Date(s): Saturday, Oct. 22-Sunday, Oct. 23
Opponent: UNC Wilmington
Time(s): 2 p.m., 2 p.m.
Location: Moore Gymnasium, East Greensboro, N.C.
A&T Team Leaders:
Kills: Naiya Sawtelle (4.30 per set)
Digs: Morgan Allen (3.48 per set)
Assists: Chiara Napoli (4.62 per set)
Blocks: Maya Johnson (0.86 per set)
Hitting Percentage: Naiya Sawtelle (.204)
A&T CAA Leaders (Top-10)
Total Attacks: Naiya Sawtelle (848) – 1st
Aces: Chiara Napoli (29– 1st
Kills: Naiya Sawtelle (331) – 2nd
Kills Per Set: Naiya Sawtelle (4.30 per set) – 2nd
Attacks Per Set: Naiya Sawtelle (11.01) – 2nd
Points: Naiya Sawtelle (384.0) – 2nd
Aces Per Set: Napoli (0.38) – 3rd
Digs: Morgan Allen (3.48 per set) – 8th
Points Per Set: Naiya Sawtelle (4.99) – 19th
A&T NCAA Leaders (Top-100)
Points: Naiya Sawtelle – 12th
Kills Per Set: Naiya Sawtelle – 13th
Points Per Set: Naiya Sawtelle – 19th
Kills: Naiya Sawtelle – 22nd
Attacks Per Set: Naiya Sawtelle – 40th
NORTH CAROLINA A&T (7-13, 3-7 CAA): The North Carolina A&T Aggies find themselves in the thick of things when trying to qualify for the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Volleyball Championship Tournament, Nov. 17-19 at Towson University's SECU Arena. They won two matches at Hampton last weekend to help their cause.
The top eight teams qualify for the tournament, with A&T currently in ninth place, a match behind Stony Brook (4-6) for eighth place. Four CAA teams stand at 4-4, and the Aggies come into the weekend having won three of four. Sawtelle (Stuart, Fla.) has been the Aggies offensive leader. She has five double-doubles this season and exceeded 20 kills in a match six times. She has 727 kills and needs 23 kills to enter the top-10 in school history.
She had 19 kills, 18 digs and four total blocks in the Aggies five-set win over Hampton on Sunday. Meanwhile, Maya Johnson (Austin, Texas) has become a presence at the net, averaging 1.45 blocks per set over her last five matches. Another Aggie net protector, Mallory Porcher has 192 career block assists and needs eight to become the seventh player in program history with at least 200 blocks assists.
Head coach Hal Clifton is in his 12th season as the leader of the Aggies and has posted a 116-199 overall record. Over the last five seasons, the Aggies are 80-66 (.548) under Clifton and have not finished below .500 since 2016.
UNC WILMINGTON SEAHAWKS (3-14, 1-7 CAA): UNC Wilmington began conference play with a 3-2 win at William & Mary but has lost the last seven conference matches, including both matches against Hofstra the previous weekend.
Katie Lanz leads the Seahawks with 2.94 kills per set and has recorded three double-doubles this season. Annabelle Schall averages 6.97 assists per set to lead the Seahawk, and she also leads the team in service aces (24) and total digs (147). She is fifth in the league in assists and services aces per set. Caitlyn Callahan (60) and Brooke Hanshumaker (45) have combined for 105 total blocks. Dottie Hampton is in her third season as the Seahawks head coach.
THE SERIES: UNC Wilmington holds a 15-3 advantage over the Aggies and has a 5-0 record in Greensboro. The last time these two teams squared off was in 2019, when the Seahawks won 3-0 in Wilmington. The previous matchup at A&T was in 2005, with a 3-2 UNCW win.
