HAMPTON, Va. – North Carolina A&T won its first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) road match Saturday after a 3-0 (25-16, 22, 23) victory against Hampton in Holland Hall.

The Aggies (6-13, 2-7) have won two out of their last three matches, and Hampton (3-9, 0-9) remained winless in the CAA. 

Addy Warfield (Winter Springs, Fla.) recorded a double-double with 10 digs and a match-high 16 assists. Reigning CAA offensive player of the year Naiya Sawtelle (Stuart, Fla.) led the way with two blocks, six digs and a match-high 15 kills. She also posted a .276 hitting percentage. 

A&T held a tight 15-14 lead over the Pirates in the first set before ending the set on a 10-2 spurt as the Aggies offense went into full effect. Eight of the 10 points came off kills. The run also included a Chiara Napoli service ace and the set ended with a Liselott Spoormakers and Maya Johnson block assist.  

The final two sets between the CAA HBCUs came down to the wire. With the match tied at 15, the Aggies received kills from Johnson, Sawtelle and sophomore Hannah Howell, and Johnson and Howell teamed for a block assist in completing a 4-1 to force Hampton to call timeout. After the timeout, the Aggies reached set point by outscoring the Pirates 5-2 after the short break to take a 24-18 lead. 

But the Pirates fought by scoring four consecutive points to cut the lead to 24-22, forcing an A&T timeout. When the teams returned to the court, Sawtelle and senior Mallory Porcher combined for a block assist, giving the Aggies a 2-0 lead in the match. 

After Hampton took its largest lead of the first set, 17-13, the Aggies sprinted to a 22-19 lead thanks to a 9-2 run. The Aggies benefited from four Hampton attack errors, which included Porcher and Napoli scoring on a block assist. 

Hampton responded with a kill and an Aggies attack error before back-to-back Sawtelle kills gave the Aggies set point at 24-21. The Pirates did score the next two points, but the match ended on a Sawtelle kill. 

Madison Clark, Clara Smith and Kristine Teivane led Hampton with five kills each. 

For A&T, Morgan Allen (Charlotte, N.C.) recorded a match-high 14 digs, and Johnson had four kills and no attack errors on five attempts to record a .800 hitting percentage. Napoli added 15 assists, seven kills, three blocks, three service aces and three digs. Porcher added a match-high six blocks, including one solo, with five kills and a .267 hitting percentage.