LAWTON, Okla.--The Cameron University volleyball team split their afternoon with a win against conference rival Texas A&M-Commerce and a loss against St. Mary's (TX).
Cameron beat Texas A&M-Commerce three sets to one in the first match (25-18, 28-26, 18-25, 25-15).
Box Score
“The conference win over Commerce was huge,” said Head Coach Doug Tabbert. “They have been a hot team and we have been struggling, so we needed that to stay in the conference tournament race. It was a good win, we played well and really cleaned up a lot of issues we have had lately.”
Against A&M-C, the Aggies were led by a tremendous offensive attack. Shannon Dulaney and Rebecca Green went for 15 kills each, Annelise Carpenter added 14 kills, and Kathryn Evans had 11 kills. They were assisted by junior setter Jenna Risoli, who had 47 helpers along with 12 digs to give her her fifth double-double of the season.
The Aggie defense looked good with Julisa Ocasio having 30 digs, which tied her season high, and Mariah Westlake added 16 digs of her own.
“Julisa gave us great ball control. Our hitters across the board really took care of the ball a lot better than we have been. A lot of the errors we have been making, we didn’t make. That was good to see, and a big part of the win.”
In the second game of the Saturday double header CU lost to St. Mary's University two sets to three (19-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-20, 19-17).
Box Score
“It’s disappointing that we put ourselves in a situation to finish and didn’t do it,” said Tabbert. “We had some bright spots and played well at times, but it is hard to see those right now when we let one get away that we really should have taken care of.”
Statistically, Cameron had a great second game. Jenna Risoli had another double-double with 58 assists and 16 digs. The 58 assists is a career high for Risoli.
Annelise Carpenter had her first double-double of her career with 14 kills and 10 digs; both career highs for her. Rebecca Green put up a 20 kill game and Kathryn Evans had 24 kills which is her career high in this category.
Defensively, CU had six players with ten plus digs, with Julisa Ocasio having 36 digs, which set her CU career high, and Mariah Westlake having 20 digs (setting her season high). Also, Lauren Acuna added 10 digs and Erin Hardy had 13 digs.
Cameron’s next match is a match against conference rival Midwestern State.
“Huge rivalry match, we need to get prepared on Monday for it and it’s a big match for the conference race,” said Coach Tabbert. “They are struggling a bit, so we need to put it together and take it to them.”
The Aggies will play Midwestern State, Tuesday, Oct .2 at 7:00 p.m. at the Aggie Gym.
