UAM VOLLEYBALL WINS HOME OPENER
MONTICELLO, Ark. – The UAM volleyball team defeated Mississippi College in 5 sets during their first home game at the Steelman Field House on Tuesday night. The defense set the tone for UAM as the Blossoms registered more than 100 digs and 11 total blocks in order to take down the Choctaws and move to 2-3 on the season.
The Blossoms opened the first set with a lead before the two teams traded points leading to six ties. A big run by the Choctaws put UAM behind late in the set before the Blossoms were able to make a push cutting that ultimately came up short as UAM dropped the first set 25-18.
After falling behind in the second set UAM managed to rally with a 9-5 run that put the Blossoms up 21-17. Mississippi College responded with a rally of its own to retake the lead 24-22, but the Blossoms would not go quietly. UAM tied the score at 24 after back-to-back kills by Mikaela Brown before finishing off the set with the final two points to win 26-24.
The third set went back-and-forth early until the rattled off a 6-2 run to hold the advantage 11-7. UAM battled to make a comeback, but could not overcome the deficit ultimately falling 25-15 in the third set.
An impressive run of 10-straight points in the fourth set helped the Blossoms overcome another early deficit and take a stronghold of the fourth set with a 17-12 advantage. UAM managed to keep the Choctaws at arms length to close out the set 25-21 and take the match to a decisive fifth set.
UAM took control from the start of the final set jumping out to a 7-3 lead highlighted by a pair of kills by Tori Hamilton and Riley Krenek. The Blossoms tallied nine kills in the set to win convincingly 15-7 and claim the match victory.
Having a crowd back in the stands helped spark UAM offensively leading to excellent plays from hitters Krenek and Hamilton who finished with 14 and 10 kills, respectively.
Kalin Duncan dished the ball to her teammates efficiently on offense finishing with 41 assists while adding four solo blocks on defense.
Katelyn Richbourg led the team defensively with 29 digs while Taylor Crighton and Kenzi Thornton followed 15 digs each. The Blossoms added three other players who tallied double-digit digs to slow down the offensive attack of Mississippi College.
UP NEXT
UAM travels to Nashville, Tennessee for the Ray Thrasher Memorial Tournament hosted by Trevecca Nazarene on Friday and Saturday. The Blossoms will open the tournament with a pair of matches Friday against Fisk University at 9 a.m. and Christian Brothers University at 5 p.m.
