LAWTON – In front of their home crowd for the final time this season, the Cameron volleyball bounced back from a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set against Oklahoma Christian but fell 15-13 in the extra frame.

The Cameron Aggies lost 3-0 to the Eagles on Tuesday night, and it looked as if Wednesday's match was on pace to be the same result. A come-from-behind third set win and a dominant fourth forced a fifth set, Cameron's fourth five-frame match of the season.

In the first, Cameron was right there with OC the whole set until the road team used a 6-1 to close it out and win 25-18. In the second, the Eagles pulled out to an early 5-1 lead and had a pair of four-point rallies to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-19 win.

The fun began in the third, as CU once again fell behind early, leading to a 19-9 deficit. The Aggies then used a 7-2 run to set the score at 21-16. After an OC point to get to 22, the Black and Gold used a 5-1 stretch to get to within two points of the Eagles, 23-21.

Down to match-point, the Aggies scored three straight thanks to a block assist by Alanni Carter and Caitlyn Henderson and a kill by Walia Franklin, tying the frame at 24. An attack error by Carter gave OC another match-point, but the junior rebounded with a kill to tie the set at 25. The Aggies took the lead on an attack error by Oklahoma Christian and then Natalia Araujo da Silva ended it with a kill, with CU winning 27-25.

Cameron's momentum carried into the fourth where they started up 8-0. After battling back and forth, the Aggies were able to extend that lead to 10 on a kill by Caitlyn Henderson that set the score at 18-8. CU was on fire on the attack in the frame, hitting .353 as kills by Franklin and Carter ended it 25-13 and forced the fifth set.

OC opened the final frame with a 4-0 run, but Cameron was able to chip away at the lead and tied the set at eight on a service ace by Carter. The Eagles responded with a 4-1 swing that gave them a 12-9 advantage, but CU answered with a 3-1 stretch to get back to within one, 13-12. OC got to match-point again thanks to a kill by Talby Duerksen, but Carter answered with her 18th kill to reset the advantage at one. Unfortunately, a back-row attack call on setter Desiree Marmolejo ended the set, 15-13, and the match, 3-2.

Carter had 19.5 points in total with 18 coming on kills. She hit .200 on the attack with one service ace and a block to go along with 26 digs. Arianna Navarrete added 17.0 points for CU, as she finished with 14 kills, 18 digs, and four total blocks.

Henderson had a good showing in her return to the starting lineup, as the sophomore totaled eight kills on a .400 hitting percentage to go along with her team-high seven blocks. Araujo da Silva added eight kills on a .385 percentage with three blocks, while Franklin chipped in nine kills and a pair of rejections.

Freshman Presley Shearing led CU with 28 digs out of the libero spot, while setters Marmolejo (21) and Katie Roberson (26) combined for 47 assists; Marmolejo also had a double-double with 10 digs.

Cameron hit .163 for the match with 57 kills, four aces, and 11.0 total blocks. On the opposite side of the floor, OC hit .152 with 66 kills, eight aces, and 10.0 rejections.

The loss eliminates the Aggies' chances at the Lone Star Conference postseason as they fall to 2-8 on the year, while the Eagles improve to 4-8 in league play. Even if Cameron sweeps UAFS next week to tie OC in wins, the Eagles hold the tie-break by winning the season series 3-1.

Cameron wraps up the 2021 spring season on March 16 and 17 in Fort Smith, Ark. against the Lady Lions. Both matches are scheduled for 6 p.m. first serves and can be watched on the LSC Digital Network.