TOWSON, Md. – North Carolina A&T became the first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) volleyball team to win a set off the defending CAA champion Towson Tigers in a match.
The Aggies also played the Tigers close in the third and fourth sets, but the Tigers remained undefeated with a 3-1 win (25-19, 25-27, 25-22, 25-22) over A&T at SECU Arena Sunday afternoon. The Tigers improved to 16-0 overall and 6-0 in the CAA. A&T is 4-12 and 0-6 in the league.
A&T's second-set win snapped the Tigers' 17-set winning streak. The last time they dropped a set was to No. 7 Pittsburgh in a 3-1 win on Sept. 10. A&T's powerful sophomore duo recorded double-doubles as Naiya Sawtelle (Stuart, Fla.) posted 10 digs and a match-high 17 kills. Meanwhile, Hannah Howell had 14 kills and 11 digs. Howell only had three attack errors on 28 attempts for a .393 hitting percentage.
The Aggies showed signs that an upset win was possible early. In the first, the Aggies posted a .280 hitting percentage and got to within four, 22-18, on a Mallory Porcher kill. But Towson's 3-1 spurt to end the set was capped by a Victoria Barrett service ace to give the Tigers a 1-0 match advantage.
But the second set saw the Aggies execute even better offensively. A 7-2 Aggies run with three kills from Howell gave the Aggies a 19-15 lead. A Barrett kill slowed the Aggies for a moment, but a kill apiece from Chiara Napoli and Sawtelle and a Towson service error extended the Aggies lead to 22-16.
But the Tigers fought back by scoring six consecutive points to tie the set at 22. The two teams traded points from there as the Aggies reached set point, 25-24, on a Fay Bakodimou service error. A Barrett kill, however, kept Towson in the set. A&T scored the final two points from a Liselotte Spoormakers kill and a bad set by Katie McCracken to give the Aggies the set.
A&T looked far from just satisfied with a set win as the third set opened. They took an 8-2 lead before Towson responded with 10 straight points. However, A&T had an 11-3 scoring streak ready for the Tigers. Howell and freshman Jada Hampton had two kills apiece during the run, and they teamed for a block assist as the Aggies took an 18-15 lead.
The Aggies maintained a three-point lead, 20-17, on a Sawtelle kill before Towson scored three consecutive points to tie the set at 20. After a Sawtelle kill and a Nina Cajic attack error gave A&T a 22-20 lead, but the Tigers avoided losing their second straight set by scoring five straight points to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Undeterred by the disappointing third-set loss, the Aggies had a chance to take one of the best teams in the nation to a fifth set. After a 3-0 run culminated by a Napoli ace, the Aggies were within one at 18-17. Towson's Nina Cajic and Lydia Wiers teamed for a block to push the lead to two.
But Howell and Sawtelle had two kills apiece to help the Aggies outscore the Tigers 4-2 following the block assist to tie the set at 21. But the Tigers finished strong.
They posted three kills, two by Cajic, and Cajic and Aayinde Smith teamed for a block assist during a 4-1 Towson run to end the set and match. Cajic led the Tigers with 13 kills. Meanwhile, Napoli led the Aggies with 21 assists. She also added five kills, six digs and a match-high four aces. Porcher posted seven kills with a .462 hitting percentage. Morgan Allen (Charlotte, N.C.) led the team with 12 digs.
