- A&T head coach Hal Clifton earned career win No. 163, becoming the program's all-time winningest coach.
- In 16 seasons, he has won a conference tournament championship, made three postseason appearances, and earned two conference coach of the year awards. He also coached two conference rookies of the year and two-time MEAC Player of the Year Edie Brewer.
- Junior Tyne Ross needs 14 kills to become the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 kills.
- The Aggies have won 15 straight over NCCU. The Eagles' last win over A&T came on Nov. 11, 2016.
GREENSBORO – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University head volleyball coach
Hal Clifton and his team made it official on Thursday.
Clifton became the program's winningest coach when his 2026 team defeated North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in three sets (25-21, 17, 17). It not only came against the 'Aggies' chief rival, the Eagles of NCCU, but also at home in Corbett Sports Center during A&T's home opener. Add to all of that, the Aggies are off to a 5-2 start.
After the win, Clifton's former players paid tribute to him with a special videoboard presentation organized by A&T volleyball alum Ceci Carter. Clifton said he did not know he was approaching the record until last spring. He added that the record reflects the program and the many great players who chose to attend and play volleyball in Aggieland.
"I was fortunate to be around so many good people," said Clifton, the longest-tenured active coach at A&T in his 16
th season. "We have been able to recruit good players and good people. It's really a testament to the players and not as much to me. It was never something I shot for when I took the job. It was to build a program that was competitive and sustainable. Something A&T would really be proud of."
One of Clifton's more recent recruits, junior
Tyne Ross, is also about to make history. Ross, who has been incredibly accurate to open the season, led the Aggies with 14 kills. She committed only one attack error in 24 attempts for a .542 hitting percentage. She is hitting a team-best .328 over the Aggies' first seven matches.
Ross is also inching closer to 1,000 career kills. She is 14 kills shy of the milestone, which would make her the fifth player in program history to do so and the fourth under Clifton. Ross will very likely reach 1,000 kills faster than any other player in program history, having played in 228 sets thus far. Naiyah Sawtelle previously set the mark, reaching it in 250 sets.
Ross and the Aggies took a little while to get going on Thursday, but once they did, the march toward Clifton's milestone was inevitable. The Eagles took a 10-5 lead and led 15-13 going into the media timeout. From there, sophomore
Nicole Ellis ignited the Aggies. Her kill tied the first set at 21-21 before a follow-up kill gave the Aggies the lead.
After NCCU called a timeout, the Aggies completed the 5-0 run to end set No. 1 with another kill from Ellis, an error from the Eagles, and a kill from Ross, who ended the set with seven kills and zero attack errors. A&T dominated from there, hitting a combined .435 over the final two sets.
The Aggies reached set and match point in the third set on a kill from sophomore
Daja Warren. An NCCU service error clinched the win for A&T as NCCU dropped to 2-4. Freshman
Madison Mullins led the Aggies defensively with 10 digs. A&T sophomore
Zariah Winton had nine kills, and Ellis finished with five kills and two total blocks.
The Aggies return to action again at Corbett on Friday at 6 p.m.
