PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Cameron University volleyball team opened up the Pittsburg State Gorilla Classic with a pair of 3-1 loses, falling to Northwestern Oklahoma State in the first match and Pitt State in the second.

The Aggie offense struggled throughout the match against Northwestern, hitting just .143 on the attack for the four sets. CU's trouble started out in the first set when they lost a six point lead after the Rangers went on a six point rally to tie the match at 12. After going back and forth, NWOSU rallied again with five straight to win the set 25-22.

Set two, Cameron looked like a completely different team, tallying 12 kills on 26 attacks with only one error in a 25-13 set win. The Aggies held a 10 point lead throughout the game, and used a 7-1 start to build up their lead. However, the third and fourth set did not go the Black and Gold's way, as Northwestern used a six point run in set three to win 25-19 and a 8-1 start in the fourth to win 25-19 again.

Cameron totaled 10 blocks and seven service aces as a team. Brandy Carr led the way with 17 points, thanks to 12 kills and eight total blocks. Shantalle Demirjian tallied a career best 11 kills for CU, while Katherine Manning and Kirsten Evans combined for 34 assists and 18 digs. Additionally, Brittnee Altic had 16 digs and five aces in the loss.

The match against Pittsburg State was tight throughout, with both teams hitting between .260 and .290 on the attack. CU won the battle at the net with seven blocks to PSU's one, but the Gorillas collected eight service aces, compared to Cameron's three.

Set one was back and forth, with neither team going on more than a stretch of three straight points. One of those rallies came at the right time for PSU as they scored three straight to win 26-24. The second set was similar to the first, but once again, a late run for the Gorillas gave them the set victory, this time 25-22.

Cameron held a slight advantage through most of the fourth frame, but never pulled ahead by more than three points. That allowed Pitt State to use a 4-2 stretch to get to match point, 25-24. A kill from Jazmin Luster in the next rally evened the match up at 25 and then Ashleigh McFatridge but CU ahead by one with a kill of their own. In the next play, Luster and McFatridge teamed up for a block to get CU on the board with a 27-25 set win.

The Aggies opened set four with a 3-0 run, but an 11-1 gave the Gorillas a sizable lead. They added to their lead with a 5-0 rally to take a 22-11 lead, and after Cameron went on a small 8-2 run of their own to cut the lead to just five, PSU got a kill from Claire Sandvig to win the set and the match.

McFatridge led the Black and Gold with 13 kills with only one error, while Paige Dixon had 11 kills. Manning recorded a career high 32 assists to go along with 11 digs. Altic continued to be strong for CU at the libero position, posting a 26 dig match, while Carr added four more blocks and nine kills to her day.

Cameron is now 1-6 on the year, losing their last three matches by a score of 3-1.

The Aggies will play day two of the Pitt State Classic on Saturday, as they face Christian Brothers at 9 a.m. and then Chadron State at 3 p.m.