Cameron 3, A&M-Commerce 1
Location: The Field House • Commerce, Texas
Records: A&M-Commerce (7-12, 3-9 LSC); Cameron (11-9, 5-7 LSC)
Up Next: at Henderson State • Tuesday, Oct. 18 • 7 p.m. • Arkadelphia, Ark.
COMMERCE, Texas -- Rachel Robertson posted another stellar outing, finishing with a match-high 17 kills, but Cameron's blocking proved to be the difference as the Lions fall 14-25, 25-20, 19-25, 23-25 Saturday afternoon at the Field House. The Lions drop to 7-12 on the year and 3-9 in Lone Star Conference play.
Robertson's 17 kills came on 31 attempts with only four errors for an impressive .419 hitting percentage. She also posted three blocks and six digs on the afternoon. She was the only Lion to finish with double-digit kills as Breanne Snyder just missed her second-straight double-double, finishing with nine kills and 12 digs with a pair of blocks.
Ezon Onditi finished with six kills and tied her career-best with 10 digs for A&M-Commerce with Chelsee Hudson adding five kills. Jordan Neal posted her fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 37 assists and 17 digs to complement four kills and a pair of service aces despite battling back spasms throughout the match. Kayla Bond posted five blocks to pace the Lions while Dakota Crockett added 11 digs.
But it was Cameron's play up front that proved to be the difference as the Aggies outblocked the Lions 13-7, paced by five blocks, including four solo, from Kelle Carver. Sarah Corbett and Filly Ezenwa each added four blocks for Cameron.
Despite coming off a convicing victory over Midwestern State Thursday, A&M-Commerce struggled out of the gates as Cameron was able to string together a 7-1 run to take a commanding 16-9 lead midway through the opening set. After exchanging points, the Aggies used a similar 6-1 run to close out the set, taking the opener in convincing fashion 25-14.
The first part of the second set belonged to the Lions as Neal opened up the stanza with a strong serving effort, helping A&M-Commerce notch the first five points. The Aggies would mount another run, using a 6-2 stretch to take the lead at 15-14, forcing a Lion timeout. The two teams would battle, ultimately finding themselves tied at 20. But just like she did to start the set, Neal served the Lions to five-straight points to bookend the second, leading A&M-Commerce to the 25-20 victory.
Cameron responded by jumping out to the early lead in the third, building an early six-point cushion at 11-5. A 4-0 run by the Lions, once again off the serve of Neal, pulled A&M-Commerce to within one at 13-12, but that was as close as it would get as a 5-0 Cameron run broke the set open at 18-12 and the Aggies would keep the Lions at bay for the duration, taking the third 25-19.
Once again in the fourth, after a competitive start, the Aggies used an 8-1 run to break the set open at 17-12. Cameron found itself with a 24-19 edge and it appeared to have registered the match-clinching kill, but a rotation error nullified the point and gave the Lions a little bit of life. A&M-Commerce responded by stringing together a 4-0 run, trimming the gap to one at 24-23, but were unable to complete the comeback, dropping the fourth 25-23.
For Cameron, Carver led the team with 14 kills to complement her five blocks while Adrienne Lawson finished with 13 kills and 11 digs on the afternoon. Jenna Risoli led all players with 42 assists while Julisa Ocasio posted 28 digs defensively for the Aggies.
A&M-Commerce now gets ready for its final extended road trip of the season, beginning with its final non-conference match Tuesday in Arkadelphia, Ark., battling Henderson State at 7 p.m. The Lions then visit Abilene Christian Thursday and Angelo State Saturday before closing out the regular season with five of their remaining six games at the Field House, beginning with Texas Woman's on Tuesday, October 25.
