DURANT, Okla. – After falling to Southeastern Oklahoma State in their first game of the Southeastern Classic, the Aggie volleyball team bounced back with 14.0 total blocks in a 3-2 win over Arkansas-Monticello on Friday afternoon.

In their first match of the day against the host team Savage Storm, Cameron struggled out of the gate, hitting in the negative during the first set. SEOSU jumped out to a big 6-1 lead to start the frame and used multiple rallies to build up a 24-13 lead. CU mounted a small comeback with three straight points to cut the deficit to 24-16, but Southeastern won the set on the next play.

The Aggies fell behind early again in the second set, trailing 15-9 at the halfway point in the frame. A late 8-4 run capped by a pair of Riana Blount kills got CU to within three at 23-20, but a kill from Malaysia Burns and a service ace from Aleksandra Rodic gave their team a 25-20 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Cameron's best set came in the third as they totaled 15 kills on a .265 attack percentage. Once again, the Black and Gold trailed the whole set. Despite getting to within one, thanks to a SEOSU service error that made it 13-12, CU could not take a lead as a four-point rally put the home team back on top by five. Another 4-0 run by Southeastern got them to match point at 24-18. Again, CU made another late comeback as three Blount kills and an ace from Walia Franklin cut the deficit to just two, but a CU attack error on the next play ended the set and the match.

Bount led CU with 11 kills and no errors, hitting .688 on the attack. Shantalle Demirjian added 10 kills for the Black and Gold, while Desiree Marmolejo and Katherine Manning combined for 32 assists. Libero Peyton Little led the squad with 14 digs and had one of the team's three service aces.

The Aggies took on the Cotton Blossoms of UAM in their second match of the day and started strong, winning the first two sets to take a 2-0 lead. In the first set, CU took a 6-1 lead early and then went up 10-3 on a kill by Arianna Navarrete. They quickly reached set point at 24-16 thanks to a pair of UAM errors. Monticello made CU sweat towards the end of the frame, rattling off four straight points to get the deficit to just four, but a kill from Maya Hill secured the 25-20 win for the Black and Gold.

Set two was back and forth early, before a 5-0 run by Cameron that was capped by a block by Blount and Navarrete that gave them a 12-8 lead. The Aggies fought off the Cotton Blossoms the rest of the frame and another kill by Hill gave her team the 25-21 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

UAM controlled from the start in the third and got back into the match with a 25-17 win. They followed that up by doing the same thing in set four, although the Aggies did not make it easy. The Cotton Blossoms led most of the frame and took a 23-14 lead on a CU error. Cameron answered with an 8-1 run that got to within two points of taking the set right there. Unfortunately, an Aggie service error allowed UAM to tie the match with a 25-22 win.

Forced to play a fifth set for the first time in 2019, the Aggies came out firing, using a barrage of blocks and kills to build an early 7-2 lead. After Monticello cut the lead to two with a three-point rally, CU continued their dominance at the net and used a 7-1 stretch to get to match point at 14-6. UAM answered with three more points, but CU's 14th block of the match ended the frame 15-9.

Cameron's 14 total blocks doubled their previous game-high for the season. The three-headed monster of Blount, Franklin, and Caitlyn Henderson led the charge at the net, with Henderson blocking seven, Blount recording six, and Franklin adding five total blocks.

Offensively, Demirjian led the way with 15 kills and recorded her first double-double with 11 digs. The sophomore also chipped in three total blocks and a pair of service aces. Navarrete was second on the squad with 10 kills and had three blocks and an ace.

CU's setters combined for 40 assists, with Manning recording third double-double of 2019 with 20 assists and 23 digs.

Cameron is now 2-4 on the season and has a chance to get to .500 with a pair of wins on Saturday. They begin the day against Central Oklahoma at 11 a.m. and then face East Central at 5 p.m. to wrap up the weekend.