RALEIGH - North Carolina A&T's lack of depth had an effect on its play at the N.C. State Volleyball Tournament on Friday. The Aggies lost to N.C. State 3-0 (25-9, 10, 11) Friday morning at Reynolds Coliseum. Later in the day, they were defeated by Western Carolina 3-0 (25-10, 16, 11).
Lack of depth will also have an effect on the Aggies on Saturday. N.C. A&T will not play its final two games of the tournament on Saturday because sophomore setter Chelsea Fox was injured on Friday. It leaves the Aggies, who have six players on the team, without enough competitors to face Campbell and Wisconsin.
In competition on Friday, the Aggies had a tough time stopping the Wolfpack's offensive attack. The Wolfpack put together a .441 hitting percentage for the match. Meredith Richardson led the way with 10 kills and only one attack error in 12 attempts.
Against Western Carolina, the Aggies were able to get off to good starts, but were not able to keep the momentum. Sophomore Murphye Williams' kill in the first game versus the Mountaineers gave the Aggies a 4-1 advantage. But an 11-1 rally put WCU in control of the game.
Two games later, sophomore Tatiana Cooper put down a kill to tie the game at 6 before a 4-0 run that included two Aggie attack errors helped WCU gain control. Sophomore Jeana Daniels had five kills against N.C. State, while Cooper had five kills in the WCU match.
"We had some good moments early in each set, but were not able to sustain it," said N.C. A&T head coach Hal Clifton. "We played very inconsistent."
The Aggies come to Corbett Sports Center on Wednesday, September 7 at 6 p.m., for their home opener.