LAWTON, Okla. – The Cameron University volleyball team outlasted East Central on Tuesday night, beating the Tigers in five sets, giving them their second win over their non-conference foe this season.
The Aggies had one of their better offensive matches on Tuesday, hitting .243 with 73 kills in the five-set contest. They hit over .300 in both the third and fifth sets and over .200 in all but the second frame. Cameron also totaled 13 total blocks and six service aces compared to ECU's 12 blocks and four aces.
Riana Blount led the charge for the Black and Gold, recording 15 kills on a .609 attack percentage. The freshman from Las Vegas, Nev. also totaled six blocks, giving her a team-high 18 points in the match. CU also got 11-kill performances from
Walia Franklin,
Arianna Navarrete,
Sarah Wright, and
Caitlyn Henderson. Franklin added six blocks of her own, while Henderson stuffed four during the CU block party.
Both
Katherine Manning and
Desiree Marmolejo had strong matches at the setter position. Manning led the squad with 31 assists and had three service aces and eight digs, while Marmolejo added 28 assists, one ace, and nine digs. Additionally, libero
Peyton Little led the team with 18 digs, and Wright added 16, giving her the first double-double of her career.
Cameron and the Tigers went back and forth to start the opening set. It was not until a 4-0 run that gave them a 20-14 advantage when CU started to pull away. After trading scores, a Marmolejo kill ended the set 25-20 in favor of the home team.
The Aggies carried that momentum into an early 11-6 lead in the second set. However, ECU scored six straight just to plays later to take a one-point advantage. The two teams traded late three point rallies to tie the match at 23, but ECU capped off the 25-23 win with a pair of kills by Kaitlyn Coffey.
In set three, CU used a big 7-0 run to take an early 14-8 advantage. Minutes later, the scored four straight to go up by nine points. The Tigers were able to cut into that Aggie lead and get back to within four points, but kills from Marmolejo and Blount secure the 25-19 win and gave CU a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth set was a marathon. After remaining close throughout the set, East Central took a late 22-20 lead thanks to a run of three straight scores. After trading scores, Cameron responded with a 3-0 rally of their own to reach match-point at 24-23. A 3-1 swing in favor of ECU reversed the rolls, giving them set-point at 26-25. Kills by Blount and Navarrete once again gave the Black and Gold a chance to claim the win, but the Tigers responded by scoring three straight to force a fifth set with a 29-27 win.
Cameron did not mess around in the fifth frame, opening up the set with a 7-4 advantage. After an ECU score, the Aggies kept up the attack, scoring three straight to take a five point lead. Cameron did not let their opponent score two straight points the rest of the fifth and used a 4-1 run to secure the 15-8 set win and the match.
With the win, CU snapped a five match losing streak and is now 5-10 on the year. They will return to Lone Star Conference play this weekend as they face a pair of divisional opponents, playing A&M-Commerce on Friday, Oct. 11, and UT Tyler on Saturday, Oct. 12.
