LAWTON – The Aggie volleyball team suffered another tough Lone Star Conference loss on Saturday afternoon, as Texas A&M-Commerce won in straight sets at the Aggie Gym.
Cameron has suffered multiple close losses during their now 17-match losing streak and that was the case on Saturday against the Lions, losing two of the three sets by six or less points and holding a strong attacking team to less than their average numbers.
Texas A&M-Commerce entered the weekend averaging 13.4 kills per set and hitting .206 on the attack. The Aggie defense was able to hold their opponents to 12 kills per frame and a .170 clip on the attack. Like Friday's match against UT Tyler, CU's defense did not make up for their struggles on the attack, as they hit just .045 with 29 kills in the loss.
Arianna Navarrete led Cameron with 10 kills but committed 10 errors on the attack as well. The third-year player also added an ace and seven digs for CU. Freshman
Jacee Stelter added six kills with no errors, while
Bergen Campbell and
Natalia Araujo both added five kills.
Desiree Marmolejo and
Noemie Narbonne each had 13 assists out of the setter spot, while libero
Presley Shearin had a team-high 12 digs and Campbell added 10. Additionally, Araujo and
Jessica Lipkit each had a team-high three blocks as CU totaled six as a team.
In the opening set, the Aggies played one of their best sets of the season, battling A&M-Commerce back and forth for three tie scores and two lead changes. It was four-point rally by the Lions that gave them a 11-9 lead, which they did not relinquish the rest of the way. Cameron was able to get back to within one (17-16) after a Campbell kill and A&M-Commerce error, but the Lions answered with three straight and then scored three points in a row to close out the frame 25-20.
Texas A&M-Commerce started the second set on a 5-0 run and then quickly extended their lead to 10-2 after another 5-0 stretch. After trailing 17-8 midway through the frame, the Aggies scored four straight points to cut the deficit to five. The Lions then went on a 8-1 run to win the set 25-13.
Cameron again hung tight with the Lions early in the third, bouncing back from a four-point deficit to get within two at 17-15 after a block from Araujo and
Taylor Hervey and a Navarrete ace. The Lions answered with five straight points to regain a seven-point advantage. After a three-point rally by CU, A&M-C scored three of the final four points in the match to win the set 25-19.
The loss drops the Black and Gold to 1-18 on the season and 0-8 in conference. Their quest for their first LSC win continues next week as they take the long trip to Western New Mexico on Thursday, Oct. 14 and then face UT Permian Basin on Saturday, Oct. 16.
