LAWTON, Okla. – St. Edward's volleyball played stifling defense, smothering every Cameron spark before it could catch fire in a three-set sweep of the Aggies to split the Hilltoppers' Oklahoma road trip.
GRACE MCDONALD followed a Cameron service error with back-to-back kills to open the match, and the Hilltoppers never trailed from there. The Aggies drew even twice in the opening 12 rallies, but St. Edward's controlled the rest of the way.
St. Edward's opened with a balanced attack in the first set, spreading the offense through multiple setters and hitters, with
ALTHEA MORRIS handing out seven assists and
KAT NEILLE and
MIA CLAY landing four kills each.
JAIDEN LAVANWAY and
GISELLE OJEDA combined for seven assists, while Delany Gregory,
ADDY BADLEY, and McDonald added three apiece in a 25-18 win.
Neille and Clay followed with another four kills each in the second set on an even sharper rhythm, combining for eight kills on 13 swings with just one attack error. The Hilltoppers' front row softened Cameron's hardest swings, and Ojeda cleaned up everything behind them, anchoring the defense with 11 digs as the Aggies managed just six kills with nine errors in a 25-15 set.
Badley took over late, powering the offense with five kills in the third set and pairing with McDonald for four blocks, while Clay added a solo block. Despite 10 attack errors, St. Edward's defense again held firm, limiting Cameron to seven kills and seven errors in the 25-19 clincher.
Badley led the Hilltoppers with 11 kills on .219 hitting and four block assists. Neille added 10 kills, and Clay finished with nine on .231 hitting with a solo block. Morris and LaVanway paced the offense with 22 and 14 assists, McDonald controlled the net with five block assists, and Ojeda anchored the back row with 24 digs.
St. Edward's improves to 8-10 overall and 5-8 in conference play. The Hilltoppers return to the road next weekend to face No. 14 West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico before closing the regular season at home against Sul Ross State and Western New Mexico.
