MONTICELLO – The University of Arkansas at Monticello volleyball team swept Southern Arkansas Tuesday night to secure its seventh Gulf South Conference win of the 2009 campaign, breaking a team record for conference wins in a season.
 
Final game scores were 25-14, 25-12 and 25-22. With the win, UAM improves to 13-15 overall and 7-2 in the GSC-West, while SAU drops to 1-30 overall and 0-10 in the GSC-West.
 
This year’s seven conference wins breaks the record set by the 2006 Cotton Blossoms, which won six conference contests en route to the school’s first ever appearance in the GSC Championship Tournament.
 
In the win over SAU, senior Nicole Ferguson led all players in the match with a total of 11 kills on 15 attempts with only two errors for a match-high .600 hitting percentage. The Brentwood, Tenn. native also added five set assists, eight digs and three blocks to her totals.
 
Senior Mallory Storm and junior Dayna Moyer also had productive matches, both recording eight kills. Storm finished with a .333 hitting percentage, while Moyer had a .294 percentage.
 
As a team, UAM out-hit SAU by a considerable margin. UAM had 39 kills on 93 attempts with 15 errors for a final .258 percentage, while SAU struggled with 25 kills on 97 attempts with 21 errors for a final .041 percentage.
 
UAM holds tight to its second place standing in the GSC-West as Harding swept Christian Brothers on Tuesday to remain in first place. The Cotton Blossoms step out of GSC play this weekend for a three-game home stand, starting Saturday, October 31 with an 11 a.m. match against Philander Smith, followed by a 1 p.m. contest against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Both matches are a part of UAM’s “Dig for a Cure” event, intended to support awareness and raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. For more information call UAM assistant coach Karla White at (870) 460-1504 or click here.