WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Things look to be back on track for North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University volleyball.
The Aggies swept the two-match weekend series against the William & Mary University Tribe, beating WMU in four sets (25-22, 17-25, 25-20, 25-13). The Aggies had a strong offensive showing, hitting .269 for the weekend to improve to 7-10 overall and 2-4 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play. Junior
Tyne Ross had a superb weekend accuracy-wise, posting a .360 hitting percentage.
Ross finished with 18 kills on Saturday, leading the Aggies. Sophomore
Zariah Winton added 13 kills, nine digs, and three total blocks. Junior
Agata Zwierzynska also finished with double-digit kills, posting 11 kills and four total blocks. Freshman
Kirsten Kemper secured the sixth double-double of her short career with 36 assists and 20 digs, along with two total blocks.
"I'm very excited to complete the road trip with two wins," said A&T head coach
Hal Clifton. "I felt the team played pretty consistently on both days. I like how we responded after the second-set loss today. We were able to make a couple of adjustments and a couple of nice mini-runs from the service line."
The Aggies endured that second-set loss after winning set No. 1 by holding off a WMU comeback attempt. A&T led 17-10 on a block-assist from sophomore
Nicole Ellis and Zwierzynska. However, the Tribe pulled to within one, 19-18, after Aba Crabtree landed a service ace. Crabtree followed with a service error, and Ross slammed an attack to the floor, putting the Aggies up 21-18.
WMU got to within two three times the remainder of the set, the final time on a Teagan Pocius kill that cut A&T's lead to 24-22. But an Audrey Brcka attack error ended the set, giving the Aggies a 1-0 match lead. Saturday's second set marked one of the few times the Aggies' offense struggled over the weekend. They hit .062 for the set, while the Tribe countered with a .387 hitting percentage to tie the match 1-1.
A&T responded well in the third set, taking an 18-10 lead on a Ross kill. The Tribe got to within three, 19-16, on a Winton attack error. The Aggies answered with a 3-1 spurt, ending with a block-assist from Winton and Ellis. They reached set point at 24-19 on another Ross kill, then Ellis gave them a 2-1 lead with a kill. Winton posted six kills in the set, and Ross added five.
The Aggies cruised to their second straight win with a convincing fourth set, hitting .400. Ellis contributed five kills and six total blocks. Senior
Valeria Estrada added eight assists and 12 digs. Sophia Van Name led the Tribe with 13 kills as it dropped to 5-10 overall and 1-5 in league play. The Aggies return home to Moore Gymnasium Friday to face the UNC Wilmington Seahawks at 6 p.m.
