Aggies knock off UCO in conference opener

     EDMOND, Okla. (Oct. 2) -- Adding to their storied rivalry in recent years, Cameron and Central Oklahoma went down to the wire in women's volleyball action Thursday night. This time it was the Aggies emerging victorious, collecting a crucial conference road victory with a 3-2 win over the Bronchos.
     Cameron won by scores of 22-30, 32-30, 30-26, 24-30, 16-14, ending a three-match losing streak to UCO and winning in Edmond for the first time since 1999.
     "We feel very fortunate to get out of here with a conference road win," Aggie head coach Kim Vinson said following the victory, which improved Cameron to 11-9 on the season. "We did some good things tonight, but we made some mistakes and were able to just hang on in the end."
     Things didn't look rosy for the Aggies in the opening set, as the team squandered a 16-10 advantage to drop Game 1. But the Aggies battled back to take the second set and took control of the match with a win in Game 3. But Central Oklahoma refused to fold, forcing a fifth and deciding set with a win in the fourth game.
     Cameron held a 13-11 advantage in the fifth set, but benefitted from UCO errors down the stretch to sqeak out the win.
     Thursday's win was the first time this season the Aggies have managed a victory despite having a lower hitting percentage than their opponents. Cameron produced a .154 attack mark, while UCO hit at a .189 clip.
     Senior Kelsey Kosick led the Aggie offensive attack once again, tallying 29 kills while adding 22 digs, three blocks and three service aces. Nicole Reinhart added 12 kills and five blocks for the Aggies, while Morgan Meyer converted 11 kills. Junior libero Jenny Head, last week's LSC North Defensive Player of the Week, led all players in the match with 27 digs.
     UCO was led by Tori Walker's 23 kills. Ashley Hemphill added 22 kills and setter Stacey Meek dished out 63 assists.
     Cameron will have the rest of the week off before resuming LSC North Division action at home next week. The Aggies are scheduled to host Texas A&M-Commerce on Thursday at 7 p.m., then take on Southeastern Oklahoma on Saturday at 2 p.m.