NORFOLK, Va. – In a three-hour heart-stopping classic, North Carolina A&T's hopes of winning their first-ever Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) volleyball tournament championship got defibrillated several times. But they finally advanced to the MEAC tournament championship match with a five-set thrilling win over Delaware State (28-26, 25-22, 34-36, 22-25, 15-13) at Norfolk State University's Echols Hall on Friday evening.
"What a great win for the Aggies tonight," said A&T coach Hal Clifton. "It was a fight to the finish."
The Aggies (10-1), the top seed out of the MEAC southern division, won their 10th straight match. Delaware State, the No. 2 seed out of the north, dropped to11-5 as both teams' efforts throughout the match were admirable.
Coppin State defeated N.C. Central in three sets in the other semifinal match, and will play the Aggies live on ESPNU at 6 p.m., Saturday from Echols Hall. The winner will advance to the NCAA tournament. The Aggies are looking for their first-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament.
The Aggies won the first two sets by a combined total of five points. The Hornets and the Aggies then put on a third set that will be placed in the annals of great sets played in the postseason.
DSU won that set and the fourth set. The Hornets then took a 5-0 lead in the fifth and determining set, threatening to send the Aggies back to Greensboro earlier than expected.
A&T turned to their all-conference hitters to fight back. During an 8-2 spurt by the Aggies, seniors Fatimah Shabazz and Courteney Pitt had two kills apiece, and Shabazz teamed with junior Shaylynn Hall for a block assist during the run. Junior Andrea Laboy-Rivera capped off the run with a service ace and an 8-7 lead.
The teams traded points from there until a block assist from Hall, and junior Macenzie Richards gave the Aggies match and set point at 14-12. DSU's Kristi Gomez kept the Hornets alive with a kill before Hall sent the Aggies to Saturday's championship match with a kill from senior setter and MEAC player of the year Edie Brewer.
A&T is in the MEAC championship match for the second time in three seasons.
"Delaware State played a great match, but I'm so proud of how our team competed and kept their composure," said Clifton. "It was a team effort."
Brewer recorded her ninth career triple-double with 30 assists, 15 kills and 17 digs. She added three service aces and two blocks. Shabazz recorded a match-high 20 kills to go along with a .312 hitting percentage, seven blocks and five digs. Laboy-Rivera led the Aggies with 25 digs and added four service aces and six assists. Hall finished with 10 kills and nine blocks on a .368 hitting percentage.
Sophomore setter Addy Warfield finished 23 assists and six digs. Pitt secured nine kills, and sophomore Mallory Porcher posted five blocks. Richards aided in the win with eight kills, 12 digs and five blocks. Junior Nadia Montalbán-El Hiriche had 10 digs and three aces.
The Hornets led 20-17 in the first set, but the Aggies battled back and tied the set at 25 on Richards kill. The Aggies took the lead on a DSU error before the Hornets recovered to tie the set with an Alondra Maldonado kill. The Aggies took the set on a kill from Pitt and a block assist from Brewer and Hall.
A&T led by one in the second set, 19-18, before a 4-1 run gave the Aggies a bit of a cushion at 23-19. The Aggies would win the set and take a 2-0 advantage in the match with a Brewer kill.
Then the third set arrived. Then a 24-23 Aggies lead arrived after Shabazz scored on a kill. But a service error helped the Hornets tie the match 24. From there, the Aggies had set point and a chance to win the match six times.
DSU had set point five times. With the match tied at 34, the Hornets finally ended things with a Sydney Lewis kill and a block assists from Lewis and Alayna Lacy.
Both teams played another competitive set in the fourth. A Montalbán-El Hiriche ace got the Aggies to within one, 23-22, before the Hornets tied the match at 2 thanks to an Aggies service error and a Valerie Otero kill, setting up the fifth set.
