September 25, 2008
CU battles, loses to #23 MSU
LAWTON, Oklahoma (September 25) – The Cameron Aggie volleyball team (6-7, 1-2 LSC) gave the nationally-ranked #23 Midwestern State Mustangs (17-0, 3-0 LSC) all they wanted and more tonight in a very loud Aggie Gym. CU came up just short tonight as they fell 3-1 to the undefeated Mustangs in the annual Red River Rumble. Tonight’s four-set match was scored 25-20, 25-23, 22-25, 25-18 and lasted a little under two hours.
“I think that we played well tonight,” Head Coach Brianne Smedley said. “I told the girls that of all the losses this year I think we played our best in this match. In most of our other losses I felt that we played poorly or not up to our standards, but tonight we played well.”
Cameron was looking for the upset from the very first serve of the match, and made some great plays both offensively and defensively. Midwestern State also played well and was looking for a bit of revenge after CU knocked MSU from the Lone Star Conference tournament last season. Tonight’s match truly could have gone either way as both teams played outstanding.
“Tonight I think we played a well-fought match; it just came down to them having a few more kills and us having a few more errors,” Coach Smedley said. “I think this was our best overall team effort of the season tonight. I thought that everyone stepped up and contributed. We had a lot of energy on and off of the court, and the crowd was really into it creating a great atmosphere.”
Leading the way offensively for the Aggies was senior middle blocker Whitney Long and junior right-side hitter Lindsay Paziuk. The duo accounted for more than half of the team’s total kills as both girls recorded the only double-digit kill totals on the team.
Long finished the game with 13 kills on 37 assists (8 errors) for a hitting percentage of .135, while Paziuk recorded a game-high 15 kills on 40 attacks (9 errors) for a hitting percentage of .150. Long’s hitting percentage was a team-high, and she also added 2 service aces, 2 defensive digs, a block solo, and 2 block-assists. Paziuk contributed 3 defensive digs and a block solo.
Junior setter Laura Ellerbrock had a great game defensively while almost leading the game in assists. She finished with a team-high in both assists (39) and block solos (2), while recording the second-most defensive digs on the team (14).
The Aggie volleyball team hits the road this weekend for their fourth and final tournament of the regular season. CU takes part in the University of Arkansas-Monticello Invitational this Saturday in Monticello, Arkansas. The team plays the University of Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Arkansas in the tournament.
Cameron’s next home match does not come for three weeks. On Thursday, October 16, the Aggies play host to the TexAnns of Tarleton State University at 7:00pm in the Aggie Gym.
Aggie fans that are unable to attend home matches this season can tune into the action live and for free on the Aggie Video Network. Fans can click on the AVN logo on the Cameron Athletics website (goaggies.cameron.edu) and watch the live action while listening to commentary by Cameron students Kyle Luetters, Michael Faggett, and Cecilio Ramirez.