TOPEKA, Kan. – The Aggie volleyball team set a program record with 20 aces to beat Minot State in five sets for their first win of the year before falling in four to William Jewell Friday evening.
Cameron opened their season with a tough loss on Thursday to the eighth ranked Washburn Ichabods. Friday morning, they were able to bounce back with a thrilling five-set win in their opening game of the Washburn Invitational against their opponent from North Dakota.
In the match against Minot State, the Aggies controlled the service line, tallying 20 aces, the most by a CU team in recorded history. Cameron also hit .292 on the attack, while out-blocking the Beavers 8-2.
Alanni Carter led the attack at the line, recording six aces while also adding eight kills and three blocks for 15.5 points in the match. Carter was one of five Aggie players with two or more aces in the five-set match.
Arianna Navarrete led CU with 19 points, putting down 14 kills on a .407 attack percentage while adding three aces of her own and a trio of blocks. She, Carter,
Kahrizma Kyles (six kills),
Natalia Araujo (five kills), and
Jessica Lipkit (five kills) all chipped in on offense.
Second-year Aggie
Presley Shearin led CU with 18 assists and added two aces and seven digs, while freshman
Noemie Narbonne chipped in 17 assists, three kills, and five aces. Veteran libero,
Sydney Bolin had a team-high 12 digs for the Aggies.
In set one, the Aggies fell behind early, but used a 10-1 run to double up their opponent. After a five-point rally a few plays later, CU closed out the set with four straight points, including two aces by Shearin to end it 25-13. The Aggies notched six points from the serving line in the frame.
Set two was a back-and-forth battle from the start. It was so close, that Cameron had to play five set points before coming away with the 26-24 victory to go up in the match 2-0. CU added four more aces in the second and hit .346 with 12 kills.
Minot State picked up the attack in sets three and four, recording 12 kills and six aces in the third and 17 kills and two more aces in the fourth. Their 25-20 and 25-21 wins evened up the match, forcing a fifth frame.
Cameron pulled out to an early 8-1 lead to open the fifth and never looked back. They added five more assists and recorded six kills on 13 attacks with no errors on their way to a 15-3 win to claim their first match of the 2021 season.
The Aggies faced another evenly matched opponent in their second match of the day, but their success at the service line did not carry over as the Cardinals from William Jewell bested the Black and Gold in four sets.
Cameron's aces dropped from 20 to 2 in the second match of the day, taking away a big chunk of their point production. They also hit just .030 on the attack and lost the battle on the block 8.0-6.5 in their second loss of the year.
Carter eclipsed 10 kills for the first time this season, leading the way with 13 kills while recording 14.5 points in the loss. Navarrete chipped in nine points, giving her 28 for the two-match span on Friday.
Narbonne added her first double-double to her collegiate resume, recording 16 assists and 10 digs, while Shearin added 13 assists and Bolin led CU again with 18 digs.
Cameron's offense struggled to get going in the first, hitting in the negative on the attack as they fell 25-16 in the opening frame. They bounced back with 15 kills and a .235 hitting percentage in the second as they tied the match at one with a 25-22 win.
The Aggies had another tough set in the third, hitting in the negative again while their opponent hit almost .360 on the attack.
In the fourth, CU looked to be on their way to tying the match and forcing a fifth set, holding a 17-9 lead midway through the frame. William Jewell slowly chipped away at the lead and trailed by just two at 20-18. A few points later, a serving error by the Cardinals gave CU set-point, but they were unable to close it out as WJU scored five straight to win 26-24 win.
Now 1-2 on the year, Cameron once again has to battle a ranked opponent, facing two on Saturday to close out the weekend. They face No. 25 Rockhurst at 9 a.m. to start the day and then take on No. 19 Harding at 4 p.m.
