NORFOLK,
Va. – The close sets just haven't seemed to go the North Carolina
A&T volleyball team's way this season. That scenario continued on
Friday
as Norfolk State defeated the Aggies 3-0 (25-21, 25-11, 26-24) to open
MEAC play at Gill Gym Friday night.
Senior Tiffany Mellette led the Aggies with 11 kills and five digs in a
match defined by missed opportunities for N.C. A&T. The Aggies
trailed
22-18 in the first set, but the Spartans allowed them to pull closer
with miscues.
Attack errors by NSU's Aurelia Isham and Nicole Kessner pulled the
Aggies to within two. Senior Janae Mitchell took a pass from junior
Amber Inman and slammed it down to cut the Spartans lead to 22-21. The
Spartans ended their slide with a kill from Elayne Greer. An attack
error by redshirt freshman Kaneisha Winfield and a Kesser kill gave
the
Spartans the set.
The Spartans didn't have many problems with the Aggies in the second
set, but the Aggies aimed to extend the match to four sets with a
tremendous effort in the third set. The Aggies led 19-16 in the third,
but a service error and back-to-back attack errors by N.C. A&T
tied the
set at 19.
The two teams went back-and-forth until Ellica Morris threaded a kill
between Aggie defenders for a 24-23 lead. Mellette kept the Aggies in
the set with a kill of her own to tie the set. But back-to-back kills
from Kessner and Angie Clewis gave the Spartans the conference
victory.
The Aggies (1-20, 0-1) will step outside of conference play on Sunday
when they face Winston-Salem State on the road at 3 p.m.
