TOPEKA, Kan. – The Aggie volleyball team had a tough time getting their offense going on Saturday, losing a pair of matches against No. 25 Rockhurst and No. 19 Harding to close out the Washburn Invitational.

Cameron head coach Brandon Stephenson knew going into the season that his team would get a test in their opening weekend. After falling to No. 8 Washburn on Thursday and then splitting a pair of matches Friday, they faced another hurdle as they were set to battle two more ranked opponents on Saturday.

In the first match of the day against No. 25 Rockhurst, the Aggies were unable to make up for the production offensively from their opponent. CU hit .207 on the attack, but the Hawks hit .394 and won the matchup at the service line seven aces to one.

Alanni Carter continued her impressive start to the season, leading CU with 13 points, 12 of which came on kills. She also hit .357 with only two errors on 28 attacks. Arianna Navarrete added 9.5 points with nine kills and only one error, while no other Aggie had more than five kills in the three-set loss.

Noemie Narbonne and Presley Shearin combined for 22 assists and 10 digs at the setter position, while newcomer Taylor Hervey had a team-high four of CU's 12 block assists.

Rockhurst jumped out to an early lead in set one and they used a pair of rallies to extend their lead to 10 at 21-11. Cameron tried to chip away at the lead, scoring six of the final 10 points, but it was too late as the Hawks took the lead in the match with a 25-17 win.

In set two, it was Cameron who opened the set with an early lead, but 25th ranked squad used a pair of 5-0 runs to take a commanding lead, which they rode to a 25-16 win. The Hawks totaled 19 kills with just four errors in the second frame.

The Aggies hit just .139 in the third set, which allowed Rockhurst to quickly extend their lead to 14-7 midway through the frame. A few plays later, RU used a 5-1 swing to go up by 11 and never looked back, winning 25-14 to take the match.

In the second match of the day, Cameron had to face another tough top-25 ranked opponent in No. 19 Harding, their third ranked opponent of the opening week.

Once again, it was not the most efficient day for the Aggie offensive attack as they his just .100 with a negative hitting percentage in the opening frame. However, CU did out-block their opponent (6-4) and only had one less service ace that the Lady Bison (5-4).

Carter kept things going into the final match of the weekend, totaling a team-high 12.5 points with 11 kills on a .147 attack percentage to go along with nine digs. Ar. Navarrete added nine points with eight kills and two blocks but hit just above .000 for the four-set battle.

Narbonne and Anjolie Navarrete combined for 22 assists (11 each) with Narbonne adding two aces and six digs. Shearin led CU with 10 digs while both Hervey and Jessica Lipkit each had three block assists.

Harding opened the first set with a huge 18-3 lead and went on to win the frame 25-12. Cameron hit in the negative with just three kills to open the nightcap. In set two, the Lady Bison scored nine straight before CU got on the board. The Aggies mounted a comeback, getting to within three (15-12) thanks to a 5-1 swing, but HU answered with a 6-1 run of their own to close out the set.

In the third, the Aggies would not go away, chipping away at Harding's slight lead until a kill by Carter and a pair of errors tied the set at 16. The Lady Bison answered with two straight, but CU responded with a 7-1 rally to put them on top 23-19. A few points later, the Black and Gold got to set point and held off a late rally with a kill by Navarrete that gave them the 25-22 win and force fourth set.

Cameron's magic ran out midway through the fourth. After a Bergen Campbell kill tied things at seven, the 19th ranked Lady Bison scored eight unanswered points to take back and extend their lead. CU was unable to score back-to-back points the rest of the way as Harding took the set 25-12 to end the match.

The Aggies end their opening weekend with a 1-4 record with three of their losses coming against ranked opponents. Additionally, Carter's performance over the weekend landed her on the Washburn Invitational All-Tournament team. For the first five matches, the Los Angeles, Calif. native averaged 3.45 points, 1.63 digs, and 0.58 blocks per set.

Cameron will have another busy schedule next weekend when they return to Kansas to compete in the Fort Hays State Invitational. They will face Adams State and the host team FHSU on Friday and then Black Hills State and Emporia State on Saturday.