HAMPTON, Va. – North Carolina A&T volleyball is in the hunt to qualify for another conference tournament. Behind a career-high 18 kills from sophomore Hannah Howell (St. Louis, Park, Minn.) and career-high 10 kills from Mallory Porcher, the Aggies completed the weekend sweep of fellow Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) HBCU Hampton with a compelling five-set win (23-25, 25-22, 26-24, 18-25, 15-12) at Holland Hall Gymnasium, Sunday afternoon.
After starting the season 0-6 in CAA play, the Aggies have won three out of the last four matches to improve to 7-13 overall and 3-7 in conference play. The Pirates dropped to 3-10 overall and 0-10 in league play.
The top-8 teams in the league standings will qualify for the CAA tournament, Nov. 17-19 at Towson's SECU Arena in Towson, Md. A&T stands in ninth place in the CAA standings, a game behind Stony Brook (4-6) for the eighth and final spot with six matches remaining. The last time A&T failed to make a conference tournament was in 2012.
A&T's ability to stay in the conference tournament mix did not come easy on Sunday. The Pirates put together an impressive 8-1 run to win the fourth set, forcing a fifth.
But the Aggies responded to the adversity well. After Hampton's Clara Smith scored on a kill to take a 3-2 lead in the set, the Aggies began to establish a steady lead. A Nadia Montalban-El-Hiriche service ace ignited a 4-0 run to give the Aggies a 6-3 lead. They never trailed again in the set. A 3-0 spurt that included two kills by sophomore Naiya Sawtelle gave the Aggies their biggest lead of the set at 12-7.
Hampton did get within two at 14-12, forcing a timeout from the Aggies. But Madison Clark's attack attempt slammed into the middle of the net for an error; the Aggies had their CAA win.
"It was a good weekend," said A&T coach Hal Clifton. "Today was not our best showing, but we found a way to win on the road. Hampton played well today, and we struggled to find a rhythm. I'm proud of how well we kept our composure throughout the match. The team did a nice job starting strong in the fifth and staying ahead. We kept competing, and that's important."
A&T had to keep its composure early as its 22-18 first-set lead evaporated to 22-21. Sawtelle answered with a kill after an Aggies timeout. But two Hampton kills and two Hampton service aces during a 4-0 run gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead in the match.
A&T avoided a 2-0 hole by ending the second set on a run of their own. Trailing 22-20, Howell scored on a kill and an ace before Sawtelle forced the Hampton timeout with a kill. It didn't matter. The Aggies completed their 5-0 run thanks to two consecutive Hampton attack errors to the match at 1.
The Aggies went into the fourth set with a lead despite Hampton rallying from an 18-13 deficit in the third. The Pirates' rally allowed them to take a 20-19 advantage, leading to A&T calling a timeout. Howell tied the match at 20 on a kill following the timeout, but a Sawtelle attack error that Hampton a 23-22 lead led to another Aggies timeout.
Sophomore Madison Sanabria and Porcher teamed on a block to tie the set at 23 before a Smith kill gave the Pirates set point. But the Aggies came through with three points to win the set, culminating in a block assist from sophomore Maya Johnson and Sawtelle and a Sawtelle kill.
Johnson's block was one of nine to establish a career high on the day. She assisted on eight of her blocks to tie a career high. Sawtelle finished with 19 kills and a career-high 18 digs to secure her fifth double-double of the season and the 14th of her career. Porcher's 10 kills came on 19 total attacks and just two errors for a .421 hitting percentage. Junior Morgan Allen added a career-high 22 digs.
