EAST GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T completed the Norfolk State sweep in Mid-Eastern Athletic Volleyball play on Friday with a three-set win (25-21,25-11,25-17) on Friday at Moore Gymnasium.
Senior setter Edie Brewer recorded her third consecutive double-double of the season with 10 kills and a match-high 21 assists. She added seven digs, a match-high four service aces and a .364 hitting percentage. Junior libero Andrea Laboy-Rivera led the team with a match-high 13 digs.
Junior right side hitter Fatimah Shabazz posted 13 kills with an impressive .522 hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter Amalie Rupertova added six kills and six digs. Sophomore setter Addy Warfield added 15 assists and four digs, and middle blocker Shaylynn Hall added five kills and four blocks, with one of them solo.
The Aggies (2-1, 2-0 MEAC) recorded 11 service aces, recorded a .276 hitting percentage and held the Spartans (1-5, 0-2 MEAC) to a .051 hitting percentage.
"I thought we played another solid match," N.C. A&T coach Hal Clifton said. "I felt like we were able to put a lot of pressure on their defense today thanks to our ball control. I felt like we handled our first contacts very well, which allowed us to stay in-system and keep them guessing. We had a lot of success on the right side, with both Edie and Fatimah combining for 23 kills. It was a good win, and I'm happy for our team."
N.C. A&T outscored the Spartans 150-97 over six sets played in two days. But the Spartans were effective in Set No. 1.
The Aggies jumped out to a 14-7 lead forcing the Spartans to call timeout. The Spartans came out of the timeout inspired, closing the Aggies lead to 14-11 on a Nicole Rodriguez service ace. A Brewer kill slowed the Spartans momentum for a moment, but the Spartans with three straight points to cut the Aggies lead to one, 15-14.
The two teams traded points over the next few minutes as an Aggies attack error kept NSU within one at 18-17. But the Aggies took advantage of two NSU service errors and an attack error to take a 21-18 lead. The Spartans did get back to within one at 22-21 on a solo block by Jannel Ezeagwu. But the Aggies closed things out with a kill apiece from Hall and Shabazz and a block assist from Hall and Shabazz.
The Spartans scored the first point of the second stanza, but with Brewer serving, the Aggies scored the next 10 points to take a nine-point lead, 10-1. The run included two Brewer service aces and three kills from Shabazz. N.C. A&T grew their lead to 11, 17-6 on Rupertova kill.
N.C. A&T maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way, even after an attack error made it a 21-11 set. The Aggies closed out the set with a Spartan ball-handling error, a kill apiece from Shabazz and Brewer and an ace from Warfield.
The final frame was very close at the beginning of the set as neither team could get more than a two-point lead. The Aggies took away Norfolk State's 8-6 lead by going on a 6-1 run for a three-point lead, 12-9, that included back-to-back aces from junior libero Nadia Montalbán El-Hiriche.
The Aggies lead grew to 19-13 on a Brewer kill as the Spartans never got any closer than five the rest of the way. Leading 23-17, the Aggies closed things out with a kill from Rupertova and Richards to end the set and the match.
Rachel Williams led the Spartans with five kills.
The Aggies start a four-game road trip starting with two matches at N.C. Central beginning with a 6 p.m. tilt, Thursday, Feb. 18, and the follow-up match at 6 p.m., Friday in Durham, N.C.
