GREENSBORO, NC – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University volleyball entered the weekend with six of its next eight Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) matches at historic Moore Gymnasium.
The Aggies handled the first two, completing their weekend sweep of the UNC Wilmington Seahawks with a four-set win Saturday night, 25-17, 17-25, 25-20, 25-19. It marks their fourth straight win, bringing them to 9-10 overall and 4-4 in conference play. After a career-best 16 kills in A&T's win over the Seahawks on Friday, junior
Agata Zwierzynska followed it with a career-high 17 kills, including a .433 hitting percentage in Saturday's win. She also added seven digs and three blocks.
Zwierzynska hit .473 over the two-match weekend.
"That was super huge for us," said A&T head coach
Hal Clifton about the weekend sweep. "We talked about defending the home court, and making sure we were playing well when we're at home. You've got to get a conference win when you're at home and then hope you can steal a few on the road."
A&T was coming off two road wins at William & Mary and used the momentum from Friday's 3-0 win over UNCW to get off to a terrific start on Saturday. The Aggies hit .348 in the first set, and Zwierzynska and junior
Tyne Ross posted five kills apiece in the eight-point win. UNCW reversed course in the second set, using Lilly Sullivan, Gaby Zovko, and Elaina Murphy as offensive weapons to take set No. 2. The Aggies struggled with a .067 hitting percentage.
The Aggies capitalized on some UNCW miscues to close out the third set. After a Sullivan service ace gave the Seahawks a 14-13 lead, the Aggies outscored UNCW 8-3 to take a 21-17 lead. Again, it was the combination of Zwierzynska and Ross that led the way. The two pin hitters each had three kills during the spurt, helping the Aggies take control of the set.
UNCW scored the next two points to get within two before a service error put the Aggies ahead 22-19. The teams traded kills before back-to-back UNCW attack errors gave the Aggies the set and a 2-1 match lead. In the fourth set, as in the third, the Aggies took control midway through. A
Luca Radnai service error tied the set at 15-15.
A 5-2 Aggies spurt, capped by a kill from sophomore
Daja Warren, put A&T ahead 20-17. That lead grew to four, 22-18, on a
Valeria Estrada ace. A&T scored the next two points to reach match and set point on a block-assist from Zwierzynska and Radnai and a kill from Zwierzynska. Sullivan slowed A&T's momentum momentarily with a kill, but Zwierzynska ended the night with another kill, dropping the Seahawks to 10-11 overall and 4-4 in league play. The Aggies are tied with UNCW, Towson, and Campbell for fourth place in the CAA. Sam Vanda and Sullivan led the Seahawks with eight kills apiece. Ross added 15 kills for the Aggies, while Radnai totaled five blocks and Estrada recorded 16 kills.
"It was really big to get the sweep this weekend to get us to 4-4 heading into the second half of conference play," said Clifton.
The second half begins with the Aggies going on the road to face Campbell at Gore Arena on Friday, Oct. 23 at 6 p.m. The weekend series concludes on Saturday with a 4 p.m. matchup.
