CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – North Carolina A&T volleyball saw its 2024 season come to an end Saturday night with a three-set loss to the St. John's University Red Stormin the first round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) tournament at the University of Virginia's Memorial Gymnasium.
The Aggies looked every bit the part of a mid-major program stepping into its space as one of the better Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) teams in what turned into a very competitive three-set contest. The Aggies hit .226 but still saw their season conclude with a 17-11 record. The Red Storm's Erin Jones finished with 13 kills and 13 digs as St. John's advances to face bracket host Virginia on Sunday with a 22-12 record.
"I felt like we played one heck of a match tonight," said A&T head coach Hal Clifton, who led the Aggies volleyball program to its fourth postseason tournament in six seasons. "St. John's is a very solid team, and they are big at the net. We executed a good game plan, but we were not able to finish out the sets."
The first set established the tone of the match with 14 ties and 20 lead changes. One of those ties came on a Hannah Howell kill that knotted the first set at 21-21. An attack error put the Red Storm back in front before another Howell kill tied the set at 22. But a kill from Magda Stambrowska and a kill from Lucrezia Lodi gave St. John's set point.
A Wiktoria Kowalczyk service ace gave the Red Storm a 1-0 match lead. St. John's took the first set despite Howell finishing the set with six kills.
Set No. 2 saw the Aggies get off to a 9-4 lead. St. John's outscored the Aggies 15-7 to take a 19-16 lead. A Tyne Ross kill followed by an ace from Anahi Alvardo got the Aggies to within one, leading to a Red Storm timeout. The break in the action seemed to work for the Red Storm as it came out of the timeout and went on a 4-0 run to take a 23-18 lead.
St. John's captured set point at 24-20 on a Jones kill before the Aggies responded with a kill from Ross and another from Luca Radnai to get to within two. But a solo block from Giorgia Walther put the Red Storm ahead 2-0 in the match.
"We had a few key moments that we just didn't take advantage of," said Clifton, the 2024 CAA coach of the year.
A&T's start to the third set was even more impressive than its start to the second. A kill by Lily Bannister gave the Aggies a 10-3 lead. St. John's erased that with a 6-0 spurt and eventually took an 18-15 lead on a Bree Martin ace. The Aggies retook the lead, 20-19, on a Howell kill before a Howell service error tied the set at 20-20. But St. John's made its run toward the next round with a 4-0 run to take match and set point at 24-20.
A Leonor Polezzi kill kept the Aggies alive momentarily before Jones eliminated the Aggies from the NIVC with a kill.
"Although it was a loss, it was one we can live with," Clifton said.
In her final match in an A&T jersey, Howell led the Aggies with 14 kills, seven digs and an ace. She also posted a .268 hitting percentage. Howell's career ends with 850 kills, 681 digs, and 77 aces. A&T's future also played well.
Ross, a CAA rookie of the year and first-team all-conference performer, had 13 kills, seven digs, two aces, and two total blocks. She hit .290 for the match.
In addition to Howell, the Aggies will bid farewell on the court to Maya Johnson, Laurel Rogers, Madison Sanabria and Ceci Carter.
"Thank you to our seniors for all the time and effort they put into our program," Clifton said. "We know they will do great things. I know our returners will be just as hungry to keep pushing us to the top of the CAA."
