Aggies dominate Texas A&M-Commerce

     LAWTON (Oct. 9) -- Kelsey Kosick had 21 kills and a .563 attack percentage, leading the Aggie Volleyball team to a dominating 3-0 victory over Lone Star Conference North Division rival Texas A&M-Commerce on Thursday at Cameron's Aggie Gym. The win kept Coach Kim Vinson's squad unbeaten in league play at 2-0 and improved the Aggies' overall record to 12-9.
     Texas A&M-Commerce opened up a slight lead in the opening set before the Aggies turned it on. Cameron chipped away behind Kosick and middle blocker Nicole Reinhart, taking its first lead of the night at 24-23. The Aggies finished the set with a 7-0 run, winning by a 30-23 count to take a 1-0 match lead.
     With a rowdy home crowd solidly in their corner, the Aggies began firing on all cylinders in Game 2. Cameron posted an impressive .609 hitting percentage in the frame, committing only two errors while routing the Lions 30-16.
     First-year head coach Gwen Adams and the Lady Lions threatened to push the match to a fourth set, closing to within one point on several occasions in the third game. But Cameron closed the door with another late scoring run, dispatching the Lions, who were picked above Cameron in the LSC North preseason poll, in just over one hour.
     Kosick led all players with her 21 kills. It marked the sixth straight match of 20 or more kills for the senior outside hitter, who currently leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks sixth nationally in kills per game with 5.41.
     Morgan Meyer added 12 kills and a .429 hitting mark, while freshman Taran Turner posted a .417 attack percentage with 6 kills. Setter Vicki Ibarra handed out 35 assists and posted a match-high 10 digs.
     The Aggies limited Texas A&M-Commerce's hard-hitting trio of Chantae Weathers, Amy Wallace and LaTasha Jacobs to 27 total kills and a combined attack percentage of .215. Jacobs led the Lions with 11 kills. Weathers, the current LSC North leader in attack percentage, posted eight kills with a .538 hitting mark.
     Cameron will look to remain undefeated in league play this weekend at home against Southeastern Oklahoma. The Aggies are 10-0 all-time against the Lady Savages, who have lost 21 straight matches since opening up the 2003 season with a win over Tarleton State. Southeastern is scheduled to visit Central Oklahoma on Friday before travelling to Lawton to face the Aggies in a 2 p.m., Saturday contest.

AGGIE NOTEBOOK:  Cameron is back in the NCAA Division II Southwest Regional rankings for the first time since 2001. The Aggies are listed ninth in this week's regional poll, which is the first publicized ranking of the season. Of the Aggies' nine losses this season, six have come to teams currently ranked above Cameron in the regional poll. The complete Southwest Regional rankings are as follows:

Southwest Region                   Overall         Regional
1. Nebraska-Kearney                    8-1             16-4
2. Metropolitan State                   9-2             14-4
3. Fort Hays State                     13-1             16-1
4. Rockhurst                             10-2             19-6
5. West Texas A&M                    11-2             16-5
6. St. Mary's (Texas)                   8-3              10-8
7. Abilene Christian                     11-5             16-6
8. St. Edward's                          12-2             14-6
9. Cameron                               11-6             11-9
10. Adams State                        10-4             11-5

NEXT POLL:  October 22