GREENSBORO – The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University volleyball team is back in the hunt.
After losing their first four Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) matches, the Aggies have now won their last three after defeating the UNC Wilmington Seahawks in three sets (25-21, 25-22, 28-26) Friday night at Moore Gymnasium. The Aggies improved to 8-10 overall and 3-4 in conference play, moving them into a three-way tie for sixth place in the league. UNCW is in the mix as well, dropping to 10-10 overall and 4-3 in league play despite 12 kills from Sam Vanda. The top six teams, after tiebreakers, will earn a berth in the 2026 CAA Volleyball Tournament Championship at Campbell University's Gore Arena, Nov. 19-21.
Three Aggies reached double-figure kills on Friday, led by junior
Agata Zwierzynska, who had a career night. Zwierzynska registered career highs in kills (16) and hitting percentage (.520). Junior
Tyne Ross, the reigning CAA Co-Offensive Player of the Week, added 15 kills, eight digs and two total blocks. Sophomore
Zariah Winton added 10 kills.
"What an exciting match tonight," said A&T head coach
Hal Clifton. "We were very excited to get the home win. In this league, it is important to defend your home court. I thought the team played well down the stretch, especially at the end of the third set. It was a solid team effort."
The Aggies looked headed for a three-set win after a block-assist from Ross and sophomore
Nicole Ellis gave them an 18-11 third-set lead. Things still looked good for A&T after Vanda sent an attack error out of bounds, giving the Aggies a 23-16 advantage. But the Seahawks made it interesting.
UNCW went on a 7-0 run, capped by back-to-back kills from Macon Butler, to tie the set 23-23. Winton briefly halted the comeback with a kill, giving the Aggies set and match point. A service error by freshman
Madison Mullins tied the set again before a block-assist from Lily Goyer and Lilly Sullivan gave the Seahawks set point at 25-24.
Ellis's solo block tied the set again before a service error from senior
Valeria Estrada gave the Seahawks set point. However, Annie Harney returned the favor with a service error to tie the set at 26-26. The Aggies then turned to Ross, their two-time first-team All-CAA performer. She slammed down back-to-back kills to keep the fourth set from happening, giving the Aggies their third straight win.
Defensively, Ellis and Estrada led the Aggies. Ellis finished with four total blocks, and Estrada added 12 digs. Zwierzynska's career night began in the first set, when she finished with eight kills and no attack errors on 10 attempts for an .800 hitting percentage. The Aggies hit .367 in the set as Ross ended the set with a kill.
The two teams battled in a competitive second set, with a Zwierzynska attack error tying the set at 21-21. The Aggies answered with a 3-0 spurt after two UNCW attack errors and a Winton kill. Winton gave the Aggies a 2-0 lead in the match with a kill. The teams will meet Saturday at Moore Gymnasium, with first serve at 5 p.m.
"We get to celebrate for about 15 hours, and then we have to get refocused to battle them again," said Clifton.
