CU records 16 blocks in loss to Western New Mexico
October 20, 2018
Cameron University Athletics
Kenton Means – Sports Information Director
LAWTON, Okla. – On a day when the Cameron volleyball team honored their senior class and also recorded a season high 16 blocks, they could not come away with the win, falling 3-1 to Western New Mexico.
The Aggies surpassed their previous season best of 13 total blocks midway through the fourth set. Brandy Carr and Jazmin Luster led the charge with seven blocks each, while Amarachi Iwunze had five rejections in just three sets played. Additionally, Brittnee Altic had a team-best 18 digs.
Offensively, Cameron hit just .110 as a team, but freshman Shantalle Demirjian was the bright spot, matching a season high with 12 kills on a .296 clip. Carr chipped in nine kills while hitting .318 on the attack, while Paige Dixon had eight. Katherine Manning led the team with 26 assists.
Set one started with the two teams going back and forth until WNMU jumped out to an 11-6 lead with a 4-0 run. Cameron slowly started to chip away at the lead and tied the match at 18 on a WNMU ball handling error. After trading points, CU tied the set again, this time on a Brittany Lawson kill that evened the score at 22. However, the Mustangs went on to score three straight to take set one 25-22.
Western continued that momentum into the second set, building up a 12-5 lead after another four point rally. They held the lead through the next few points, but CU’s never quit attitude led them to chip back into and get to within one point at 20-19 on a block by Luster. One point later, kills by Iwunze and Dixon tied the set at 21. WNMU answered with two straight, but Cameron would go on a 5-1 run to take the set 26-24.
Set three started with the Mustangs building up another big lead, this time leading 16-7 midway through the set. The Black and Gold answered with five straight to cut the deficit to five and the later cut the lead to just three on a ball handling error by WNMU, but that was as close as they would get as Western scored four straight to win the set, 25-18, and take a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth, Cameron would be the one to take on early lead, going up 8-3 thanks to block by Luster and Lawson. Western New Mexico battled back though, and used a three point rally to tie the set at 13. They would then go on to record a 5-0 run and a 4-0 run to help them take the set, 25-18, and the match.
Bria Augustine led the Mustangs with 24 kills and 11 digs, while Erin Moss had 16 digs and Madelynn Culp and Sarah Campoli combined for 46 assists.
The Aggies are now 3-22 overall this season and 1-14 in Lone Star Conference play, while WNMU moves to 8-15 overall and 4-10 in league matches.
Cameron will have a quick turnaround, as they host a tough Texas A&M-Commerce team on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 5:30 p.m.