EAST GREENSBORO (September 7, 2018) – A second set that looked promising enough for the North Carolina A&T volleyball to take a comfortable lead over the Delaware State Hornets turned into a momentum-building, match-turning positive for the Hornets as they downed the Aggies 3-1 (22-25, 29-27, 25-23, 25-18) Friday night at Corbett Sports Center.

It was the Aggies (3-3) home opener after playing their first five matches away. It was also the first match of the Spartan-Aggie Invitational which will continue for the Aggies tomorrow afternoon at 12 when they face Winthrop at Corbett.

Behind the leadership of middle hitters Lily Walton and Shaylynn Hall and outside hitter Courteney Pitt the Aggies took down the Hornets (1-8) in the first set. The trio had three kills apiece with Walton making only one attack error on six total attempts and Hall making no attack errors on four attempts.

With the set tied at 21, a DSU attack error and a Walton kill gave the Aggies a 23-21. Mayah Ngundam answered with a kill for the Hornets before a Ngundam service error and attack error gave the Aggies the set.

The match continued to go well for the Aggies in the second set as a service ace from libero Andrea Laboy-Rivera gave the Aggies a 12-5 advantage. DSU settled in however and began to play even with the Aggies. N.C. A&T still held a 13-7 lead after right side hitter Macenzie Richards knocked down a kill off a pass from setter Edie Brewer. But the Hornets used five kills during an 8-2 run to tie the set at 15. DSU's spurt turned the set into a thriller.

Despite losing a seven-point lead, N.C. A&T still had a chance to close out the set. Hall powered down a kill to give the Aggies a 24-23 but an attack error tied the set at 24. The Aggies never gained the advantage again. After Nia Scott's serve flew into the net for an error, Laboy-Rivera returned the favor to give the Hornets a 27-26. Walton tied the match with a kill before the Hornets evened the match at 1 with kills from Milexa Cardona and Ngundam.

“Tonight, was one of those nights that things just didn't go your way,” said N.C. A&T coach Hal Clifton. “A lot of it had to do with the fact that we didn't sustain our focus long enough. Midway through the second set we became extremely tight and started to force things. We made mental errors that led to physical errors and that will be fixed.”

DSU's come-from-behind second-set victory seemed to spur the Hornets throughout the rest of the match. The Aggies did hold a 21-19 lead in the third set thanks to block assists from Brewer and Walton. The Hornets tied the set at 22 on an Aggies attack error before Hall helped the Aggies regain the lead at 23-22 on a kill. But block assists from Kiera Holtzclaw and Caroline Rakoski, an Aggies attack error and Ngundam kill helped DSU win the set thanks to a 3-0 run.

Devin Ruble and Armbrister helped the Hornets close out the match. Ruble had four kills and one attack error on nine attempts while Armbrister finished the fourth set with three kills and no errors on four attempts. DSU hit .300 for the set. Leading 20-17 in the fourth, the Hornets closed out the set and match with a 5-1 run.

Pitt led the Aggies with 14 kills. Richards and Hall posted nine kills apiece with Richards nearly recording a double-double as she also added 15 digs to her totals.  Brewer finished with five kills, 28 assists, eight digs, a solo block and three blocks assists. Laboy-Rivera finished with 20 digs. Ngundam led the Hornets with 13 kills.

“Let's be honest. We just didn't play well, and they did,” said Clifton. “When that happens, you don't come out on top.”