LAWTON – Cameron University volleyball is back for the fall as head coach Brandon Stephenson announces the 2021 fall schedule.

After the 2020 season was moved to the spring semester, and consisted of just 12 Lone Star Conference matches, the Aggies are back in action during their more familiar playing season.

Coming off a 2-10 slate during the spring, Stephenson's squad will have a good amount of warm-up matches prior to the official start of the season. One of those will be the Black and Gold Scrimmage on Aug. 19, which will take place during the University's welcome week and include opportunities for games and prizes for Aggie Nation.

The 2021 slate officially begins for the Black and Gold on Sep. 2 with a match at Washburn. The following two days, Sep. 3-4, The team will face Minot State, William Jewell, Rockhurst, and Harding during the Washburn Invitational in Topeka, Kan. Most of the first five teams the Aggies will face are traditionally ranked in the top-25. The next weekend, Sep. 10-11, the Aggies will be at the Tiger Classic in Hays, Kan. with matches against Adams State, Fort Hays State, Black Hills State, and Emporia State.

Prior to the start of the Lone Star Conference season, CU will host Southeastern Oklahoma State on Sep. 15 for their official home opener. They will then visit Texas A&M-Kingsville on Sep. 17 and Texas A&M International on Sep. 18 for their first LSC road trip. Cameron wraps up the month of September with home matches against Lubbock Christian and Angelo State on Sep. 24 and 25.

The Aggies begin October with a quick trip to the DFW area for matches against Texas Woman's and DBU on Oct. 1 and 2. They then visit Southern Nazarene on Oct. 5 for a non-conference road battle. The road stretch ends with a return to the Aggie Gym to host UT Tyler for "Dig Pink" night on Oct. 8 and the A&M-Commerce on Oct. 9.

Another three-match road trip begins on Oct. 14 with a rare Thursday battle against Western New Mexico. Two days later, CU visits UT Permian Basin before returning to Oklahoma for another non-LSC road match against Northwestern Oklahoma State on Oct. 19. The final stretch of the month begins with back-to-back home matches on Oct. 22 and 23 against Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M. The Aggies end the month with road matches against St. Edwards and St. Mary's on Oct. 29 and 30.

Cameron has just three matches on the schedule for November. They host UAFS and Oklahoma Christian, the final home match/senior day, on Nov. 5 and 6 and then close out the regular season at Red River rival Midwestern State on Nov. 11.

"Looking at the first few weeks of the schedule, we will get tested early," said Stephenson. "Our pre-conference tournaments will give us a good look at what we will be facing come time for LSC play. With this group, getting those opportunities to look at how we play against good teams will go a long way."

The Aggies return a strong group of players, including All-Conference and All-Academic selection Arianna Navarrete, but also have a strong recruiting class of transfers and freshmen to be added to the mix. Those newcomers will be announced in the coming days.