RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech Golden Suns will look to bounce back from their first Great American Conference loss with a contest against the Arkansas-Monticello Cotton Blossoms on Thursday. The match is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Monticello.
 
The Golden Suns (8-7, 3-1 GAC) suffered their first conference loss of the season to Henderson State on Tuesday, after starting 3-0 with wins over Southern Arkansas, Harding and Ouachita. Tech currently sits tied for second in the GAC standings but is ranked first in kills, assists and opponent hitting percentage in conference matches. Lauren Rodemers has moved up to fourth in the GAC with a .356 hitting percentage in GAC play, while Hunter Eshnaur leads the conference with 4.36 kills per set.
 
Arkansas-Monticello (3-11, 1-3 GAC) is coming off its first conference victory of the season, as the Blossoms defeated Southern Arkansas, 3-2, on Tuesday. UAM also dropped conference matches to Harding, Henderson State and Ouachita. Monticello's Shay Mitchell leads the team with 3.70 kills per set in conference matches, good for sixth in the GAC. Macy Mitchell also ranks sixth in the GAC with 5.20 digs per set in four conference contests.
 
For the season, Tech has posted a .203 attack percentage while limiting opponents to just .183. In GAC matches, opponents have hit just .113. The Cotton Blossoms are hitting .185 as a team and opponents have hit .239.
 
Tech is 21-4 all-time against Arkansas-Monticello and has won the past 14 matches, dating back to 2009. During the 2015 season, the Golden Suns defeated the Cotton Blossoms twice, 3-1 and 3-0. Live stats and video for Thursday's match will be available at www.arkansastechsports.com.