Aggies rally to knock off TexAnns
STEPHENVILLE, Texas (October 18) – Fresh off their resounding four game victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State, the Aggie volleyball team (10-13, 3-4 LSC) tonight resumed Lone Star Conference play against a tough Tarleton State team (11-13, 4-5 LSC). CU and TSU currently sit at 9th and 8th place, respectively, in the conference and are battling it out for the final spot in the eight-team Lone Star Conference postseason tournament. Tonight the Aggies were able to gain some ground on the TexAnns, taking the intense match in five games (18-30, 25-30, 30-26, 30-27, 16-14).
“I’m very proud of the way the team played today,” Head Coach John Haroun said. “I was very pleased with the way we responded, never stopped believing, and never stopped fighting.” The Aggies appeared overmatched in the first two games, but gradually gained enough momentum to win three straight games. Cameron was actually a point away from a fourth-straight conference loss when they were down 14-13 in the fifth and final game, but mustered the strength to come away with the victory.
“I honestly think we grew up tonight,” Coach Haroun said. “The team came together during the intermission and basically the team decided that there was nothing to lose. We were going to fight; I thought we fought harder and wanted this match more than any other time this season.” Senior outside hitter Fernanda Queiroz had her second huge match in a row with a 26 kill performance. She recorded a .266 attack percentage with 9 errors and 64 total attacks. Queiroz has already totaled 50 kills in CU’s two matches this week. Also against TSU, Queiroz totaled 17 defensive digs, 6 assists, and 2 block-assists.
“Fey (Queiroz) has been unstoppable the last couple of matches,” Coach Haroun said. “You could tell she wasn’t going to let this one get away from her. She played up to her ability and really played like the player she is.” Sophomore setter Laura Ellerbrock also had a very solid match, leading the team with 58 assists. She recorded a team-high .556 attack percentage with 5 kills on 9 attacks with no errors. Her 17 defensive digs, 2 service aces, and 1 block-assist also contributed to the victory.
“Laura did a great job with her set selection and running the offense,” Coach Haroun said. “I thought our defense was exceptional. People were diving and crashing everywhere to get to tough balls. They had a lot of girls that can hit the ball hard but our defense was fearless.” Cameron totaled 95 defensive digs against Tarleton State. The match lasted nearly two and a half hours and was Cameron’s third five-game victory of the season. Their last five-game match was a loss at home against Southeastern Oklahoma State.
“In our last five-game match we let the other team come back and tonight we decided we weren’t going to let history repeat itself,” Coach Haroun said. “This match was a great win in a tough place against a great team and was the turning point of our season.” The Aggies will stay in Austin, Texas, tonight before traveling down to Kingsville, Texas, on Friday afternoon. Cameron matches up with the 7th place Texas A&M – Kingsville Javelinas at 2:00pm on Saturday.
