MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Cameron University volleyball team opened up the 2018 season with a pair of loses as they fell 3-0 to Quincy and 3-2 to Mississippi College on Friday at the Dr. Margaret Downing Invitational.

Against Quincy, Cameron was slow to get the offensive attack going, hitting .000 in the first set and .103 in the second before hitting .242 with 12 kills in the final set. The only stat category they won was at the net, recording seven blocks to QU's five.

Paige Dixon led the Black and Gold with eight kills, while freshman Shantalle Demirjian chipped in seven kills in her first collegiate match. Katherine Manning record 17 assists for CU, and on the defensive side of the box, Brandy Carr had a match best seven blocks and Brittnee Altic had 17 digs.

The Aggies looked to have set one in the bag, opening up to a 10 point lead at 17-7. However, Quincy went on a five point run to cut the lead in half. After CU scored three straight, the Hawks used a 13-3 run to close out the set with a 25-23 win.

Cameron struggled in set two from the start, as QU used runs of four and six to win the frame 25-17. Set three started with Quincy going up 8-2, but CU slowly clawed back to tie the match at 13 points each. The two teams then went back and forth until three straight points by Quincy sealed the 25-22 set win and the match.

In the second match of the day, the Aggies once again got off to a slow start, hitting just .194 in the first set and .077 in the second. However, the bounced back from two solid sets in four and five to even up the match. CU totaled 54 kills and eight blocks in the match.

Dixon had 13 kills while hitting .263 to lead the Black and Gold, while adding 10 digs for a double-double. Ashleigh McFatridge also reached double-digits in kills, with 11 on 19 attacks with just one error. Altic had a team-high 31 digs, as Manning led the Aggies with 25 assists and Kirsten Evans had a 19 assists, 13 dig double-double.

In set one, Cameron battled with the Lady Choctaws, but a late six point run gave the opposition the edge as they won the set 25-16. Like the first, the match's second frame was close until another late scoring stretch by MC led to the 25-18 victory.

With their backs against the wall, Cameron bounced back in set three and shut down a six point rally by their opposition with three straight points at the end of the set to win 25-23. The fourth set was CU's best as they opened up to a 5-0 lead and then used a six point rally later in the set to earn the 25-12 victory.

The final set was a see-saw, with both teams trading blows throughout. After falling behind 12-9, CU used a three point run fueled by two Dixon kills to even up the set. However, MC responded with three straight of their own to win the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.

Cameron will look to even up their opening weekend record on Saturday, facing Union (Tenn.) at 9 a.m. and Southern Arkansas at 3 p.m. to close out the invitational.