LAWTON – On a day when they Aggie volleyball team was set to recognize their two seniors, Desiree Marmolejo and Sydney Bolin, Cameron was just a point away from winning back-to-back matches for the first time this season, but Oklahoma Christian came back to win in five sets on Saturday. 
 
Less than 24 hours after winning their first Lone Star Conference match of the year over UAFS, Cameron came up just short of their second of the year against the Eagles. Seniors Marmolejo and Bolin both had outstanding performances in their final match in front of their home fans at the Aggie Gym. 
 
Marmolejo tied for a team-high with 25 assists, helping the Aggies hit over .230 in the opening two sets. She also had 18 digs for her third straight double-double and added an ace. Bolin dug out a career high 31 balls and had three assists and an ace on her senior day. 
 
For the second straight match, the Navarrete sisters powered the point production for the Black and Gold. Arianna Navarrete had 20 kills, 17 digs, three aces, and two blocks while her younger sister Anjolie Navarrete added 18 kills, 12 digs, a team-high five aces, and one block. 
 
Cameron had 10 blocks as a team led by Jessica Lipkit who had two solo blocks and five assists. The Aggies also had 12 aces for the second straight match and hit .159 in the five-set loss. On the other side of the floor, OC had 11 blocks, eight aces, and hit .146.
 
Saturday's match was one of the closest you will see, with 33 lead changes and 16 tie scores throughout the five sets. The first set was the only frame to be decided by more than five points. Midway through the frame, CU used a 7-2 stretch to take a 14-7 lead never let OC get closer than four points the rest of the way. The reached set-point on a kill by Ar. Navarrete and then fought off a three-point rally with a kill by Lipkit to win 25-19. 
 
After trailing 3-0 to start the second, Cameron scored seven straight to take hold of the lead early. A 6-1 run later in the frame put the Eagles back on top 19-17, but a few points later CU scored four straight to regain the lead 22-20. OC answered with a three-point rally, but the Aggies had the last run of the frame scoring three in a row to win 25-23. 
 
There were 10 tie scores and four lead changes in the third set alone. The two teams battled back and forth throughout the set until a 3-1 swing put OC up 23-21 late. Cameron answered with a pair of kills by An. Navarrete and a block by Natalia Araujo and Lipkit to reach match-point. With their backs against the wall, the visiting Eagles scored on a CU error to tie the frame and then got a kill by Alyssa Hamiln and a block by Anna Strother and Kelsie Schiefelbein to win 26-24. 
 
The fourth set was just as close as the previous with 12 tie scores and five lead changes. After a kill by Talby Duerksen tied the frame at 17, CU used a 4-0 run capped by a Ar. Navarrete ace to take a 21-17 advantage. OC answered with five straight to regain the lead 22-21. After trading points to a 23-all tie, Oklahoma Christian got kills from Schiefelbein and Hamlin to win 25-23 and force a fifth and decisive set. 
 
Cameron began the fifth up 5-2 and quickly extended that lead to 11-7 thanks to points by each of the Navarrete sisters. The Eagles then scored eight straight points to win the set 15-11 and take the match by a score of 3-2. 
 
The Aggies enter the final week of the regular season with a 2-26 overall record and a 1-15 mark against LSC opponents. They take on rival Midwestern State on Thursday, Nov. 11, to wrap up the 2021 fall campaign.