WASHINGTON, DC — The drought is over for North Carolina A&T. For the first time since October 15, 2006, the Aggies defeated Howard University in volleyball. In front of a strong contingent of Aggies at Howard's Burr Gymnasium on Friday night, the Aggies won in five sets (28-30, 25-21, 25-23, 26-28, 15-10) over the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) powerhouse program.
The win ends a six-match losing streak to the Bison. The streak didn't end without a fight in front of a Greek Night crowd of 356 fans. The race to 15 in the fifth set became the defining chapter.
A&T stormed ahead 3–0 thanks to a Howard service error, a Valeria Estrada ace and a Tyne Ross kill. Freshman Zariah Winton took over midway through the deciding set. She fired off a kill and service ace, putting the Aggies firmly in control with a 12-7 advantage.
After fending off a brief Howard push, the moment fittingly ended in Ross's hands. She hammered her 27th kill to clinch the huge non-conference road win over a Howard program that won the MEAC regular season in 2024 by going 14-0 and has won six MEAC tournament titles since 2015.
In helping the Aggies improve to 3-2 on the season, Ross had her third match of 20-plus kills this season after leading all players with 27 kills. She added nine digs, two service aces and two total blocks to her totals. It was also an excellent night for Winton, a freshman out of Crete, Ill.
She finished with 17 kills, six digs, six total blocks, and three service aces, totaling 23 points for the Aggies. Meanwhile, junior Leonor Polezzi secured her 13th career double-double with 51 assists, 11 digs, three aces and two total blocks.
"Very exciting win tonight at Howard. I thought we played solid for most of the match. We competed hard and I was glad to see that," said A&T head coach Hal Clifton. "The crowd inside Burr was crazy, and our players really stepped up to the challenge of playing in such an environment.
It was good for us to learn how to focus when things are crazy all around you. I thought our pin hitters did a really nice job scoring and shouldering the load. Really excellent team effort."
After dropping the first set, A&T bounced back in the second. It was a set full of runs, with Ross landing a kill to spark a quick first run for the Aggies to have a 14-10 advantage. However, it was short-lived as Howard shifted the momentum in their favor, putting together a 7-2 run to tie the set at 17.
A&T found the rhythm when it counted by ending the set on a 5-0 stretch to finish up 25-21. The third set mirrored the intensity of the night.
A&T trailed 16-13, but behind three Howard attack errors, a Ross ace and kills from sophomore Lily Bannister and Winton, the Aggies took a 19-16 lead. The two largest HBCUs in America traded blows from there.
Rya McKinnon and Zenai Jethroe chipped away for Howard, cutting the margin to 22–21. After an A&T timeout, Ross registered two kills before a Leah Reeves service error gave the Aggies a 2-1 match lead.
The Aggies nearly finished the job in the fourth. Ross tied the set at 23 with a kill before a Howard attack error gave the Aggies match and set point. It became exciting from there, turning into a tug-of-war that extended beyond the 25-point threshold.
McKinnon kept the Bison alive with a kill before a block assist from Kristen Dear and Alexys James gave Howard set point. Ross delivered again for A&T with a kill before McKinnon put Howard ahead again with another one of her kills. She had 26 on the night.
Winton tied the match at 26 with another kill before kills from Kennedi Wright and Dear forced the fifth and decisive set. Estrada anchored the Aggie defense with a match-high 21 digs. Sophomore Luca Radnai added seven kills and six total blocks, and freshman Nicole Ellis had six kills and four total blocks.
The Aggies will stay in Washington, DC, to face American University in Bender Arena on Saturday, September 13, at 4 pm.
