EAST GREENSBORO – In their first season of playing volleyball in the Big South Conference, North Carolina A&T clinched a spot in the conference tournament after a straight-set win (25-20, 25-23, 25-22) against Radford Thursday night at Moore Gymnasium.
"We just knew that we have to get to the Big South tournament to have a chance to reach the NCAAs," A&T coach Hal Clifton said. "We were prepared, and the girls were focused. We did one of the goals, and there is a lot out there to achieve.
The Aggies improved to 17-8 overall and 9-4 in the league. Radford dropped to 5-20 overall and 3-10 in the Big South. A&T's 17 wins are the most wins they have had since Clifton took over the program in 2011. It was also their highest win total since 2006 when the Aggies went 17-14 overall.
"Records don't matter. There's a lot of parody in our conference," Clifton said. "Teams are going to come at you.
Teams that are above you and below you are going to try to beat you. Some teams want to be your spoiler and try to give you a loss. I think a lot of people are trying to come after each other that way."
The Aggies are in third place, a half-match ahead of Winthrop and USC Upstate going into the weekend. Winthrop and Upstate play on Friday.
Naiya Sawtelle (6-foot, FR, outside hitter, Stuart, Fla.) led the Aggies with a match-high 15 kills and recorded a .342 hitting percentage to go along with seven digs and two blocks. Edie Brewer (6-0, GR, setter, West Chester, Ohio) recorded a match-high 22 assists and added nine kills, seven digs, three service aces and a block.
Radford led the first set 18-15 until the Aggies ran off seven straight points with Andrea Laboy-Rivera (5-5, SR, libero, Coamo, Puerto Rico). Three different Aggies had kills during the run to give A&T a 22-18 lead.
After a Radford timeout, the Highlanders did end the Aggies run with a kill. But a kill apiece from Sawtelle and Mallory Porcher (6-0, JR, middle blocker, Orlando, Fla.) gave the Aggies set point. A Kennedi Johnson kill kept the Highlanders alive, but Sawtelle gave the Aggies a one-set lead with a kill.
The second set featured 25 lead changes and 12 times before the Aggies got some breathing room with a kill apiece from Brewer and Sawtelle to make it a 17-14 set. The Aggies eventually took a 19-15 lead before Radford outscored the Aggies 5-1 to cut the A&T's lead to 21-20.
Back-to-back Hailey Flowers attack errors increased the Aggies lead to 23-20 before a Login Williams kill made it a two-point set. Another Sawtelle kill gave the Aggies set point before two straight Radford points made it 24-23. Fatimah Shabazz (6-0, R-SR, right side, Cincinnati, Ohio) ended the competitive set with a kill.
The Highlanders overcame a 10-3 deficit in the third set to tie things at 17. A&T did take a 22-19 lead on a block assist from Hannah Howell (6-0, FR, OH, St. Louis Park, Minn.) and Shaylynn Hall (6-1, SR, MB, Raleigh, N.C.). Led by two Emily Dukes kills, the Highlanders scored three straight to tie the set.
But the Aggies scored three straight capped off by a Brewer ace to win the set and the match.
Shabazz led the Aggies with a match-high four blocks, adding 10 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Howell added five kills and 10 digs. Laboy-Rivera posted a match-high 15 digs and a match-high four aces. Hall and Mallory Porcher recorded three blocks, and Addy Warfield (5-9, JR, setter, Winter Springs, Fla.) added 15 assists.
"In the new conference, we are doing pretty well," Laboy-Rivera said. "We are trying to do everything consistently, and we are trying to practice every day harder, so we make it to the tournament. In my senior year, I've been working hard on getting some consistency on my serves."
