BOONE, NC – After some tough five-set defeats and a few competitive three-setters, the North Carolina A&T volleyball team is ready to move on to Coastal Athletic Association conference play next weekend. The Aggies played their final regular-season match of 2023 on Saturday, losing another one of those competitive three-setters as USC Upstate defeated A&T 26-24, 25-16, 26-24 during the final day of the Appalachian State Black and Gold Classic at the Holmes Convocation Center.
A&T finished the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 2-6 record. Graduate right side Liselotte Spoormakers and junior middle blocker Maya Johnson earned all-tournament honors. The Aggies placed second in the tournament after winning five sets in three days, including beating crosstown foe UNC Greensboro in three sets for the first time in program history.
A day after beating the UNCG Spartans, the Aggies had another set of Spartans to tangle with in Upstate. A&T got off to a great start, using a 5-0 run to take an 11-5 lead before a Naiya Sawtelle kill gave the Aggies a 17-11 lead. A&T maintained its comfortable lead following a Hannah Howell kill to go ahead 22-17.
Things went in the other direction from there. A 4-0 Upstate run moved the Spartans to within two. A Spartans attack error broke the streak, giving the Aggies a 23-21 advantage. But a kill from Upstate's Ashleigh Nicoll and an attack error from Sawtelle tied the set at 23-23.
Kayla Spangler's service ace put the Spartans one point shy of completing their come-from-behind victory, but Sawtelle kept the Aggies hopes alive with another kill, tying the set at 24. But Howell's attack error, coupled with Alona Clinansmith and MJ Klaumann teaming for a block assist on a Sawtelle attack, helped Upstate outscore the Aggies 9-2 down the stretch of the first set to win.
Upstate played well offensively in the second set, posting a .441 hitting percentage as Ady O'Grady and Nicoll combined for 13 kills, with O'Grady leading the way with seven. Spangler assisted on 16 of the Spartans 18 kills in the set as Upstate pulled away and won by nine.
But the third set looked like a repeat of the first as the Aggies got out to an even bigger lead. A Johnson kill gave the Aggies an 18-10 advantage. A&T maintained its eight-point advantage, 20-12, on a Spoormakers kill. But somehow, again, momentum started to swing toward Upstate. That momentum was fueled by three block assists during an 8-0 run to tie the set at 20.
An Emma McElveen service error ended the spurt, but Upstate would finally take the lead at 23-22 on an O'Grady ace. The Spartans claimed set point with a Nicoll kill before Clinansmith's attack error moved the Aggies to within one at 24-23. Madison Sanabria and Chiara Napoli combined on a block assist to tie the set 24-24 before a Sawtelle attack error and a Nicoll kill gave the Spartans the set and match.
"We didn't rise to the level of play that we needed to," said A&T head coach Hal Clifton. "We started off very well and then fizzled at the end of both sets one and three. We must give credit to Upstate; they played well today. They made the plays when it counted."
Sawtelle recorded her 21st career double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs. Napoli ended the afternoon with 22 assists, five digs and four blocks. Sanabria tied a career-high with six blocks, and Morgan Allen tied for the match-high in digs with 16. In earning all-tournament honors, Spoormakers averaged 1.64 kills for the tournament and posted a .333 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, Johnson averaged an impressive 1.55 blocks for the tournament, posted 10 total kills and a .389 hitting percentage.
O'Grady led the Spartans with 15 kills and hit .500 for the match. The Aggies open CAA play on Saturday, Sept. 16, when they travel to Wilmington, N.C., to face UNC Wilmington in a 4 p.m. match at Hanover Hall.
