CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – As each set neared its end, the North Carolina A&T volleyball team played better and better. As a result, the Aggies earned their first win of 2023 with a three-set win (25-21, 25-18, 25-21) over Rider Saturday afternoon at the University of Virginia's Cavalier Classic at Memorial Gymnasium. 

In improving to 1-1 on the season, the Aggies were deadly accurate against the Broncs (0-2). The Aggies posted a .307 hitting percentage led by all-conference standout Naiya Sawtelle, who posted 19 kills and only one attack error, resulting in a career-high .529 hitting percentage. She also scored on four service aces. It resulted in Sawtelle earning all-tournament honors after recording 32 kills, 13 digs and four aces. It marked the seventh time in Sawtelle's career that she has earned all-tournament honors. 

"Naiya played really well," said A&T head coach Hal Clifton. "We had a lot of players make plays and help elevate the play on our side. It was a good team effort. We got great energy from our bench. That particularly means a lot when you are playing at neutral sites. Our bench kept the energy high." 

Apparently, that energy was most effective toward the end of sets. The Aggies trailed 20-19 in the first set after a Paige Giehtbrock ace. But Hannah Howell responded with a kill before a Broncs attack error gave the Aggies the lead at 21-20. But an Aggies service error tied the set again before the Aggies ran off four straight points, including two Rider attack errors, a ballhandling error and a Madison Sanabria kill, gave the Aggies the set. 

Rider took a 17-16 lead on a Carley McAleavey kill in the second set. But it appeared only to be the cue for the Aggies to heat up again. A&T took the serve back with a Howell kill. It was followed by a Chiara Napoli ace, another Howell kill, and a Rider attack error, forcing the Broncs to call timeout, trailing 20-17. Things did not get better for the Broncs. 

A&T ran off two more points on Kaili Doctor kills before Rylah Robinson ended the Aggies' 6-0 run with a kill to cut A&T's lead to 22-18. But Robinson's kill only momentarily stopped the Aggies' momentum as a Doctor/Sanabria block assist gave the Aggies a five-point lead. A Doctor kill and a Sawtelle/Sanabria block assist gave the Aggies a 2-0 in the match. 

"Thought we played a very solid match today," said Clifton. "We were aggressive from the end line, and we were able to put some pressure on their offense. Our transition game was good. We were able to go on a lot of short service runs toward the end of sets." 

Another late set spurt by the Aggies also occurred in the third. After a Giehtbrock kill pulled the Broncs to within one, the Aggies ended the set and the match on a 4-1 run that included three Sawtelle kills, the last one coming off an assist from Valarie Estrada to end the match. 

Napoli ran the offense efficiently throughout, earning 26 assists on 71 touches. It marked her highest career assist total in a three-set match. She added 10 digs for her eighth career double-double and had five kills with no attack errors in 10 attempts. 

Howell added nine kills and eight digs on a .318 hitting percentage. In two tournament matches, she posted 18 kills with a .313 hitting percentage. Sanabria tied a career-high with six block assists. Meanwhile, Giehtbrock led the Broncs with eight kills as the Aggies held the Broncs to a .128 hitting percentage. 

A&T travels to Charleston, S.C., next week to compete in the Charleston Southern Invitational, Sept. 1-2.