North Carolina A&T (0-1, 0-0 MEAC) vs. Norfolk State (1-3, 0-0 MEAC)
Date(s): Feb. 11-12
Time(s): 4 p.m. & 1 p.m.
Facility: Moore Gymnasium     

AGGIES OVERVIEW: North Carolina A&T opened their season last Friday with a four-set loss to East Carolina in Moore Gymnasium.  

Senior outside hitter Courteney Pitt led the team with a game-high 16 kills against ECU and added eight digs. Junior middle blocker Fatimah Shabazz added 11 kills and three blocks.  

Senior setter Edie Brewer led the team with 30 assists and added 11 digs for her 34th career double-double. Junior libero Andrea Laboy-Rivera led the team with a game-high 24 digs.

Hal Clifton leads N.C. A&T. Clifton enters his 10th season in Aggieland. When he arrived as the Aggies head coach, N.C. A&T only had five players. In the past three seasons, the Aggies have not finished below .500. The last time N.C. A&T finished below .500 in the MEAC under Clifton was 2012. Last season, he led the Aggies to the MEAC southern division title at 13-1, and the Aggies made a postseason appearance in the National Invitational Volleyball Championships. 

Clifton earned coach of the year in the MEAC in 2019. He has a 44-41 record (.518) over the previous three seasons, including a 26-8 (.765) MEAC record over that same span. 

NORFOLK STATE SPARTANS OVERVIEW: Norfolk State won their first match of the season, 3-2, over George Mason, but has lost the last three straight matches, including two to Delaware State.

Rachel Williams leads the Spartans with 2.27 kills per set, Heliceliz Rivera is averaging 5.40 assists per set. Nicole Rodriguez leads defensively with 5.13 digs per set, and Raola Maradel is averaging 0.87 blocks per set.  

Head coach Kathy Bullock, who coached at N.C. A&T from 1994-03, leads the Spartans. Bullock compiled 162 wins as the Aggies head coach over 10 seasons. She is in her 27th season overall and her second at Norfolk State. Bullock has compiled 372 career wins. 

MEAC WEEKLY AWARDS: Brewer and Laboy-Rivera both received MEAC weekly awards after the match against East Carolina. The MEAC named Brewer setter of the week after 30 assists and 11 digs, and they named Laboy-Rivera defensive player of the week after 24 digs in four sets. 

CAREER WATCH: Pitt has 991 career kills and needs nine kills to become the third Aggie to reach 1,000 kills in a career, joining Arlene Mitchell and Brooke Stamnes. Brewer ranks fourth in school history in assists (1,918), she is sixth all-time in career service aces (112), seventh in block assists (147), eighth in digs (691) and 10th in kills (628). Laboy-Rivera has 923 career digs to place fifth in school history.

UP NEXT:  The Aggies travel to Durham, N.C., to face North Carolina Central Thursday, Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. and Friday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m.