HAMPTON, Va. – North Carolina A&T cruised to a three-set win over Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) opponent Hampton on Friday. On Saturday, the Aggies battled to a three-set victory over the Pirates (26-24, 25-9, 25-22).
A&T won its third straight to improve to 7-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play. The Aggies are off to their first 2-0 start since joining the CAA in 2022. The Pirates dropped to 0-13 overall and 0-2 in conference play but showed much more resistance than they did on Friday. In fact, a Patterson kill led to the Aggies calling a timeout as the Pirates took a 22-19 lead in the first set.
After the timeout, the Aggies worked their way back to within one, 23-22, on a Brooklyn Patterson error, but the Pirates took set point on a Lyrique Alteus kill. Fortunately for the Aggies, Morgan Weaver offered up a service error to keep the Aggies from dropping the first set. Patterson followed with another attack error to tie the set at 24-24. Another Hampton attack error and a Hannah Howell kill completed the Aggies rally as they took a 1-0 lead in the match.
"I'm really proud of how we competed today in tight situations," A&T head coach Hal Clifton said. "We were able to pull out the first set victory with some steady play. They took that into the second and really handled the ball well. The third was a little all over the place, but in the end, a win is a win. And a road win is always good."
The two road CAA wins are a step forward for A&T, which went 3-7 on the road in CAA play last season. But in the second set of Saturday's match, the Aggies looked terrific on the road. They hit .522 for the set, with Howell recording four kills to help her team take a 2-0 lead. Sophomore setter Leonor Polezzi did an excellent job of spreading the wealth as five players recorded kills, and she finished the second set with nine assists.
A&T looked to close out its longtime HBCU rival in the third set, taking a 21-15 lead. But the Pirates scored four straight points to cut the Aggies lead to two. The Pirates got to within one, 23-22, on a Lily Bannister attack error. A&T freshman Tyne Ross put some distance between the two schools with a kill to give the Aggies set and match point.
Ross, the two-time CAA player of the week this season, closed out the match with another kill to secure the win. Ross played a super-efficient match, finishing with 14 kills and a .462 hitting percentage. She also scored on three service aces. Howell also hit it well, posting 10 kills and only one attack error on 21 total attacks to hit .429. Polezzi added 32 assists.
Patterson led the Pirates with nine kills and seven digs. The Aggies will return to play a home match for the first time in almost a month when they face Northeastern at Moore Gymnasium on Friday, September 27, at 3 p.m. It will be the Aggies first home match at Moore this season after they played their home opener at Corbett Sports Center on August 31.
