ELON, N.C. (August 28, 2018) – North Carolina A&T came up short for the first time this season falling in straight-sets (27-25, 25-17, 25-15) to Elon Tuesday night at the Schar Center on the campus of Elon University.

Libero Andrea Laboy-Rivera(5-foot-5, Fr., Coamo, Puerto Rico) paced the Aggies defense with 17 digs while setter Edie Brewer(6-0, So., West Chester, Ohio) finished with 14 assists, nine digs and five kills. Outside hitter Courteney Pitt(6-1, So., Farmville, N.C.) recorded a team-high seven kills while outside hitter Christa Wilson(5-9, Jr., Raleigh, N.C.) chipping in with six kills and eight digs.

“It was a very exciting match to be a part of,” said N.C. A&T coach Hal Clifton. “Our team competed very well against a very good Elon team. We had some good moments and put a lot of pressure on our opponent. We are still figuring out a few things, but I like our grit and our competitiveness. Our team was on a big stage and kept a very cool edge. I can tell you our players were not happy with the results, the loss hurts and they are eager to get back in the gym tomorrow to put in more work.”

An exciting opening set between the Aggies and Phoenix featured nine ties and four lead changes. Wilson led the Aggie attack in the first set garnering four of 11 team kills. Elon committed 11 errors and connected on eight kills hitting -.064.

Early errors by Elon followed by back-to-back kills by N.C. A&T's right side hitter Macenzie Richards (6-0, Fr., Pickerton, Ohio) and junior MakaylahElliot gave the Aggies a 7-4 lead. Wilson then sparked a 5-0 run stretching A&T's advantage to 12-5 forcing the Phoenix to call a second timeout in the set.

Elon battled back with a run of their own cutting the deficit to two, 18-16. The Phoenix tied things at 21 on a pair of N.C. A&T errors. Pitt gave the Aggies a 23-22 lead on her second kill of the set. The Aggies were on the brink of victory after a Brewer kill put N.C. A&T ahead 25-24. But Elon closed the set with three unanswered points to take a 1-0 lead.

The second set was knotted at 12 on a Brewer kill and an Elon error. The Aggies fell into an offensive slump with several attack errors during a 7-2 Elon run and fell behind 19-14. Pitt had three kills and Wilson added two to highlight the Aggies attack. Elon fired 11 kills and made only three errors in a set where they never trailed.

The third set began with a 5-0 run by the Phoenix followed by the Aggies responding with a 6-2 run to force an Elon timeout. But 10 errors stalled any momentum the Aggies had going. A pair of kills by Elon's Madi Genaway extended their lead to 18-11 causing the Aggies to take a timeout. Down the stretch, Elon held the Aggies to three kills while closing the set and match on a 7-3 run completing a straight-set sweep. Elliot, Pitt, and Hall each had two kills apiece in the third set.

N.C. A&T travels to Spartanburg, S.C. for a matchup against USC Upstate on Wednesday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m.