KINGSVILLE, Texas (October 20) – The Cameron volleyball team (11-13, 4-4 LSC) secured their longest winning streak of the season this afternoon with a five-game victory over Texas A&M – Kingsville (11-10, 4-6 LSC). The Aggies won their third straight and with four matches left on the season, moved closer to a Lone Star Conference playoff berth. The match was CU’s fifth in the last six matches that was forced to a fifth and final game and was scored 24-30, 30-21, 30-25, 27-30, 15-12.

 

“We knew this was a critical point in our season and we knew we are going to have to play our best volleyball,” Head Coach John Haroun said. “We had to find a way to win and our defense has taken their game to another level.”

 

The match lasted over two hours and moved Cameron into 8th place in the conference standings. The top eight teams make the LSC Championship Tournament. The Aggies won each of their matches on this last three-match road trip and have just four matches remaining this season.

 

“We had a big, long talk before we went on this trip. It was do or die because we were playing teams above us in the standings and we knew we needed to win the matches,” Coach Haroun said. “Our backs were against the wall, and either we were going to fight it out or go down. The team decided to fight and not give up the season that easy. They are playing like a very determined team.”

Senior outside hitter Fernanda Queiroz continued her recent dominance with an impressive 24 kills on 73 attacks, both team-highs. She recorded a .288 attack percentage with just 3 errors. Queiroz also totaled 24 defensive digs, a service ace, an assist, and a block-assist.

 

“Fey (Queiroz) and I talked about cutting down on her errors and she is really taking it to heart,” Coach Haroun said. “She is playing just great.”

Junior setter/libero Haley Hatch had a very solid performance, totaling a team-high 34 defensive digs. She also recorded 3 assists.

 

“Haley Hatch had 34 digs which is just crazy,” Coach Haroun said. “Whitney (Long) had a pretty huge day too.”

 

Long, a junior middle blocker, converted 16 kills on 34 attacks (5 errors) for a .324 attack percentage. She also finished with 3 defensive digs and 2 assists.

 

Sophomore setter Laura Ellerbrock led the team in assists with 55 total. She also recorded a strong .333 attack percentage with 6 kills on 18 attacks with no errors. Her 21 defensive digs, 1 block-assist, and team-high 4 service aces played a big role in CU’s victory as well.

“The good thing is that when we get to a fifth game we are used to it and don’t get nervous,” Coach Haroun said. “We know what we have to do and we fight for it. That stamina is what we train for. I honestly don’t think we played as well (today) as we did on Thursday, but we played well enough to win and I think that says a lot about this team.”

 

Cameron hosts Eastern New Mexico University this Thursday night (October 25) at 7:00pm in Aggie Gym. There are just two home matches remaining on Cameron’s schedule.