LAWTON – The Aggie volleyball team limited UT Tyler to just a .156 attack percentage, but it was still not enough as the 18th ranked Patriots won 3-0 on Friday night at the Aggie Gym.
Cameron hosted their annual "Dig Pink" match to help the fight against breast cancer as an undefeated UT Tyler squad made the trip to Lawton on Friday evening. The Aggies were able to hang around in two of the three sets, but ultimately the talent of the road team showed up for the straight-set victory.
Entering the weekend, UTT averaged 15.6 kills per set and was hitting .259 on the attack. Against the Black and Gold, those numbers shrunk down to 12 and .156 for the match. A lot of that was because of the block of the Aggies, who bested their season average with two blocks per set as a team. However, the Patriots were also strong on the block, stuffing CU nine times and limiting them to a .054 clip on the attack.
Like she has been for most of the season,
Arianna Navarrete led CU with 9.5 points, putting down a team-high eight kills with one ace, one block, and six digs.
Jessica Lipkit added seven points, leading CU with four blocks and adding five kills with a .364 hitting percentage form her middle spot.
Cameron's had 25 assists spread across four players with
Noemie Narbonne leading the way with nine,
Anjolie Navarrete adding eight and
Desiree Marmolejo and
Presley Shearin both chipping in four; Shearin also led CU with 10 digs.
Despite facing a ranked and undefeated foe, the Aggies didn't seem rattled early on, battling back and forth with the Patriots with six tie scores and five lead changes in the opening frame alone. It was not until a three point rally late gave UTT a 22-18 advantage that allowed them to get enough of a lead to keep the Aggies at bay. They then answered back-to-back CU points with a 3-1 swing to take the set 25-21.
The Aggies were again hung around early in the second, using a kill by
Bergen Campbell to set the score at 8-6. From there, the Patriots took over, using runs of three, four, and six straight points to extend their lead to 21-8. Despite a small run by the home team late, the Patriots cruised to a 25-13 win.
UT Tyler carried that momentum into the third, scoring the first nine points of the set. A few plays later, fueled by the return of Marmolejo to the lineup, the Aggies battled back with six straight to get back to within two points (13-11). The Patriots answered that run with one of their own, going on a 7-1 stretch to jump back out to an eight point advantage.
In the set of runs, Cameron mounted their second comeback, scoring five straight capped by a Lipkit kill to cut the deficit to three. UT Tyler then scored five of the last seven points to take the set 25-19 and win the match in three.
Now 1-17 on the year and 0-7 in Lone Star Conference play, the Aggies will host Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday at 2 p.m., still trying to snap their now 16-match losing skid. Cameron will recognize first responders and medical professionals during the match against the Lions.
