STONY BROOK, NY – North Carolina A&T's come-from-behind win on the road Friday night against Stony Brook University (SBU) at Pritchard Gym was not only impressive but impactful in the world of Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) volleyball. The Aggies rallied to defeat the SBU Seawolves 3-2 (20-25, 25-17, 21-25, 25-23, 15-8) after falling behind 2-1 in the match and 23-22 in the fourth set.
Aided by an A&T crowd who traveled to the Long Island, NY area to watch the Aggies take on SBU in football on Saturday, the Aggies avoided defeat in the fourth set and ultimately the match when sophomore Luca Radnai tied the set 23-23 on a kill. An SBU attack error followed, giving the Aggies set point. Sophomore Anahi Alvarado forced the fifth set with a service ace.
It became the boost the Aggies needed. After a solo block from SBU's Mopelola Ojo brought the Seawolves to within one at 6-5, the Aggies dominated the remainder of the match. It started with a 3-0 run that included two SBU attack errors and a kill from freshman Zariah Winton.
After a kill from Kali Moore ended the run and brought the Seawolves to within three at 9-6, A&T followed up with a 4-1 spurt that included more errors from the Seawolves – two attack and one ball-handling error – and a kill from junior Mikala Sampson to give the Aggies a commanding 13-7 lead.
Pierre Ayanna Louis responded with a kill for SBU, but the Aggies put the Seawolves away with a kill from sophomore Tyne Ross and an attack error from Quinn Anderson. The win improved the Aggies to 12-10 overall and 8-5 in the CAA.
It puts the Aggies in a superb position to clinch another berth to the 2025 CAA Volleyball Championship Tournament scheduled for November 20-22 at Towson University in Towson, Md. The top six teams in the league qualify for the tournament. The Aggies are in fifth place, three games ahead of seventh-place Northeastern with three matches to play.
SBU dropped to 10-12 overall and 6-7 in league play. The Seawolves are in sixth place, further strengthening the Aggies' bid to make their second straight CAA tournament.
"This was certainly a win to be excited about," said A&T head coach Hal Clifton. "Every time we play, it has been a battle. They are a very good team and well-coached. I'm really excited about how we responded after the first set. We kept our composure and steadied out. We did a good job late in the match with our serving, and it paid off."
Ross led the Aggies with 18 kills, two aces and one solo block. Ross also posted a .336 hitting percentage. Freshman Nicole Ellis and Radnai also had efficient evenings. Ellis posted 10 kills, two total blocks and a .533 hitting percentage. Radnai added another 10 kills along with two aces and a .714 hitting percentage.
Sampson also reached double-figure kills with 10. Meanwhile, junior Leonor Polezzi secured another double-double with 40 assists and 16 digs to go along with four kills. It marked her sixth straight double-double, the 13th of the season and the 24th of her career.
Anderson led SBU with 17 kills. A&T and SBU play again on Saturday at 1 p.m. from Pritchard Gym.
