Meyer, Aggies reach LSC title match

MATCH BOXSCORE >>

LAWTON, Okla. (Nov. 12) - It's been a four-year wait for senior Morgan Meyer, but there is little doubt she's earned her first trip to the Lone Star Conference championship match.

The Alvin, Texas, native pounded out a match-high 24 kills and hit .408, as the Cameron volleyball team stormed into the LSC finals with a 3-1 semifinal win over Angelo State Friday at Aggie Gym. Cameron won by scores of 30-21, 21-30, 30-22, 30-24, and will meet Abilene Christian in Saturday's championship match at 7 p.m.

Meyer's effort put the Aggies in the LSC title match for the first time since 2000 and kept Kim Vinson's coaching career alive. The longtime Cameron head coach has announced she will retire at the end of the 2004 season.

"I knew I had to come out and play well because it could have been my last game," Meyer said. "It was nice to be able to come out and have that kind of a match and keep our season going."

Taran Turner added 11 kills and a match-high five blocks for the Aggies, who improved to 20-11 on the season. Junior Rachel Balsiger continued her impressive play of late, finishing with nine kills, 13 digs and two blocks.

Sophomore Vicki Ibarra dished out 45 assists for the Aggies and had a match-high .667 attack percentage with four kills on six attempts with no errors. Senior libero Jenny Head led all players in the match with 22 digs.

Cameron got off to a strong start in Game 1, taking the early match lead with a .300 team hitting percentage in the opening set. But Angelo State, which defeated the Aggies in five sets earlier this season, rallied in the second frame to even the score. Senior outside hitter Nicole Stoffel came alive for the Rambelles, as ASU registered a .429 team hitting percentage in the second game.

The teams matched point-for-point the rest of the way, producing several crowd-pleasing extended rallies that racheted up the intensity level in the match. But just when it looked as though the teams might be headed for another five setter, Cameron grabbed the momentum for good.

With the score knotted at 12-12 in the fourth set, the Aggies launched a 7-1 run, capped by three straight points from Turner. The Wichita Falls, Texas, sophomore posted back-to-back kills before stuffing Stoffel for a solo block that made it 19-13 Aggies and had the partisan Cameron crowd on its feet. The Rambelles briefly cut the lead to three late in the set, but Meyer closed out the match with two kills.

In Friday's first semifinal contest, Abilene Christian rallied from a Game 1 loss to dispatch Eastern New Mexico in four sets. Michelle Bernhardt led the Wildcats with 18 kills. ACU also benefitted from a strong blocking performance by Amanda Slate, who registered nine blocks to go with 11 kills. Coach Brek Horn's squad defeated Cameron earlier this season, winning in straight sets during the annual Lone Star Conference Crossover on Sept. 25, in Abilene.