 25-20, 20-25, 19-25) loss to Union University on Friday, Sept. 20.   
• Junior Mia Smalls eclipsed 1,325 all-time career assists in Tuesday's match, placing her in the Blossoms' Top-5 for All-Time Career Assists for a Blossom with 1,334.
• Natalie White lead the week with 40 kills.

BLOSSOMS BY THE NUMBERS

• Arkansas-Monticello is averaging 15.64 digs, 11.33 kills, 10.54 assists, 1.67 blocks, and 1.56 service aces per set through ten matches this season.
• Middle Blocker Abrielle Jordan leads the GAC in hitting percentage (1.67) with 53 kills on 122 total attempts through 34 sets played.
• Junior Mia Smalls ranks ninth in total assists with 254 through 39 sets played (6.51%)
• Outside Hitter Natalie White ranks second in points with 156.5 on 139 kills in ten matches, averaging 4.01% per set.

MATCH RECAPS
After the conclusion of each game, Blossoms Volleyball will have a release posted to uamsports.com, which will give a recap of the match. They can be found on the schedule page as a clickable link after the end of each game, or on UAM Sports social media accounts.

UAM CLEAR BAG POLICY
As a reminder, UAM has a clear bag policy for all on-campus athletic events. Please refer to the graphic below for clarification.



How to Follow UAM Volleyball
Keep up with the Blossoms on the team's social media accounts!
- Instagram
- X (Formely Twitter)
- Facebook

Keep up with all UAM sports on Instagram, Facebook, and X by searching UAM Sports. Don't forget to subscribe to the UAM Sports Youtube channel.

All UAM Athletic social media pages can be found at uamsports.com in the Social Media Directory.

#UAMVolleyball | #BlossomNation