DURHAM - When the 2010 North Carolina A&T volleyball team looks back on the season, the one thing the nine-member rookie class can take away from it is how difficult it was to close teams out at the end of sets.

The Aggies had such troubles against arch-rival N.C. Central Friday night. The Eagles won 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-19) in three intensely competitive sets. Freshmen Tatiana Cooper and Mia Gray led the way with eight kills apiece. Gray added 10 digs and Cooper added nine.

The Aggies opened the match strong. Two kills by Cooper and one by freshman Elisha Boyer set the pace for N.C. A&T. A Gray kill forced the Eagles to call a timeout as the Aggies jumped out to a 9-4 lead.

The Aggies kept the lead throughout the first set until a ball handling error by senior Amber Inman pulled the Eagles into a 16-16 deadlock. The Eagles extended that lead to three on a Tasha-Gaye Richards kill. The Aggies roared back to tie the match at 19 on an Andrea Evans kill.

N.C. A&T could not sustain the momentum, however. The Eagles regained their three-point lead at 24-21 when Maritsann Sinclair found a hole in the Aggies defense for a kill. Gray tried to keep the Aggies alive with a kill, but Sashalee Wallen clinched the first set win with a successful attack.

The second set was just as competitive. Again, an early Aggies start (13-9) was surpassed by an Eagles surge. The two teams eventually battled to a 23-23 tie. Gray moved the Aggies to within one point of securing the set with another kill. But NCCU responded with a block from Wallen and Kalin Russell to tie the set at 24.

An Aggies attack error and a Sinclair kill gave the Eagles a 2-0 advantage. They used that momentum to take the third set as the Eagles improved to 8-23 on the season. The Aggies (2-30) will close out the 2010 season on Sunday when they celebrate Senior Day against S.C. State at 12 p.m., from Corbett Sports Center.

The Aggies lone senior is Inman.