GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T will try to regroup in its final match before Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play after losing to crosstown rival UNC Greensboro in three sets (25-22, 17, 21) on Friday in the Aggies' first match of UNCG's Battle of North Carolina tournament at Fleming Gymnasium.
"UNCG played out of their mind tonight," said A&T head coach Hal Clifton. "We tried to make some adjustments and substitutions, but they simply outplayed us tonight. Our freshman middles did a nice job when we could get them the ball. I've got to find a way for our other pins to score. We've got some work to do."
The Aggies will return to work when they face UNC Asheville on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Fleming in their final non-conference matchup before conference play begins on Friday, September 26, at UNC Wilmington.
A&T, which dropped to 3-5 after Friday's action, will look to end a three-match losing streak on Saturday after the Spartans posted an impressive .367 hitting percentage.
Ross continued to play well offensively, posting 15 kills and only two errors in 36 attack attempts for a .361 hitting percentage. Freshman Daja Warren had her best outing of the young season, finishing with nine kills, two total blocks and a .615 hitting percentage. A Warren kill brought the Aggies to within one, 20-19, in the first set.
UNCG outscored A&T 4-1 following Warren's kill to capture set point at 24-20. Freshman Camden Scott kept the set going with a kill and a block assist from freshmen Zariah Winton and Nicole Ellis got the Aggies to within two. However, McKenna Timmerman gave the Spartans a 1-0 match lead with a kill.
The Spartans took command of the second set early, grabbing a 13-6 advantage and eventually increasing their lead to 10 at 22-12 before an A&T attack error gave the Spartans a two-set advantage in the contest.
UNCG continued to play well, taking an 18-12 lead in the third set. The Aggies started to fight back. Winton scored on a kill before a Spartans attack error and a Ross kill cut UNCG's lead to three. But UNCG grew its lead to five at 21-16, and A&T could get no closer than four the rest of the way as the match ended on a Timmerman kill.
Allie Sweet led the Spartans with 17 kills and a .400 hitting percentage.
