LAWTON – The Cameron volleyball team begins the home stretch of the 2021 season as they host Eastern New Mexico and No. 25 West Texas A&M this weekend.
The Aggies have just seven matches, all against Lone Star Conference opponents, left on the 2021 schedule and they begin the stretch by hosting a struggling Greyhound team on Friday, Oct. 22, and then one of the top teams in the league in the Lady Buffs on Saturday, Oct. 23.
LAST TIME OUT
On Tuesday, Cameron played their final non-conference match of the season, losing in three sets to in-state rival Northwestern Oklahoma State. The Aggies were held to a negative attack percentage, getting blocked 19 times by the Rangers defense. CU was able to out-serve their opponent (8-3), but it was not enough to take a set despite the first two being decided by less than five points.
Bergen Campbell led the Black and Gold with 10.5 points, getting it done from the attack, service line, and on the block.
Jessica Lipkit had a season-best six blocks while adding two kills and two aces to the box score.
ABOUT THE AGGIES
Cameron's losing skid has now expanded to 20 matches after the loss on Tuesday and they now sit at 1-21 on the year to go along with a 0-10 conference mark. The biggest issues have come on the attack, where they are hitting just .105 with 9.6 kills and 8.7 assists per set. The Aggies have tried to make up for the lack of points via kills on defense, ranking third in the LSC with 141 total blocks this season. Lipkit leads that charge with her 62 total blocks, which is also the third most in the conference.
Arianna Navarrete has almost twice as many kills as any other Aggie, averaging 2.53 in her 73 sets played this season; Campbell and
Jacee Stelter are both around 90 kills.
Desiree Marmolejo averages a team-best 4.71 assists per set while freshman
Noemie Narbonne averages 4.01 and has 17 aces this year, second only to Navarrete's 19.
SCOUTING EASTERN NEW MEXICO
Like Cameron, the Greyhounds have had a rough fall, but they were able to snap an eight match losing streak by beating Oklahoma Christian in three sets last weekend. They now sit at 2-15 on the year and 2-7 in league play, having beat Texas A&M-Commerce in five earlier this season. Sia Poyer's Greyhounds are averaging 10.6 kills and 9.6 assists while hitting .178 on the attack. They also rack up 1.4 aces per set and have 119 total blocks this year. A trio of 100+ kill hitters are led by Jasmine Gannon, who averages 2.85 kills per set, is hitting .233, and has 16 aces this fall. The sister setter duo of Rae Sapiga and Qitana Sapiga have combined for 467 assists and 32 aces while Gracelyn Stubbs and Jordan O'Connor-Dempsey lead the defense with over 40 blocks each.
SCOUTING WEST TEXAS A&M
With a 14-2 season record and an 8-1 league mark, the Lady Buffs have themselves ranked No. 25 in the nation according to the AVCA poll. They have won eight straight matches, but both of their wins this season have come on the road. WT is averaging 13.6 kills and 12.5 assists per set with a .253 hitting percentage on the attack. They also reject 2.4 balls per frame at the net and get 1.6 points per set from the service line. Sophomore Torrey Miller averages nearly 5.0 five points per set and leads the team with 225 kills this fall. Sadie Snay and Blair Moreland both average over 5.4 assists per set and have combined for 23 aces out of the setter position. Kayla Elliot leads WT with both 45 blocks and 23 aces and is also a threat on the attack, averaging 2.41 kills per set from her spot in the middle.
LOOKING AHEAD
Cameron makes their final long weekend road trip of the fall next week as they visit St. Edward's on Friday, Oct. 29, and then St. Mary's on Saturday, Oct. 30. Both matches will be streamed via the LSC Digital Network.
