GREENSBORO – It is not a bad way to start your final Greatest Homecoming On Earth weekend as a collegiate. With the backdrop of North Carolina A&T's homecoming looming, the senior volleyball trio of Brooke Stamnes, Ashley Johnson and Aleena McDaniel played key roles in the Aggies four-set win (25-16, 17-25, 25-19, 25-18) over arch-rival N.C. Central Friday night at Moore Gymnasium.
The win marked the Aggies (5-11, 3-3 MEAC) fourth straight at home. Stamnes, who had an efficient .257 hitting percentage against the Eagles, finished with 15 kills and 14 digs for her 26th career double-double. In the process she moved past Darlene Mitchell into second on the Aggies all-time kills list. She now has 949.
Johnson, the Aggies all-time leader in career digs, added 16 to her total moving her three digs shy of becoming the first player in school history to reach 1,500 digs.
But it was McDaniel who may have had the most memorable moment of the evening as the trio reflects on things years later. It was her block assist that clinched the match for the Aggies as the Eagles dropped to 3-21 overall and 2-4 in the MEAC. Sophomore Alyssa Pitt added 15 kills, six total blocks and six digs.
“It's hard to talk about one without talking about all three,” said Clifton after being asked about Stamnes' performance. “They've meant so much to this program.”
They hope to continue their impact on the program into the MEAC tournament. The Aggies came into the game in a three-way tie for third in the southern division with NCCU and S.C. State. After avenging a three-set loss to the Eagles earlier this season in Durham, the Aggies are now a combined 2-1 against NCCU and SCSU with a road game against the Bulldogs coming up on Nov. 1.
On Friday, the Aggies took control of the match after the first two sets of the match were a wash. The Eagles posted a dismal -.118 hitting percentage in the first to lose by a large margin while the Aggies returned the favor by hitting -.033 in the second to lose by eight.
“We needed to be energetic. That's how we won the first set,” said Clifton about his thoughts following the second set. “We gave them an early head start in the second set. We were not happy about that. We knew if we could come out, jump on them and keep that energy like we had in the first set, we would be okay.”
Energy is just what the Aggies gave the enthusiastic crowd at Moore. The Aggies took a 4-3 lead in the third after Kelsey Murphy error and never relinquished the lead again. N.C. A&T's lead grew to 18-13 before Clifton was compelled to call timeout following a Stamnes error that pulled the Eagles to within two, 21-19. The strategy session worked. The Aggies ran off the final four points of the set that included two Stamnes kills to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
N.C. A&T's energy continued as the team jumped out to another early lead before three attack errors and a kill by Kierra Shipman gave the Eagles a 14-13 lead. But again, an Aggies timeout proved to be beneficial as they scored seven straight points. Stamnes had a kill and a service ace during the run, but it was thunderous kill from Pitt that elicited a loud roar from the crowd.
Brown put the Aggies on the brink of winning the match with a kill to take a 24-17 lead. After McDaniel kept the Eagles alive with an attack error, she ended their hopes with a block assist aided by sophomore Jasmine Lindor who had six on the night.
N.C. A&T returns to action, Friday Oct. 30 when they face Savannah State in Savannah, Ga., at 6 p.m.
