Women's Volleyball | 5/27/2026 2:15:00 PM

GREENSBORO – North Carolina A&T volleyball has established itself as a championship contender in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), consistently reaching the conference tournament. Now, the Aggies are focused on turning their strong showings into a CAA championship.

A&T took a giant step forward a year ago by winning its first-ever CAA tournament match, reaching the league's semifinal match before losing to Hofstra. With nine players returning from that team, the Aggies look to improve upon making the tournament in 2024 and winning a tournament match in 2025, as they released their 2026 schedule.

On Saturday, August 22, the Aggies will give fans a sneak preview of the 2026 team by hosting Division II UNC Pembroke at 1 p.m. at Corbett Sports Center. This exhibition match is set to be part of a festive and significant day for the program. Later in the evening, the annual fundraising event, First Serve, will take place at 7 in the A&T Student Center's Deese Ballroom.

A&T's first regular-season opponent will be the Appalachian State University Mountaineers on Friday, August 28, at 3 p.m., in Charlotte, NC. The match is a part of a pre-conference tournament hosted by UNC Charlotte at Halton Arena. The Mountaineers are 10-0 all-time against A&T. The last matchup between the two teams came on September 7, 2023, a 3-2 App State win in Boone, NC.

The other two opponents in the tournament are Bryant (Aug. 29, 2 p.m.) and Charlotte (Aug. 30, 1 p.m.). A&T's only other pre-conference tournament will be in Greenville, SC, at the Furman Invitational. At Furman's Timmons Arena, A&T will face Queens University (Sept. 3, 3 p.m.), Presbyterian College (Sept. 4, 3 p.m.), and Furman (Sept. 5, 2 p.m.).

On Thursday, September 10, the Aggies play their home opener at Corbett Sports Center against longtime rival North Carolina Central University (NCCU). The Aggies lead the all-time series, 19-16. They have won the last 13 matchups, including back-to-back wins on consecutive days in 2024.

The home opener against NCCU will be the first of four straight home matches. Two additional matches will be inside Corbett. The Aggies will face UNCG Greensboro (Sept. 11, 6 p.m.) and Davidson (Sept. 12, 6 p.m.) at Corbett. They take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Sept. 17, 5:30 p.m.) at Moore Gymnasium.

"I think our non-conference matchups will be very reflective of what we will see in CAA play," said A&T head coach Hal Clifton, who enters the season five wins away from becoming the program's all-time winningest coach. "I'm really excited for our home matches this year, especially having Davidson and Wake Forest visiting our campus."

After Davidson and Wake visit Greensboro, the Aggies have one more non-conference match before CAA play. The Aggies will travel approximately 17 miles to High Point University's campus to play the Panthers at the Mills Center on Friday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. HPU leads the all-time series 15-5 and has won 13 straight over A&T.

A&T's last win over the Panthers came on Sept. 13, 2005, in Greensboro. A&T's last win in High Point came in 2001.

Conference play in 2026 begins on the road for the Aggies. They travel to Boston to face the Northeastern Huskies in a two-match series, Sept. 25-26. A&T's other road conference two-match series are at William & Mary (Oct. 9-10), at Campbell (Oct. 23-24), and at Hofstra (Nov. 13-14).

A&T's home CAA opener is Friday, Oct. 2, against College of Charleston at 6 p.m. The teams play again the next day at 3 p.m., inside Moore. A&T's other home conference matches are against UNC Wilmington (Oct. 16-17), Towson (Oct. 29-30), and Elon (Nov. 6-7). The 2026 CAA Championship Volleyball Tournament will be at Campbell in Buies Creek, NC, Nov. 19-21.

"With 11 home matches this year, we look forward to having local fans see us live and in person," said Clifton. "The CAA schedule will be tough as usual. Going north twice will be new to us. I feel we are ready for the challenge as we return key players from last year's squad. It should be an exciting year for Aggie volleyball."

The Aggies went 15-12 overall and 10-6 in CAA play last season. They return two-time first-team All-CAA selection and former CAA Rookie of the Year Tyne Ross for her junior campaign. Sophomore Zariah Winton made the CAA's All-Rookie team in 2025. The senior class includes Mikala Sampson, who had a career season in 2025. It also includes Valeria Estrada, who was second on the team in digs per set (2.45).