ELON, NC – North Carolina A&T completed a vital Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) volleyball weekend sweep of Elon on Saturday, defeating the Phoenix in three sets (30-28, 26-24, 25-20) at the Schar Center. A&T won for the fifth straight time and for the seventh time in eight matches, improving to 11-8 overall and 7-3 in CAA action.
But most of the Aggies' remaining opponents are a lot like them. They have lengthy winning streaks.
Hofstra comes to the east side of Greensboro next weekend for a two-match series. The Pride has won seven straight and is tied for second in the CAA. Hofstra is tied for second with the Campbell Fighting Camels. They will arrive in Aggieland three weeks from now for a weekend showdown. They have won six straight.
Sandwiched between those two weekend challenges is a tough road test in the Long Island, NY area, where the Aggies face a Stony Brook team fighting to qualify for the CAA tournament. A&T had to play some lengthy sets to beat the Phoenix on Saturday. But it was well worth it.
"Every match is so important in this conference," said A&T head coach Hal Clifton. "I loved our energy and really want to thank the Aggie Faithful who were able to make it to the match today."
A&T volleyball may have had the fortune of playing after a joyous fanbase traveled to Elon after watching the A&T football team win 25 miles down the road in Greensboro a few hours earlier. The Aggies also have the fortune of having sophomore Tyne Ross on the team. She had the most efficient match of her career.
Ross posted 20 kills on 33 total attacks while making only four errors to post a career-best .485 hitting percentage. She added six digs and two total blocks. Sophomore Luca Radnai also had an efficient evening, finishing with nine kills, three total blocks and a .471 hitting percentage. Freshman Zariah added 14 kills.
Elon, who took A&T to five sets on Friday before falling to the Aggies, made the Aggies sweat out a first-set victory on Saturday. Elon's Clara Simmons gave Elon a 24-23 on a kill before A&T junior Leonor Polezzi tied the match with a kill.
The two teams then extended the set for a long period of time. Elon captured set point three times and so did A&T. The third time A&T secured set point came on a Winton kill to give the Aggies a 29-28 lead. A block assist from freshman Nicole Ellis and Polezzi clinched a 1-0 match lead for A&T.
Set No. 2 became lengthy, too, but not as lengthy as the first. Ross gave the Aggies set point at 24-23 with a kill. Catherine Rucker tied the match for Elon with a kill before back-to-back Ross kills put the Aggies ahead 2-0 in the match. A&T had an 8-5 spurt in the third set to take command with a 17-12 advantage.
The Phoenix never got any closer than three from that point. Luca Radnai gave the Aggies match point with a kill before Ross, who had an incredible third set, finished off the Phoenix with a kill. Ross had seven kills in the set with a .545 hitting percentage.
Polezzi contributed 49 assists, 10 digs, three service aces, and a total block. It marked her 21st career double-double.
"I felt our team made really good adjustments from yesterday," Clifton said. "Our serving was better and our left sides were really connecting with Leo (Leonor)."
The two-match series with Hofstra starts on Saturday, November 1, at 4 p.m. at Moore Gymnasium. The series concludes with a 1 p.m. match on Sunday, November 2.
