AUSTIN, Tex. - UAM volleyball opened its 2024 season at the Hilltopper Classic, hosted by St. Edward's University. The Blossoms dropped both matches on day one, losing game one, 3-0, to the tournament host, followed by a 3-0 loss to the University of Illinois Springfield.

Game 1 - St. Edward's University
The opening set began with the Blossoms taking a quick 3-1 lead. The Hilltoppers were quick to respond, scoring 13 points over the next 17 serves. Trailing 14-7, UAM rallied, outscoring St.Edwards 15-9 to bring the score within one at 25-24. Set one, however, came to a close with SEU holding off the Blossoms to win 27-25.

Set two started off with the Hilltoppers scoring two points early. Arkansas-Monticello would pull ahead to tie the set 7-7, attributing from a strong defense and multiple errors from SEU. After killing the next serve from UAM, St. Edwards never looked back, only allowing four more points for the Blossoms, for a final score of 25-11.

The third and final set proved to be a much more evenly matched attack from both teams. Through seven serves SEU would take a 4-3 lead. The Blossoms however scored four straight, with kills from Jasmine Welton and Natalie White, to bring the set to 7-4 in favor of UAM. Following three more lead changes, St.Edwards took control and ultimately ended the set with a 25-20 score, and a Blossom 3-0 loss.

Natalie White led the Blossoms in kills with 11, with Mia Smalls assisting in 14 throughout the match.

Defensively, the Blossoms led in blocks with six and combined for 28 digs.

GAME ONE NOTES

• This was the first match up between the Blossoms and Hilltoppers since 2009.
• This was the first official game as a NCAA D2 Head Coach for Arlicia Ortiz.
• 19 of UAM's 22 members saw the court in the first match-up of the year.
• Mia Smalls increases her career assist to 1,135.
• Natalie White's 11 kills were the most in a match in her career.

Game 2 - Illinois Springfield
The opening set began with the Prairie Stars of Illinois Springfield taking a quick 8-5 lead, but two kills and a bad set from UIS resulted in the Blossoms tying the game at 8-8. UIS responded with four points to push them into a 14-10 advantage. The Prairie Stars controlled the remainder of the set, sealing the deal with another 4-0 rally, to win 25-17.

In set two UIS was out of the gate early with a 3-1 lead, UAM responded with three straight points, due in part to errors by the Prairie Stars, making the score 9-7. Arkansas-Monticello and Illinois Springfield exchanged the lead twice, with the Blossoms taking a 15-14 advantage. The Prairie Stars saw nine consecutive points, gaining a 23-15 lead against the Blossoms, before winning the set 25-18. Set two featured, nine draws, and four lead changes, between the Blossoms and Prairie Stars.

In the third and final set, the Blossoms fell behind the Prairie Dogs, 12-5, early. UAM climbed back to a four-point deficit, 18-14, but saw their offense shut down to only three points throughout the remainder of the set. UIS won the set, 15-18, and the match, 3-0.

Valeria Velez led the Blossoms with 8 kills in the match.

Mia Smalls provided 24 assists in game two. Combined with the 14 assists in match one, she totaled 38 on the day.

Defensively, the Blossoms had five blocks in the match and were led by Jordan Wehr, who had 10 digs.

From Head Coach Arlicia Ortiz
"Today's games included some uncharacteristic errors that proved critical in the long run. We hope to minimize those moving forward in order to utilize the offensive talent that we have on the roster."
 

GAME TWO NOTES

• This was the second meeting with the Prairie Stars - the last match was in 2023
• Mia Smalls increases her career assist to 1,159.
• Set two featured, nine tied scores, and four lead changes, between the Blossoms and Prairie Stars.

UP NEXT
Arkansas-Monticello is back on the court tomorrow, Sept. 7, to continue play in the 2024 St. Edwards Hilltopper Classic. The Blossoms will take on Purdue University Northwest at 9:00 a.m., followed by a fourth, and final, game of the weekend against Newman University at 4:30 p.m.

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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