Blossoms Finish 2-1 in Volleyball Classic

Staff Writer

Photo by Michael Thomas

Spike - Keri Gilbert, sophomore outside hitter, spikes against Belhaven.  The Blossoms played Sept. 20 in Steelman Fieldhouse.

   The Blossoms' volleyball team finished the weekend 2-1 in the University of Arkansas-Monticello Volleyball Classic.

   The Cotton Blossoms claimed the first victory in the renovated Steelman Fieldhouse Sept. 19 over Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, handling them 26-24, 25-18 and 25-18 in a shutout performance.

   Puerto Rico played Harding earlier and took the favored conference champs the distance in five sets, giving a new ray of hope to the Blossoms.

   “(Harding is) picked to win our conference, and they saw us beat (Puerto Rico) in three,” senior setter Maegan Martin said. “Now they know we are competition for them and not just easy walkovers.”

   Puerto Rico faced the Blossoms again the next day and put together three great sets, forcing a fifth set.

   “We had a disappointing loss against the Puerto Rican team because we had a 2-0 lead, and they came back to beat us three straight sets,” head coach Nicole Smith said.

   Blossoms still need to improve in areas before, Smith says, they are shoe-in for the championship.

   “We still need to improve on our passing,” Smith said. “If we can play games like we played games one and two against Puerto Rico, we are good.”

   Last week the Blossoms finished below .500 in the Harding Invitational, but look at the losses on ways to improve.

   “We definitely improved from last week 1-3 record, and we shouldn’t have let Puerto Rico come back and win,” sophomore setter Vikki Crisco said. “I feel really confident going into conference because we are beating the teams we need to beat in order to get ready for conference.”

   The Blossoms take the court again Tuesday, Sept. 23 against the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff for home-court advantage.  Conference play starts Thursday, Sept. 25 at Henderson State University; both games start at 7 p.m.

   Philander Smith and West Alabama will take on the Blossoms Sept. 26 at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively. Following up with Cameron Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. to conclude the week at Steelmans Fieldhouse.

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