CHARLESTON, S.C. – The North Carolina A&T volleyball team proved it belonged in one of the best conferences in the country, the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
The Aggies season came to a disappointing end on Sunday with a three-set loss to College of Charleston (25-18, 23, 21) at TD Arena. Yet, the Aggies proved competitive against the top CAA teams, gritty in five-set matches and many of their players ranked among the best in statistical categories.
Those things will not result in a postseason appearance, however. The Aggies finish the season at 9-17 overall and 5-11 in the CAA. The Stony Brook Seawolves also finished 5-11 in the CAA by rallying from a 2-0 deficit at Elon to win in five sets on Sunday.
The Seawolves finished in an eighth-place tie in the standings with the Aggies, but the two teams did not play each in 2022, triggering a common opponent tiebreaker scenario that came down to the team who had the best record against the highest-ranked team in the standings.
In that scenario, the tiebreaker came down to the third-place Elon Phoenix. Stony Brook went 1-1 against Elon. The Aggies went 0-2, leading to the Seawolves advancing to the CAA tournament next week.
"Definitely not the outcome we wanted today," head coach Hal Clifton said. "Though the sets were close, we just couldn't get ahead. We played some really good volleyball this weekend, and I'm proud of how well our ladies competed. Being in the CAA was a big challenge this season. I'm proud of how our young ladies competed throughout the entire season and how they represented our program and North Carolina A&T."
Senior setter Addy Warfield recorded a double-double in her final collegiate match with 12 assists and 12 digs. She finishes her career with 1,582 assists, the sixth-best in program history. She also finished in the top-10 all-time in digs with 686. Sophomore Naiya Sawtelle also had a double-double with 16 kills and 10 digs and will have 18 career double-doubles heading into her junior season in 2023.
Before 2023 came, the Aggies were trying to qualify for the ninth straight conference tournament. But they opened Sunday's play trailing 15-9 in the first set. They battled back to make it a 21-17 set, but the Cougars scored three straight, fueled by two Lexi Wierzbicki to reach set point a 24-18. After a Chiara Napoli kill, Wierzbicki finished the job with a kill to give Charleston a 1-0 match lead.
Charleston reached set point in the second set on a Chandler Manusky service ace to make it 24-19. But the Aggies used a 4-0 run highlighted by two Sawtelle kills, and Napoli and Maya Johnson teamed for a block assist to cut the lead to one. After a Charleston timeout, Gabi Bailey ended the set with a kill.
The Aggies made another late rally in the third set, scoring four in a row, highlighted by a Mallory Porcher kill that made it 24-21. But it was Logan Pope's turn to end a set with a kill for the Cougars as they completed the sweep.
Bailey led the Cougars with 13 kills. Mallory Porcher and Nadia Montalban-El-Hiriche also played in their final collegiate matches. Porcher will end her career with 210 blocks assists, the seventh-best in program history.
"We will miss our seniors and our grad student," said Clifton. "Mal, Addy and Nadia have been a big part of our growth over their careers here. They have helped elevate our program to new heights. We will continue to build and grow. I'm thankful I have had the chance to coach them and be a part of their lives. They are all three excellent people and great representatives of our university and program."
