DURHAM-The North Carolina A&T volleyball team put up a
fight against their arch-rival, N.C. Central, on Friday night at LeRoy T.
Walker P.E. Complex, but lost the match in four (25-17, 21-25, 15-25, 25-22).
The Aggies (1-27, 1-5) had three players record double-digit
kills in the match. Freshman outside hitter Brooke Stamnes posted her sixth
double-double of the season with a team-best 14 kills and 10 digs. Freshman Te'Borah Hawkins-Hollingsworth had
11 kills and a .344 hitting percentage, while senior middle hitter Andrea Evans
had 10 kills and a .350 hitting percentage in the match. But the Aggies weren't able to fully shut
down the Eagles (6-19, 4-2) offense as four players totaled 10 or more kills,
including 18 from Christine Anthony (who also had 14 digs) and 14 from Denni
Johnson. N.C. Central hit .326 in the
match, and kept the pressure up on the Aggies all evening.
"They came out with enthusiasm and energy and we didn't
match it. We hung as well as we could
but they outplayed us tonight," said A&T head coach Hal Clifton. "I thought I had the matchups I wanted. Their No. 7 [Anthony] played really well."
In the second set, the two teams fought a close match. The two teams tied at 14, before A&T went
on a 4-0 run to pull ahead. Another 4-0 gave A&T 23-18 lead as Stamnes
capped the run with a kill. Evans
finished off the Eagles with a kill. Six kills by Stamnes and five from Evans
helped pace the Aggies en route to their 23rd set victory of the
year.
After the Eagles took over the Aggies in the third, the
Aggies had trouble holding on to the lead in the fourth. The Aggies held a slim
21-19 lead, but the Eagles tied the match at 21 on an attack error by McRae. The
Eagles won the next two points before Daniels worked to pull the Aggies to
within one at 23-22. Russell slammed a kill to pull N.C. Central within one of
match point. A kill by Ashley McCarthy
sealed the victory for the Eagles.
Clifton said that the Aggies will work to improve upon their
in-match energy and on making in-match defensive adjustments for their last
four matches of the season.
The Aggies will continue their road swing by heading to
Florida next weekend. Florida A&M
will host the Aggies on Friday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m., and A&T will compete at
Bethune-Cookman on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m.
The Aggies will likely have to win each of their next four matches to
finish the season in fourth place or better in the Southern Division to earn a
berth into the 2012 MEAC Tournament.
