WILMINGTON, NC – North Carolina A&T volleyball did not close out UNC Wilmington in the fourth set and could not complete the fifth-set rally, eventually losing a five-set battle to the Seahawks, 25-17, 13-25, 21-25, 25-21, 15-13 at Hanover Hall Saturday afternoon.
UNCW sweeps the weekend series from a depleted Aggies team after winning in four on Friday. Hannah Forbes helped the Seahawks improve to 3-10 overall and 2-2 in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) with 14 kills and 12 digs.
A&T did get one player back on Saturday. Junior Mikala Sampson returned to the A&T lineup after missing six matches and produced 14 kills. Sophomore Tyne Ross added 14 kills, nine digs and two total blocks. Freshman Zariah Winton followed closely behind with 13 kills and three total blocks.
Junior Leonor Polezzi had her fourth 40-plus assist match of the season, dishing out 41 assists to go along with 14 digs for her fifth double-double of the season and the 16th of her career. Despite the impressive numbers, the Aggies did not get off to a good start on Saturday.
The Aggies dropped the first set, hitting minus-.071. They had a strong response. They held the Seahawks to four second-set kills and a minus-.156 hitting percentage to tie the match at 1-1 before ending the third set on a 5-2 run to win, putting the Aggies on the brink of victory.
A&T looked to clinch its first conference win of the season in the fourth, but fell victim to an 8-1 Seahawks run that put the Aggies behind 20-14. Avery Markham gave the Seahawks set point at 24-19. An attack error and a kill from freshman Nicole Ellis brought the Aggies to within three before Markham forced a fifth set with a kill.
"I'm really happy with how we responded today after the first-set thrashing," said A&T head coach Hal Clifton. "We got our composure back and started gaining confidence. We just couldn't close out the fourth set win."
The final set came down to the wire. UNCW jumped out to a 6-2 lead before the Aggies responded by outscoring the Seahawks 9-5, tying the set at 11-11 on a Polezzi kill. Oddly, A&T never took the lead in the set. Markham gave the Seahawks the lead before Ross tied it at 12-12. Forbes followed with a kill to give the Seahawks the lead, but this time Sampson had an answer with a kill.
However, Wilmington graduate Lauren Young took control by sealing the deal with a kill and service ace, dropping A&T to 4-7 overall and 0-2 in league play. Sophomore Anahi Alvardo led A&T with 18 digs and added seven assists.
"In the fifth set, we showed some resiliency after the changeover and tracked them down," said Clifton. "We just didn't come up with the play we needed."
The Aggies return for the first time since August 30 when they host Hampton for a two-match weekend series at Moore Gymnasium, starting Friday at 6 p.m. It will be the Aggies' first time playing in Moore Gymnasium this season after playing their first two home matches at Corbett Sports Center.
