DURHAM (October 21, 2016) - North Carolina A&T volleyball was in for a long yet rewarding night as the Aggies knocked off Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference foe North Carolina Central University in a thrilling 3-2 victory (25-22, 24-26, 25-19, 20-25, 15-7) at McDougald-McLendon Arena on Friday night.  The Aggies improved to 7-11 overall and 4-1 in the MEAC while the Eagles dropped to 3-13 (2-3 MEAC).

“This was a very hard fought win for us,” said head coach Hal Clifton. "I am very proud of the way our girls battled tonight, and I am especially pleased with how we competed in the fifth set; we were able to get off to a strong start and put the set-end match away early and secure the win.

 Finishing the first half of the season at 4-1 was a goal that our ladies set for themselves early on in preseason, and it is very exciting for us to achieve that, especially doing so in the hostile environment of playing away at NCCU. It is a great win and an even better way to kick off the second half of our conference play."

Junior outside hitter Samara Brown and junior right side hitter Alyssa Pitt both had double-doubles. Brown produced 18 kills and 22 digs hitting .186 while Pitt put up 19 kills and 13 digs of her own, hitting .125. Senior setter Liz Martino added 46 assists and 21 blocks for her third double-double of the season.  Jasmine Lindor led the Aggies, hitting .333 with eight kills and two errors on 18 total attempts.  She also notched two solo blocks and four block assists throughout the match.

The Aggies closed out the match with their most efficient set of the night.  The team hit .333 with eight kills and two errors in Set 5, going on a three point run to claim the 15-7 win.  Pitt put up three kills and a service ace in the set followed by freshmen Christa Wilson who had two kills.

The evening started strong for N.C. A&T as the team hit .182 to move ahead 25-22 after the first set.  Wilson produced six kills with two errors and Brown had five kills with one error.  As she did to close out Set 5, a kill from Te'Borah Hawkins-Hollingsworth gave the Aggies a 1-0 edge over the Eagles.  A battle in the second set resulted in a 26-24 N.C. Central win to tie the match at one set apiece. 

Things picked up for the Aggies again in Set 3 as the Eagles struggled to get anything going offensively.  N.C. Central had a .000 hitting percentage in the set while the Aggies hit .122.  Brown and Pitt each had four kills and a service ace to help lead the team to their 25-19 win.  N.C. Central had their best set of the evening in the fourth, hitting .300 with 12 kills and three errors compared to the Aggies .061 with 10 kills and eight errors.  However, N.C. A&T played a complete match to pick up a conference win on the road in five.

The Aggies have a two-game home stretch starting on Friday, Oct. 28 as they take on the visiting MEAC southern division Savannah State Tigers at 7 p.m., and then go on to face S.C. State on Sunday, Oct. 30 at 2 p.m.  N.C. A&T picked up 3-0 victories over the Tigers and Bulldogs on the road earlier this season to start MEAC competition.