ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Cameron opened the season splitting day one in the 2022 Reddie-Tiger Invitational. Dropping the opener to Henderson State University 3-0 before rebounding to defeat Lemoyne-Owen College 3-0.
The Aggies will wrap-up the Reddie-Tiger Invitational on Saturday, facing off against Auburn-Montgomery at 1:30 pm before closing the tournament against Ouachita Baptist.
"I liked how the ladies did not give up after the first set," Head Coach Brandon Stephenson stated. "Not having two of our players hurt us at times, but mental and unforced errors were what kept us from executing our offense."
In Friday's opener, Arianna Navarrete collected 12 kills, Paris Patterson added nine, Natalia Araujo pitched in five, Caitlyn Henderson had two, and Ada Kuday added one as the Aggies fell to HSU 25-15, 25-20, and 25-22.
Araujo, Henderson, Kuday and Arianna Navarrete each had an ace.
Kuday dished out 13 assists, Alice Tuci had nine, Anjolie Navarrete had three, and Arianna Navarrete and Araujo had one.
Anjolie Navarrete and Patterson led the way turning in 11 digs, while Arianna Navarrete had seven, Araujo finished with five, and Tuci added four.
Henderson led the defense at the net with three blocks, while Araujo, Kuday and Tuci added one.
Arianna Navarrete led the charge in the first set with four kills, while Araujo added two, but it was not enough as the Black-and-Gold fell in the first set 25-15.
The Aggies built a 17-10 lead, but the Reddies would close the second set on a 15-3 rally to steal the set 25-22. Arianna Navarrete and Patterson had four kills, while Araujo and Kuday chipped in two.
In the third set, the two teams traded rallies early; HSU got in front 3-1 before Cameron answered, building a 9-5 lead. Henderson responded with six straight points to take an 11-9 lead. The teams traded points again before tying at 13-13. HSU built a 19-16 lead, and the Aggies could never close the gap dropping the third set 25-22. Arianna Navarrete and Patterson continued to lead the Black-and-Gold, with Arianna Navarrete collecting five kills and Patterson adding three.
"We were able to give everyone a chance to play," added Stephenson. "We played well overall but still have work to do to get where we want to be."
Arianna Navarrete and Patterson paced the club in the finale, posting 18 kills over the three-set match.
CU dominated the opening set, getting out front 6-0 to start the match. Behind the serve from Araujo, the Aggies rallied for 17 straight points to win 25-4. In the second set, the Black-and-Gold would have multiple rallies to secure the set 25-12. Cameron closed out the Magicians in the third set with two seven-point runs, taking the final set 25-13.
Patterson's 10 kills led all attackers in the match, while Arianna Navarrete finished with eight.
Araujo chipped in four kills, Trinity Maldonado and McKenzie Tysor added three, Kuday, Jessica Lipkit and Tuci had two, and Henderson added one.
The Aggies had 10 aces in the match, Araujo leading the charge with five, Arianna Navarrete had three, and Patterson added two.
Kuday and Tuci posted 12 assists, Arianna Navarrete had three, Maldonado chipped in two, and Patterson added one.
Anjolie Navarrete had 10 digs to lead the Cameron defense, Arianna Navarrete and Patterson added seven, Kuday had four and Araujo, Henderson, Lipkit, and Tuci added one.
Lipkit led the Aggies with three blocks, Henderson had two and Kuday, Arianna Navarrete, Patterson and Tuci added one.
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