STATESBORO, Ga. – The North Carolina A&T volleyball team played its final tune-up match before it must face the challenging Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) that lay ahead. But if Saturday is any indication, all engines are set to go for the Aggies as their CAA opener against the Hampton Pirates looms.
A&T made quick work of the Charleston Southern Buccaneers in its final match at the Eagle Invitational hosted by Georgia Southern at Hanner Fieldhouse. The Aggies defeated the Bucks 3-0 (25-15, 20, 19) on Saturday to finish non-conference play at 5-3. The Bucs dropped to 3-6 on the season as the Aggies defensive prowess at the net led to CSU hitting .087.
"I am extremely happy with the energy we started the match with today," said A&T head coach Hal Clifton. "We talked about setting the tone and level of play, and I'm happy they came out and did that."
CSU's Faith Burch cut A&T's lead in the first set to 17-15 with a kill. The Bucs never scored again in the set. A ball-handling error by CSU's Presley Morris and kills from freshman Tyne Ross and sophomore Mikala Sampson forced the Bucs to call timeout, trailing 20-15.
It didn't help. Out of the timeout, senior Mayah Johnson and Simpson scored on kills. Johnson and senior Hannah Howell combined on a block assist before the Aggies reached set point and eventually won the set on back-to-back kills from Johnson.
The good times rolled into the second set for the Aggies as they jumped out to an 18-12 lead, but a 5-1 Bucs spurt led to Clifton calling a timeout after seeing the A&T advantage cut to two, 19-17. The Aggies regained their footing, and when Ross slammed down a kill, they recaptured a comfortable lead at 23-18.
Savannah Freeman scored on a kill for the Bucs before senior Madison Sanabria gave the Aggies set point with a kill. CSU scored again on an A&T attack error, but a Freeman attack error gave the Aggies a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set saw A&T waste no time in establishing a commanding lead. A service ace from sophomore Valeria Estrada gave the Aggies a 21-10 lead. The Bucs slowly chipped away at A&T's lead, eventually getting to within four at 22-18. But Sampson and Johnson combined for a block assist to push the lead to five. Burch kept the Bucs alive with a kill. However, kills from Ross and Howell ended the set and the match.
Ross led the Aggies with 17 kills. Johnson was solid at the net, with six kills and six total blocks. Sampson added six kills and three total blocks. Howell posted nine kills and eight digs, and sophomore setter Leonor Polezzi had 28 assists and seven digs on Saturday morning.
"We had a number of good performances overall, but Leo kept us steady," Clifton said.
Polezzi earned all-tournament honors. Skyler Yates led the Bucs with 10 kills. The Aggies travel to Hampton to play the Pirates on Friday, September 20, at the Convocation Center at 6 p.m. The two teams will play at the Convocation Center the next day at 3 p.m.
