Date(s): Saturday, Oct. 15-Sunday, Oct. 16
Opponent: Hampton Pirates
Time(s): 2 p.m., 2 p.m.
Location: Convocation Center, Hampton, Va.
A&T Team Leaders:
Kills: Naiya Sawtelle (4.30 per set)
Digs: Morgan Allen (3.35 per set)
Assists: Chiara Napoli (4.58 per set)
Blocks: Maya Johnson (0.80 per set)
Hitting Percentage: Naiya Sawtelle (.204)
A&T CAA Leaders (Top-10)
Kills: Naiya Sawtelle (4.30 per set) – 2nd
Digs: Morgan Allen (3.35 per set) – 9th
A&T NCAA Leaders (Top-100)
Kills: Naiya Sawtelle (4.30 per set) – 19th
NORTH CAROLINA A&T (5-13, 1-7 CAA): North Carolina A&T won its first Colonial Athletic Association volleyball match Saturday after a 3-2 win against William & Mary in Moore Gymnasium.
Naiya Sawtelle had a star performance against The Tribe with a career-high 27 kills, 11 digs, six blocks, three services aces, and a .396 hitting percentage. She also tallied 33.5 of the Aggies 79 points on Saturday. She followed that up with 23 kills, five digs, three blocks, 25 points and a .327 hitting percentage.
Over the weekend, she combined with having a .361 hitting percentage. It propelled her to win her second CAA offensive player of the week honor when the league announced it Monday. Sawtelle leads the CAA and ranks eighth in the nation in points (345). She is second in the conference and 15th nationally in points per set (5.00).
A&T had a difficult start to conference play as they faced current CAA undefeated teams Towson (8-0) and Hofstra (8-0). The Aggies now face a Hampton team they have faced in two previous leagues as a conference opponent. A&T and Hampton were foes in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and, most recently, in the Big South Conference.
Head coach Hal Clifton is in his 12th season as the leader of the Aggies and has posted a 114-199 overall record. In his previous five seasons, Clifton is 78-66 (.542) with two MEAC regular-season titles, a MEAC tournament title and three postseason appearances to his credit. That includes the program's first-ever NCAA appearance in the spring of 2021.
HAMPTON PIRATES (3-8, 0-8 CAA): Hampton opened the season with three non-conference wins, but is looking for its first CAA win in school history. The Pirates enter their first season of CAA play after spending the previous four seasons in the Big South.
The Pirates have only won two sets in conference play thus far, but one of those set wins came against Hofstra, who is tied atop the CAA standings at 8-0.
Gabby Calloway leads the Pirates with 2.39 kills per set and has recorded at least 10 kills in the Pirates last three contests. She has also compiled a .241 hitting percentage in her previous three matches. However, for the season, Hampton is hitting .159 while its opponents are hitting .264.
Sonja Maksimovic is in her third season as the head coach at Hampton. Before taking the Hampton position, Maksimovic spent three seasons as a full-time assistant and two seasons as a graduate assistant.
THE SERIES: The Aggies hold a 26-3 advantage against Hampton. A&T won both meetings last season as Big South members, but in the previous meeting as members of the MEAC, the Pirates won 3-1.
