GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T volleyball concluded the Aggie/Phoenix Invitational tournament with a five-set heart-stopping victory over HBCU rival Coppin State (25-20, 20-25, 25-23, 17-25, 15-12) inside Corbett Sports Center Saturday night.
Sophomore outside hitter Tyne Ross fueled the Aggies offense with 23 kills, two total blocks and one service ace. She added nine defensive digs to her totals. Junior Mikala Sampson added 13 kills, and junior setter Leonor Polezzi recorded her 12th career double-double with 52 assists and 15 digs. She also had two aces.
On the defensive side, libero Valeria Estrada anchored the back row and kept crucial rallies alive, sacrificing her body with quick reactions and getting her hands on 33 digs, one shy of her career high.
"Her defense is phenomenal," said A&T head coach Hal Clifton. "She does a great job of giving up her body and going after the ball. She's all over the place. She settled down in serve receive, which was really nice to see, but she's going to make some really spectacular plays that are just fun to watch."
And so was the fifth and deciding set. So much so, the partisan A&T crowd were on their feet in support for most of the set. The Eagles forced a fifth set with a dominant fourth-set performance that saw them post a .278 hitting percentage, led by Cherisse Atilano, who finished the fourth set with six kills, one attack error, and a .455 hitting percentage.
The Eagles then took a 3-2 lead in a race to score 15 points first, which really put the A&T faithful on edge. No fear, A&T put together a 6-1 run to force Coppin to take a timeout. An attack error by sophomore Charlie Meadoweal stunted A&T's momentum momentarily before the Aggies capitalized with three more kills from Ross, resulting in A&T taking a 12-7 lead.
Coppin cut A&T's lead to two, 13-11, on a block assist from Ayanna Pharoah and Kayden Cupid. However, sophomore Luca Radnai gave the Aggies set and match point with a kill before giving Coppin hope with an attack error. Freshman Nicole Ellis finally ended the drama-filled match with a kill.
Ellis finished with six kills and five total blocks, including four solo blocks. Fellow freshman Zariah Winton ended the night with 11 kills.
The Aggies opened the night swinging and took off in the first set with an 8-3 lead. However, Coppin State middle McKenzie Parks broke their run with a strategically placed tip that arched over the 6-foot-1 Ellis for the kill. It was followed by a series of attacks and service errors that generated another 8-3 run, this time in favor of the Eagles, to tie the set at 11.
A&T outscored Coppin 9-2 from there to take a 20-13 lead before four straight Coppin points cut A&T's lead to three. Coppin could not get any closer, however, as Ross ended the set with a kill.
Coppin responded in the second set as the Eagles offense was distributed evenly among Atilano (five kills), and TaKenya Stafford and Gabriela Zuquelo, who had four kills apiece to lead Coppin to the win, tying the match 1.
The third set was a test of heart. The two teams found themselves tied at 17 before a Coppin attack error by Zuquelo put A&T ahead. The Aggies added to the lead after sophomore outside Lili Radnai reached for a right-handed one-armed dig that set Winton up for a quick kill down the middle to make the score 19-17.
The front lines on both sides rose to the moment as Coppin cut A&T's lead to one six times after Winston's kill, keeping the crowd on the edge of their seats. The final time came on a Zuquelo kill to make it 24-23 before Ellis ended the affair with a kill.
Atilano led all players with 26 kills, securing a double-double with 19 digs. A&T will face Power Four Clemson twice next week in Clemson, SC. First on Thursday, September 4, at 6 pm, before facing the Tigers again on Friday at 6 pm.
