TOPEKA, Kan. – Facing one of the toughest starts to the season in the conference, the Cameron University volleyball team opened their 2021 season with a 3-0 loss to No. 8 Washburn on Thursday night.
Cameron is set to compete in the Washburn Invitational over the weekend, where they will face two more top-25 ranked opponents, but first they had a meeting with the top-10 ranked host team from Topeka.
The Aggies, who are already dealing with some injury issues, struggled to get their offense going against the Ichabods. They hit in the negative for the match with 19 kills and 26 errors, compared to a .341 attack percentage and 41 kills for the home team.
Like she did for most of the spring,
Alanni Carter led the Black and Gold with 10 points, recording eight kills, two blocks, and an ace in the match.
Arianna Navarrete added four kills, two blocks, and four digs on the opposite side of the court. CU finished the match with eight total blocks with
Jessica Lipkit and
Taylor Hervey each adding two blocks in their debut for the Black and Gold.
French freshman setter
Noemie Narbonne got the start for the Aggies, recording a team-high eight assists and eight digs. Veteran libero
Sydney Bolin also had eight digs against a team that returned six All-Conference players from 2019.
The Aggies season got started with freshman
Jacee Stelter recording the first kill for CU early in set one. However, the home team controlled the rest of the frame, recording 12 straight kills before making their first error. The Ichabods finished the first with 15 kills and just two errors as they cruised to a 25-11 win.
Cameron picked up their efforts on the service line and on the block in set two, totaling three service aces and four total blocks. WU was not as efficient on the attack in the second, aided by the Aggies four blocks, but built up an 18-3 early, which was enough for them to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-16 set two victory.
Washburn dominated the final set, recording 13 kills with no errors in a 25-9 win to claim the match. On the other side of the court, CU just couldn't get it going, hitting -.094 on the attack with 11 errors and eight kills.
Friday, the Aggies begin the Washburn Invitational in Topeka, facing Minot State at 10 a.m. and then William Jewell at 4:30 p.m.
