HAYS, Kan. – The Aggie volleyball team played a pair of hard fought battles against Black Hills State and Emporia State on Saturday, but were unable to snap their losing skid, falling to 1-8 on the young season.

After a pair of three-set losses on Friday to open the Tiger Classic, Cameron entered Saturday looking to snap their five-match losing streak as they took on Black Hills State and Emporia State, their final two matches before making their home debut on Wednesday.

Arianna Navarrete and Alanni Carter were the featured players in the match against the Yellow Jackets to open the day. The two combined for 77 of the Aggies 130 attacks and totaled 30.5 points. Navarrete led CU with 14 kills to go along with four blocks and eight digs. Carter added a double-double with 10 kills and 17 digs in the four-set match.

Poor hitting first and fourth sets hurt Cameron's attack percentage, which ended up being .123 for the match. On the other side of the court, BHSU hit .217 and won the battle at the service line (13-8). The Aggies bested their opponent at the net, blocking nine balls, led by Navarrete, Jessica Lipkit, and Taylor Hervey, who all had four stoppers.
Freshmen Noemie Narbonne and Anjolie Navarrete combined for 29 assists and 11 digs at the setter position in Saturday's opener.

Cameron led early in the first set, but a 6-1 run by Black Hills State put them on top by two points. They never relinquished the lead and fought off CU for the 25-21 win.

The Aggies repaid the favor in the second frame, bouncing back from a six-point deficit with a with a 9-2 stretch that put them up 18-17. After battling back and forth to a 21-all tie, the Black and Gold scored four of the last five points, capped by an ace by Carter that gave them a 25-22 win to tie the match.

In the third set, the two teams traded runs throughout, but a 6-1 stretch in favor of the Yellow Jackets put them up by a comfortable 21-15 lead. CU made them sweat with three straight scored, but BHSU scored four of the final five points to win 25-19.

Black Hills State looked to be running away with the fourth set early, taking a 10- lead on a kill by Kindra Cerrone. However, the Aggies had a little bit of magic left, scoring seven straight to tie the set on an ace by Presley Shearin. Cameron's magic ran out midway through the set, as BHSU stretched a two-point lead (18-16) into a win by scoring the final seven points to prevail 25-16.

In the afternoon battle against Emporia State, Cameron played one of their closest matches of the season, despite playing just three sets. The attack percentage was .173-.169 in favor of ESU, Cameron won the blocking battle 9.0-3.0 and the Hornets had 10 aces, while CU had just three.

Freshman Jacee Stelter had her best match of her young collegiate career, leading the team with 11.5 points, notching nine kills on a .241 hitting percentage with four blocks. Natalia Araujo and Bergen Campbell each chipped in six kills, while Caitlyn Henderson and Kahrizma Kyles each had four blocks as well.

Narbonne added a double-double with 20 assists and 10 digs in the match, while Shearin led Cameron with 14 digs and had one of the team's three service aces.

Emporia State used a couple of small runs throughout the first set to edge out the Aggies 25-21. In the second, Cameron led for most of the frame, but a late 6-1 Hornet run tied the set at 18-all. ESU made the right plays down the stretch as they snuck out of the frame with a 25-22 win. Cameron trailed by seven late in the third but clawed their way back and trailed by just two (23-21) after a ESU error. The Hornets were forced to call a timeout, and, after regrouping, scored the final three points to win 25-21 and take the match.

Now with a record of 1-8, Cameron will get some much needed home atmosphere for their next match as they play their first contest of 2021 in the Aggie Gym on Wednesday, Sep. 15. CU hosts non-conference, in-state foe Southeastern Oklahoma State with first serve scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

All admission to Cameron home matches/games this academic year is free of charge. If fans are unable to attend in person, all events will be streamed on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network via pay-per-view. The conference has made both a day pass ($10) and a volleyball season pass ($50) available this year.