KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Aggie volleyball team began Lone Star Conference play with the unbeaten Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas on Friday but were unable to hand them their first loss of the fall.

After starting the 2021 fall season with a 1-9 non-conference record, Cameron entered league play on an eight match losing skid, set to face two teams on opposite ends of the conference power rankings over the weekend.

First up, the Javelinas, who have opened the season with five straight wins and moved that to six with a three-set victory over the visiting Aggies.

Despite two close sets, Cameron struggled stopping the TAMUK attack, allowing the Hogs to hit .307 while they posted just a .170 hitting percentage in the loss. The Black and Gold won the battle at the net (4.0-1.0), even with the Javelinas having the LSC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in Ayanna Jackson on their side.

Arianna Navarrete had a solid game on the outside for CU, recording 12 kills and just three errors, good for a .333 hitting percentage. Freshman Jacee Stelter added six kills on 16 attacks with no errors, while Jessica Lipkit chipped in 5.0 points, with three kills and two blocks.

Freshmen setters Noemie Narbonne and Anjolie Navarrete tied each other with 10 assists and two digs each. Additionally, Taylor Hervey and Bergen Campbell tied Lipkit with two total blocks each and Ari. Navarrete and Campbell each had a team-high eight digs.

In the first set, the Aggies hung with the squad receiving votes in the latest AVCA top-25 rankings before a 4-0 run doubled the score early 12-6. CU was able to get to within two points just one more time in the frame as TAMUK closed things out with three straight points to win 25-19.

Cameron started set two with a nice lead, but saw it disappear as the home team scored five straight to take an 8-7 advantage and force a timeout call from CU head coach Brandon Stephenson. After a kill from Campbell tied things at eight, the set went back and forth until a 5-1 stretch by the Javelinas gave them set point, 24-19. A pair of TAMUK errors made the home crowd set a bit, but Jackie Alanis put them at ease with a kill to win the frame 25-21.

The start of the third set was a carbon copy of the second, as Cameron started with an early lead that was chipped away at by the Hogs. After a kill be Ari. Navarrete tied the set at eight, TAMUK used a 9-1 rally to take a 17-9 lead. The Aggies earned back-to-back points just one more time in the match as the Javs came away with a 25-15 win to remain undefeated this fall.

Cameron, now 1-9, will look to snap their losing streak on Saturday as they take on Texas A&M International with first serve scheduled for 1 p.m.