SPARTANBURG, S.C. (September 5, 2018) – Ahead of a big weekend of matches at Moore Gymnasium, the North Carolina A&T volleyball team took a visit to USC Upstate on Wednesday.

The Aggies lost their midweek matchup to the Spartans in three sets (25-20, 25-14, 25-17) at the G.B. Hodge Center. It was the Aggies (3-2) second straight loss but both of those losses came on the road. Setter Edie Brewer (6-foot, SO, West Chester, Ohio) had another solid overall match with four kills, 18 assists, seven digs and two block assists. Middle blocker Lily Walton (6-1, FR, Charlotte, N.C.) had a good hitting night with six kills and one attack on seven total attacks for a .238 hitting percentage. Outside hitter Courteney Pitt (6-1, SO, Farmville, N.C.) finished with a team-high eight kills.

N.C. A&T tailed off late in each of the first two sets Wednesday night.

Libero Andrea Laboy-Rivera (5-5, FR, Coamo, Puerto Rico) tied the first set at 14 with a service ace. Upstate (1-6) responded by scoring the next three points. But the Aggies rallied to tie the set again, this time at 17, with two Upstate errors and a kill by outside hitter Leila Haynesworth (5-11, JR, Mechanicsville, Va.). After falling behind by two, 19-17, the Aggies tied the set again with a kill apiece from Pitt and Walton.

But the Aggies struggled to take the lead in the set as the Spartans went on a 4-0 run thanks in part to two attack errors and a service error. Pitt iced the Spartans momentum with a kill, but a kill from Upstate's Lily Dempsey and Emily Russell gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead.

The second set saw the Aggies come within two at 16-14 on a Haynesworth kill. But the Spartans scored the final nine points in the set to claim Set 2. The Aggies hit -.059 in the set, a season-low hitting percentage within a set for N.C. A&T.  A .545 hitting percentage in the third set helped Upstate win the set and clinch the set. Upstate took control of the third set with a 10-1 run that gave the Spartans a 22-12 lead. Walton halted the Spartans for a moment with a kill. Late in the set, the Aggies also got kills from Pitt and Brewer, but Dempsey ended the match with a kill. Dempsey led the Spartans with nine kills and a .333 hitting percentage.

 N.C. A&T will now turn their attention to their home opener on Friday as they face fellow Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference school Delaware State 6 p.m., Friday at Moore Gymnasium in a non-conference match as a part of the annual Spartan-Aggie Invitational. The invite continues Saturday when the Aggies face Winthrop at noon inside Moore before concluded the weekend at Fleming Gymnasium against UNC Greensboro Saturday night at 7.