ORANGEBURG, S.C. – North Carolina A&T had no problems with South Carolina State as the Aggies defeated the Bulldogs 3-0 (25-12, 14,13) Friday night in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) volleyball action at SHM Memorial Center.  

The Aggies are .500 on the season at 13-13 as they improved to 11-1 in the MEAC.

“I thought we played a pretty solid match tonight,” N.C. A&T coach Hal Clifton said.  “I felt like we pushed the tempo and set the tone.  Defensively, we blocked well, and our back row did a nice job allowing us to make some very good transition swings.  We were able to spread the ball around quite a bit.”

Junior setter/right side Edie Brewer led the team with nine kills, 16 assists and six digs to along with a .263 hitting percentage. Freshman setter Addy Warfield added 16 assists and four digs. Sophomore right side Fatimah Shabazz added seven kills and four blocks with a .308 hitting percentage. Senior middle hitter Makaylah Elliott and junior outside hitter Courteney Pitt each had six kills. Pitt had a hitting percentage of .857 and Elliott registered a .667 hitting percentage along with three service aces and three blocks.

Sophomore right side hitter Macenzie Richards led the team with nine digs, freshman middle hitter Mallory Porcher led the team with three blocks and sophomore libero Andrea Laboy-Rivera had five digs.

SCSU (0-25, 0-11 MEAC) trailed 9-4 early in the first set. The Aggies then compiled a 5-1 lead thanks to two Wilson kills, a Brewer kill and a service ace from Pitt to take a 14-5 lead. The Aggies cruised from there to take the first set.

In the second stanza, the set was tied at 5 before the Aggies ran off seven straight points to take a 12-5 advantage. The run included two Leila Haynesworth kills and a kill from Porcher. After an Alexus Holt kill for SCSU made it 20-12, the Aggies rattled off four straight points thanks to a kill apiece from Shabazz, Brewer and Porcher to go along with a block assist from Porcher and Shabazz to take a 24-12 lead.

The Bulldogs scored the next two points before a service error gave the Aggies the set.

N.C. A&T took another big lead in the third set at 13-5. The Aggies rolled from there. Back-to-back kills from Richards and Elliott gave the Aggies a 17-9 lead. Sparked by an Elliott kill, a SCSU attack error and a SCSU service error, the Aggies claimed a 22-11 lead. The Aggies reached set and match point on an SCSU service error and won the match Haynesworth ace.

The Bulldogs were led by Holt with 10 kills.

The Aggies finish the regular season by hosting Bethune-Cookman Friday at 6 p.m., for Senior Day at Moore Gymnasium. Florida A&M comes to Moore at 1 p.m., on Sunday.