GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T went five sets after losing the first two for the second time in as many days. But unlike Friday, the Aggies not only completed the comeback with a win but also ended a 17-match losing streak to crosstown Division I rival UNC Greensboro (17-25, 21-25, 25-18, 25-22, 15-13) at Fleming Gymnasium, Saturday.
In the deciding set, UNCG took a 4-0 lead forcing an Aggies timeout. But five kills from sophomore Niaya Sawtelle (Stuart, Fla.) and a block assist from senior Mallory Porcher (Orlando, Fla.) and sophomore Hannah Howell (St. Louis Park, Minn.) helped the Aggies rally to tie the set at 12. An attack error from UNCG's Mya Wood gave the Aggies their first lead of the set.
After a Spartans timeout, an Aggie service error tied the set at 13, but a Sawtelle kill, and an attack error by Wood gave A&T its third-ever win over the Spartans.
"It feels really good because we play UNCG every year, and every year we go hard at them, and we fall a little short," said sophomore middle blocker Maya Johnson (Austin, Texas). "We finally pushed through and won."
Sawtelle finished the final set with six kills and a .364 hitting percentage, and for the fourth consecutive set, the Aggies outhit the Spartans. Tournament officials named Porcher Aggie-Spartan Invitational MVP. Sawtelle and Johnson joined Porcher on the all-tournament team.
Sawtelle recorded a career-high and a match-high 25 kills with a .485 hitting percentage. Addy Warfield (Winter Springs, Fla.) added 19 assists and eight digs. MVP Porcher added five kills and four blocks, including one solo.
After dropping the first set, the Aggies had a 21-19 lead in the second set. But UNCG scored the final six points to win the set by four points for a 2-0 match lead.
The Aggies then started to assert themselves during the third stanza. After a Wood kill cut the Aggies lead to 14-13, A&T outscored the Spartans 6-2 to take a 20-15 lead. The Spartans scored the next two points before the Aggies put together a 5-1 spurt to win the third. UNCG had three attack errors during the run as the set culminated with a Sawtelle kill.
The two Greensboro Division I's went back-and-forth in the fourth before a Johnson solo block broke a 15-15 tie to give the Aggies the lead for good in the set, even though the Spartans did not go quietly. A Jocelyn Carter attack error gave the Aggies a 19-16 lead, but UNCG ran off three of the next four points to get to within one at 20-19.
A Sawtelle kill and a Spartans attack error pushed the Aggies lead to three again, only to see UNCG cut its deficit back to one on a Wood kill and a Valeria Calderon service ace. The two teams traded points before Sawtelle and Howell each scored on kills to end the set to force a fifth set. Sawtelle had a big fourth set with eight kills and a .800 hitting percentage as the Aggies outhit the UNCG .312-.139 during the set.
"This was an exciting match," A&T coach Hal Clifton said. "Both teams, I thought, played really well. They got off to a tremendous start. Good crowd, good enthusiasm, good energy. We didn't match that early, but we steadied out toward the end of the second set. Being up 21-19 and dropping that set kind of hurt, but our ladies stayed focused."
Howell and Chiara Napoli (Saint-Raphael, France) recorded double-doubles. Howell recorded her second double-double of the season, and the third of her career, with 12 kills and 14 digs while adding five blocks. Napoli finished with 24 assists and 10 digs and added five kills and two blocks, including a solo.
