GREENSBORO – On two occasions, only one point stood between North Carolina A&T and an incredible comeback in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) volleyball play Sunday afternoon at Moore Gymnasium. Unfortunately, despite being on the brink, Stony Brook University (SBU) found a way to run off three straight points on the second occasion to defeat the Aggies in five sets (25-21, 25-16, 22-25, 20-25, 19-17).
After falling short despite overcoming a 2-0 match deficit, the Aggies dropped to 9-7 overall and 4-4 in CAA action. Leoni Kuntz posted 23 kills and 16 digs to help the Seawolves improve to 11-7 overall and 4-4 in the CAA.
"Today was an absolute slugfest, but unfortunately, we came up just a little short," said A&T head coach Hal Clifton. "I'm so proud of how the team responded after dropping the first two sets. The ladies really competed hard. We were so close. But overall, it was a good weekend. We did so many good things on both sides of the ball."
Senior outside hitter Hannah Howell had a big day for the Aggies, finishing with 20 kills and eight digs, and she posted a .333 hitting percentage. Freshman outside hitter Tyne Ross secured her second double-double of 2024 with 17 kills and 14 digs. Ross also had two total blocks. Ross and Howell had two kills apiece during a 7-1 A&T run to close the fourth set as the Aggies tied the match at 2-2.
A&T's surge did not carry over to the fifth and deciding set as SBU took a 9-3 lead. But the Aggies did not let their tireless efforts to come back and tie the match tire them out. The Aggies to within three at 12-9 before running off four straight points, including an SBU attack error, a block assist from freshman Luca Radnai and sophomore Leonor Polezzi, and two kills from Ross to take a 13-12 advantage.
The Aggies then grabbed match and set point on a Ross kill, giving the Aggies a 14-13 lead. Kunz tied the set at 14 on a kill before an Aggies attack error gave the Seawolves match and set point. A Pierre Ayanna Louis service error kept the Aggies alive. Kunz helped SBU regain the lead at 16-15 with a kill before the Aggies put the Seawolves on the brink of a loss again with a block assist from sophomore Mikala Sampson and Radnai and a kill from Sampson to give the Aggies a 17-16 lead.
But an SBU kill, an Aggies attack error, and an ace by Zayda Fuertez gave the Seawolves the 3-0 run they needed to win. Sampson added 10 kills for the Aggies, and Radnai ended the afternoon with eight kills and five total blocks. Polezzi closed with 47 assists, six digs, and two aces.
SBU and A&T played to 13 ties in the first set before a Kali Moore kill, and a Howell attack error gave the Seawolves a 21-19 lead. Howell recovered to get a kill to bring the Aggies to within one, but the Seawolves ended the set on a 4-1 run to take a 1-0 match lead. The Seawolves hit .536 in the second set to beat the Aggies by nine before the Aggies came away with a win in the third set. A&T took a 17-12 lead in the third and extended that lead to 21-14 before a 5-0 spurt helped the Seawolves cut A&T's lead to two.
Helped by a Maya Johnson and Howell block assist, the Aggies scored the next three points to capture set point at 24-19. SBU scored the next three points before Polezzi ended the set with a kill. The Aggies return to action with a weekend two-match series at Campbell, starting on Saturday, October 19 at 1 p.m. The second match is on Sunday at 1 p.m.
