STONY BROOK, NY — North Carolina A&T volleyball followed Friday's powerful comeback victory over the Stony Brook University (SBU) Seawolves with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 27-25) Saturday win over SBU to complete the weekend sweep at Pritchard Gym.
The successful weekend qualified the Aggies for the 2025 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Volleyball Championship Tournament, marking the second consecutive season the Aggies qualified for the conference tournament. The CAA tournament will take place from November 20-22 at Towson University.
A&T had a new face leading the offense as freshman Zariah Winton landed 15 kills with an impressive career-high .458 hitting percentage. Tyne Ross and Luca Radnai weren't too far behind, adding 11 kills each. Luca Radnai had a superb weekend, totaling 21 kills and four service aces, while posting an impressive .625 hitting percentage.
Her twin sister, Lili Radnai, stepped up defensively with 10 digs, tying the match high with SBU's libero Madison Cigna.
A&T dominated over the first two sets, recording an elite .452 hitting percentage. Winton and Luca Radnai led the charge over the first two sets, posting 10 kills apiece. It was a commanding performance that head coach Hal Clifton appreciated seeing.
"Today was a really good match," said Clifton, who is now seven wins shy of becoming A&T's all-time winningest coach. "Our goal was to start strong and get ahead. Which I thought we were able to do. The third set was a really tightly contested match. It was great to see our kids fight through to the end."
There were 15 tied scores and eight lead changes in the final set. Junior Valeria Estrada gave the Aggies a late advantage with an ace that put the Aggies ahead 22-21. It came down to the wire from there. Quinn Anderson and Kali Moore gave the Seawolves the lead on back-to-back kills. Ross tied the game at 23 with a kill before bringing everyone to the edge of their seats with an attack attempt that went long. However, her next attack attempt landed to tie the match at 24-24.
Junior Leonor Polezzi gave her team the upper hand with an ace before a Ross attack error kept SBU alive. It was Sampson who took over to seal the game with consecutive kills off an assist from Estrada and then Polezzi to finish the set on top 27-25.
Sampson finished the afternoon with nine kills and two total blocks with a .412 hitting percentage. Freshman Nicole Ellis added six kills without an attack error to post a .462 hitting percentage. Polezzi had her streak of six straight double-doubles snapped on Saturday, but did finish with 38 assists and seven digs.
The Aggies return home to finish the regular season by hosting the No. 1 team in the CAA, the Campbell University Fighting Camels. The weekend series begins on Friday, November 14, at 6 p.m. at Moore Gymnasium. A&T's regular-season finale is Saturday, November 15, at 4 p.m. The Aggies celebrate Jada Hampton and Polezzi as a part of Senior Day.
