HAMPTON, Va. – On Saturday, North Carolina A&T got back to its winning ways in volleyball with a 3-1 win over the Hampton Pirates (25-19, 20-25, 25-7, 25-20) at Holland Hall.
"We had a solid road win today," A&T coach Hal Clifton said.
"I'm glad to see our team bounce back on the road and get back into the win column. This was a whole team effort this weekend, and I'm glad to see everyone contribute. I don't think we played our best, but we competed and scrapped and clawed to be competitive."
Edie Brewer (6-foot, GR, setter, West Chester, Ohio) reached another milestone in her superb career as she recorded her 1,000th career dig. Brewer has 1,008 career digs after adding nine to her total on Saturday. She also had a match-high 25 assists. Fatimah Shabazz (6-0, SR, right side, Cincinnati, Ohio) had 11 kills, four digs and two blocks.
As far as team milestones go, the Aggies (16-8, 8-4 Big South Conference) need one more win to reach the most wins they have ever had during the 11-year Clifton era.
After the Aggies trailed 15-13, the Aggies went on a 7-0 run to take a 20-15 lead. Hampton's Madison Clark ended the run with a kill, but the Aggies scored three straight that included a kill apiece from Addy Warfield (5-9, JR, S, Winter Springs, Fla.) and Mallory Porcher (6-0, JR, middle blocker, Orlando, Fla.) to take a 23-16 lead.
Kills from Hannah Howell (6-0, FR, outside hitter, St. Louis Park, Minn.) and Brewer ended the set in A&T's favor.
Hampton took set No. 2 after taking a 23-14 lead. However, the Aggies did go on a 6-1 spurt thanks to a block assist and solo block from Shaylynn Hall (6-1, SR, MB, Raleigh, N.C.) to make it a 24-20 set. But Clara Smith's kill evened the match at 1.
A&T easily won the third set before a 6-1 outburst in the fourth set gave the Aggies a 19-14 lead. Hampton did get to within three at 22-19, but the Aggies outscored the Pirates 3-1 the rest of the way as Hall had two kills during that span, and Naiya Sawtelle (6-0, FR, OH, Stuart, Fla.) ended the set and match with a kill.
Sawtelle recorded her second consecutive double-double and her eighth of the season with 15 kills and 17 digs. Warfield recorded 14 assists and seven digs, and Porcher posted eight kills, two blocks, and a .238 hitting percentage.
Andrea Laboy-Rivera (5-5, SR, libero, Coamo, Puerto Rico) Howell led the team with a match-high 19 digs apiece. Hall recorded eight kills and a match-high four blocks, with a .500 hitting percentage, and Macenzie Richards (6-0, SR, right side, Pickerington, Ohio) recorded four kills and two blocks.
Hall's three block assists give her 96 block assists this season to move into third place in school history for a single season.
Smith led Hampton with 10 kills, while Brooke Irvin led the Pirates with 17 assists. Leanna Caldwell posted 16 digs.
