BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Playing in its first Big South Conference Volleyball Championship Tournament match, the fourth-seeded North Carolina A&T Aggies defeated No. 5 USC Upstate for the second time in a week, 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-21) Friday night at Campbell University's Gilbert Craig Gore Arena.

The win advances the Aggies (20-9) to the semifinals to face the tournament's top seed in High Point University, Saturday at 7 p.m. If the Aggies win, they will advance to the championship match at 4:30 p.m., Sunday at Gore. 

The win gives A&T head coach Hal Clifton his first career 20-win season. It is the program's first 20-win season in 16 years when the Aggies advanced to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) tournament final. 

 "It was a hard-fought victory tonight," Clifton said. 

"I'm proud of how patient the team stayed against a talented Upstate team. After the first set, we made a lineup change, and it worked in our favor. Macenzie (Richards) and Maya (Johnson) came off the bench and contributed in a big way. 

Edie earned another triple-double and attacked well. It was a great team effort tonight. Another milestone achieved, winning our first match in the Big South tournament."

Edie Brewer's (West Chester, Ohio) 16 kills, 26 assists and 14 digs marked her fifth triple-double of the season and the 14th of her career. Addy Warfield (Winter Springs, Fla.) recorded her sixth double-double this season with 22 assists and 11 digs.

Naiya Sawtelle (Stuart, Fla.) recorded her 11th double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs. Sawtelle has 373 kills in her freshman campaign, the ninth-most in a single season by an Aggie. 

A&T posted a .140 hitting percentage in the first set and trailed 22-15. However, the Aggies did cut the lead to five on kills from Brewer and Sawtelle. But Upstate (14-16) closed out the set on a kill by Briana Strobert. 

The Aggies rebounded nicely and took a 24-15 lead on a Johnson (Austin, Texas) kill. The Spartans then went on an incredible 7-0 run as Kelly Wiedemann had two kills during the spurt to get the Spartans to within one at 24-23. However, the steady fifth-year senior, Brewer, stemmed the tide with a kill to even the match at 1. 

A block assist from Mallory Porcher (Orlando, Fla.) and Johnson gave the Aggies a 17-13 lead in the third. A 5-1 Upstate run tied the set at 18. The Aggies responded with four straight points, highlighted by a block assist from Porcher and Richards (Pickerington, Ohio).  

Upstate cut the lead to 23-21, but a Brewer kill, and a Shaylynn Hall (Raleigh, N.C.) solo block gave the Aggies the match lead. 

The Aggies looked on the brink of advancing as Nadia Montalbán-El Hirchie (Granada, Spain) scored on an ace to give the Aggies 22-18 in the fourth set. The Spartans never got any closer than three from there. A Brewer kill gave the Aggies set and match point at 24-20. Finally, a Hall kill gave the Aggies their historic win at 25-21. 

Richards contributed with 13 kills, one shy of her career-high. She also had nine digs. 

"It was exciting," Richards said on the win. "We wanted to come out and play like how we play. In the first set, we had to work on our nerves. But other than that, we played like we always know how to."

Hall added five kills and three solo blocks, and Mallory Porcher added eight kills, three digs and two blocks. Andrea Laboy-Rivera (5-5, SR, libero, Coamo, Puerto Rico) recorded a team-high 23 digs and two service aces. Laboy-Rivera's 426 digs this season is the seventh-most in a single season by an Aggie. Montalbán-El Hirchie added eight digs and two service aces. 

Strobert led the Spartans with 14 kills. Allie Hamsher recorded a double-double with 26 assists and 14 digs, and Makenzie Marcum led with a match-high 27 digs.