EAST GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T volleyball is in another conference again. 

In February of 2020, a month before a global pandemic named COVID-19, the university announced to the world the A&T Athletics Department would leave the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) after 50 years for the Big South Conference. Before leaving, the Aggies volleyball program won their first and only MEAC tournament when they defeated Coppin State in four sets in the final during the spring of 2021 after the conference postponed the 2020 fall season. 2020 fall season. 

But after only one season in the Big South, the athletics department announced again that it would be on the move. Only this time, A&T athletics would head to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). 

"It's a very good conference," said head coach Hal Clifton, as he enters his 12th season at A&T. "Top to bottom, there's a lot of strong teams. A lot of strong programs. We're going to have our work cut out for us again. But we're excited about the challenge. We're excited about the opportunity to compete again. We are going to see a lot of new people that none of us have seen."

The Aggies are coming off their best season under Clifton as they finished 20-11. A&T had its first 20-win season under Clifton and the first since the 2005 season, finishing fourth in the Big South Conference during the regular season with an 11-5 record. A&T qualified for the Big South tournament and defeated USC Upstate in the quarterfinals 3-1 but fell to top-seed High Point 3-0 in the semis.   

However, the Aggies season didn't end there, as they received a bid to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) for its third consecutive postseason bid after earning an NCAA tournament bid in the spring of 2021 and a NIVC bid in 2019. 

"That's always the goal to be near the top of the conference and to have an opportunity to compete for a postseason spot," Clifton said, trying to make it four consecutive postseason bids. "I think our kids came back in good shape physically."

Returners

Naiya Sawtelle (6-foot, SO, OH, Stuart, Fla.) is coming off a season where she earned second-team All-Big South and All-Big South rookie honors after leading the team and the Big South with 396 kills. Her freshman season total ranks sixth most in a single season in program history. She also led the league with 451.5 points while ranking second in points per game (3.83) and third in kills per set (3.36). 

Mallory Porcher (6-foot, SR, MB, Orlando, Fla.) returns for her senior season. She had a breakout season with a career-high 89 block assists to rank 10th for a single season in program history. Her 106 total blocks ranked fourth in the Big South, and her 1.03 blocks per set ranked third in the conference.

Addy Warfield (5-9, SR, S, Winter Springs, Fla.) has served as an excellent complement to two-time MEAC player of the year Edie Brewer at the setter position. She could step to the forefront this season after averaging 4.36 assists per set and totaling 23 service aces last season. 

Hannah Howell (6-foot, SO, OH, St. Louis Park, Minn.) made an impact a year ago. She recorded 147 kills, 16 service aces, 195 digs and 19 total blocks. She recorded her only double-double of the season against USC Upstate with 11 kills and 17 digs on Nov. 12.

Morgan Allen (5-5, JR, Charlotte, N.C.), Maya Johnson (6-0, SO, MB, Austin, Texas), Nadia Montalban-El-Hirichie (5-6, GR, Granada, Spain), Arie Walker (5-8, SO, St. Paul, Minn.), and Ceci Carter (5-9, OH/DS, Randleman, N.C.) also return for A&T. 

Allen played in 85 sets over 27 matches, averaging 1.24 digs per set as a defensive specialist. Johnson played in 34 sets over 17 matches with one start. She posted a .229 hitting percentage and averaged 0.56 blocks per set. Montalban-El-Hirichie also served as a defensive player for the Aggies as she totaled 65 digs in 71 sets played. Walker and Carter look to contribute more this season. 

Meanwhile, Laurel Rogers (5-8, SO, DS, Apopka, Fla.) sat out last season, while Madison Sanabria (6-foot, SO, MB, Virginia Beach, Va.) played in three sets and had one attack.

"We've got quite of few players that have competitive experiences," Clifton said. "We're excited to see what they will be able to do. Every year is a new program, and our returners are doing a nice job, even the ones that didn't play a lot last year."

Newcomers

The Aggies welcome four newcomers in Liselotte Spoormakers (6-foot, GR, RS, Del Mortel, Netherlands), Chiara Napoli (6-foot, FR, S, Saint-Raphael, France), Sagaia Reilly (6-foot, FR, S, Nashville, Tenn.) and Jada Hampton (6-1, MB, FR, Joliet, Ill.). 

Spoormakers tried out for the Netherlands National Youth team, while Napoli joined the Saint-Raphael in 2019 for the Confederation Europeene de Volleyball Cub. In addition, she participated in three Western European Volleyball Zonal Association (Wevza) tournaments with the French team.

Reilly helped her team win a state title as a senior and secured all-district accolades as a freshman, and Hampton earned a spot on the All-Southwest Prairie Conference team.

Letterwinners Lost

A&T lost a considerable amount of its offensive and defensive prowess. Gone from last season are 50.5 percent of its kills, 57.4 percent of its assists, 50.6 percent of its digs and 60.3 percent of its total blocks.

Brewer (6-foot, S, West Chester, Ohio) finished her Hall of Fame career ranked in the top-10 in kills, assists, service aces, block assists and digs. She also finished with three first-team all-conference honors, including one in the Big South in 2021. 

Shaylynn Hall (6-1, MB, Raleigh, N.C.) earned Big South honorable mention recognition last season after leading the Big South with 139 total blocks. She also led the conference with 1.18 blocks per set. In addition, her 113 block assists are the second most in program history in a single season. She is third all-time in career block assists (255) and sixth in solo blocks (54). On Oct. 9 at home against Campbell, Hall posted 13 kills and a career-high 11 blocks for A&T's first kills/blocks double-double since 2002. 

Andrea Laboy-Rivera ended her A&T career with 1,506 digs, the second most in program history. She also ranks ninth in school history with 82 career service aces. 

Courteney Pitt's final season was cut short last season due to an injury. But Pitt is one of three players at A&T with at least 1,000 career kills and ranks second all-time with 1,108 kills. The late Fatimah Shabazz finished her career with an average of 2.42 points per set, 2.09 kills and 0.65 blocks in her final season.

Recent Success

The Aggies open the season 6 p.m. Friday at Corbett Sports Center against Coppin State as a part of the annual Aggie-Spartan Invitational. A&T has posted a .500 winning percentage or better in the last five seasons, going 75-54 (.581). 

Clifton and the Aggies won their first match against a Power Five school and Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent after a 3-2 win against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., last season. CAA head coaches voted the Aggies to finish seventh during their inaugural year in the conference.