STATESBORO, Ga. – Freshman Tyne Ross secured her first career double-double with 20 kills and 10 digs, but the North Carolina A&T volleyball team lost in three sets (25-19, 25-22, 26-24) during its first match of the Eagle Invitational to host Georgia Southern at Hanner Fieldhouse on Thursday.
Freshman Luca Radnai added six kills and four total blocks, but the Aggies dropped to 4-2 on the season. The Georgia Southern University (GSU) Eagles improved to 5-1 behind 12 kills, 15 digs, and four solo blocks from Reagan Barth.
A 5-1 run in the first set gave GSU a 19-14 lead. The Aggies never recovered from there as Barth gave the Eagles set point at 24-18 with a kill. Senior Hannah Howell kept the set alive for A&T with a kill, but a solo block from Barth put the Eagles ahead 1-0 in the match.
The Aggies were more competitive from that point on. After hitting .087 in the first set, the Aggies returned for set 2 and posted a .220 hitting percentage. A 5-1 run aided by Ross gave the Aggies an 18-13 advantage. However, the Eagles responded by outscoring the Aggies 6-2, cutting A&T's lead to one, 20-19.
A block assist from sophomore setter Lenor Pelozzi and freshman Radnai halted GSU's momentum for a moment before a Barth kill and a Ross attack error tied the set at 21-21. Another attack error helped the Aggies regain the lead before the Eagles scored three straight points to reach set point at 24-22. Jillian Gray helped the Eagles close out the second set and take a 2-0 lead with back-to-back kills.
"Tough three-set loss tonight, especially the third set," said A&T head coach Hal Clifton. "I'm still proud of how well we competed against a veteran team that is picked to finish third in the Sun Belt (Conference). Our ladies played hard. We had some great touches. We just weren't about to score. But we held our own in the other categories. It was a tightly contested match. We just ended up on the other side."
The third set was undoubtedly a close one. Ross had a tremendous set, posting nine kills with a .417 hitting percentage. A Ross kill followed by a Howell kill gave the Aggies a 23-21 lead in the third. Sam Bowron and Barth followed with back-to-back kills to tie the set at 23-23. Howell gave the Aggies set point with another kill before two kills from Barth and a service ace from Ashlyn Lovett secured the match and set for GSU.
Howell added nine kills for the Aggies, who will continue play in the Eagle Invitational with a 3:30 p.m. match-up against Furman on Friday.
