WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University volleyball returned to its winning ways on Friday, defeating the William & Mary Tribe in straight sets at Kaplan Arena, 25-22, 25-22, 25-11.
The win snapped the Aggies' eight-match losing streak, improving to 6-10 overall and 1-4 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play. A&T secured its first conference win after two five-set losses to Northeastern and the College of Charleston. The Aggies hit .296 on Friday, their best showing in conference play this season. Junior
Tyne Ross led the Aggies with 16 kills, six digs, a block assist, and a .387 hitting percentage.
"It was nice to get back into the win column tonight," said A&T head coach
Hal Clifton. "The team did a nice job executing the game plan, and we had a pretty good night offensively. I felt like we did a good job from the service line — not as high-error as we have been and made them pass a lot of balls."
The Aggies led 15-12 after the first media timeout, but the Tribe tied it 18-18 on a block-assist from Olivia Westfort and Sophia Van Name. A&T answered with back-to-back block-assists from juniors
Luca Radnai and
Agata Zwierzynska, then sophomores
Nicole Ellis and
Zariah Winton combined for another to give the Aggies a 20-18 advantage. Deveraux Hoxsie later tied the set at 21-21.
Ross and Winton restored the Aggies' two-point lead with a kill and a service ace, respectively. Winton then had a service error, but Ross's kill gave the Aggies set point at 24-22. A&T senior libero/defensive specialist
Valeria Estrada closed out the set with an ace, one of three on the night. Ross had six kills in the set, and Radnai had two total blocks.
A 9-4 second-set spurt, powered by four Zwierzynska kills, helped the Aggies take a 19-14 lead before William & Mary cut it to 22-20. Ross put the Aggies ahead by three with a kill, and after a Hoxsie kill, Winton gave the Aggies set point with a kill. A Tribe service error closed out the set, giving the Aggies a 2-0 match lead. Ross added seven more kills in the second set, and Zwierzynska added six. In the third set, a Hoxsie kill brought the Tribe to within two at 8-6. From there, the Aggies took control. A 12-2 run by the Aggies all but put the match away. A&T did not let up, however. Sophomore
Daja Warren's kill gave the Aggies set and match point at 24-11.
Freshman setter
Kirsten Kemper ended the night with a kill as the Tribe dropped to 5-9 overall and 1-4 in league play. Hoxsie led the Tribe with nine kills, while Zwierzynska and Winton had superb showings for the Aggies. Zwierzynska posted 12 kills and three total blocks, with a .348 hitting percentage. Winton posted 10 kills and three total blocks. Kemper secured another double-double with 32 assists and 10 digs, and Radnai had four kills and five total blocks. The Aggies and the Tribe will finish their weekend series on Saturday at Kaplan Arena, with the first serve at 4 p.m.
"We will enjoy it tonight, but tomorrow is a new day," said Clifton. "We will have to get refocused."
