- Junior Tyne Ross had 15 kills and 12 digs on Saturday night against Davidson, recording her 11th career double-double.
- Ross has now reached double-figure kills in 30 straight matches. She also passed Brooke Stames (1,008) for fourth all-time in career kills at A&T.
- Ross has 1,019 career kills and is now chasing Courteney Pitt, who finished her career at A&T with 1,100 kills.
- Junior Charlie Meadoweal had 14 assists and 10 digs for her second career double-double. Both of her career double-doubles have come this season.
GREENSBORO, NC – After a strong first set, the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University volleyball team struggled with accuracy in a four-set loss (15-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-21) to the Davidson Wildcats at Corbett Sports Center on Saturday.
Saturday closed out a span in which the Aggies played three matches in three days at Corbett, coming away 1-2 over those three days and 5-4 for the season. The weekend also included a milestone win Thursday over North Carolina Central University, giving A&T head coach
Hal Clifton his 163
rd victory and the program's all-time wins record.
That was followed by a competitive four-set loss to UNCG on Friday night. Despite the loss, junior
Tyne Ross became the fifth player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills. Saturday night started with plenty of promise for A&T, as the Aggies compiled a .352 hitting percentage in the first set, aided by sophomore
Zariah Winton securing three kills with no attack errors in four attempts.
Junior
Luca Radnai also had a solid first set with two kills and zero attack errors in four attempts, along with two total blocks and a service ace. The Aggies jumped out to a 17-9 lead and extended it to 22-12 on a solo block from Ross before sophomore
Daja Warren closed the set with a kill. The Wildcats made nine attack errors in the first set to finish with a .000 hitting percentage.
The Wildcats responded in the second set, led by Ariyana Johnson and Elena Garcia-Guerrios with four kills apiece, to win by eight points and even the match at 1-1. A&T hit .056 in the second set, making 10 attack errors along the way.
In the third set, the Aggies and Wildcats battled through 11 lead changes and 10 ties before senior
Mikala Sampson sent the set into the media timeout with a kill for a 15-14 A&T lead. A Garcia Guerrios kill tied it at 15-15, before a block assist from Johnson and Cayla Weisner gave the Wildcats the lead for good.
Davidson pushed the lead to 21-18 on a Ngodoo kill. The Aggies got back within one at 23-22 on a Ross kill and an attack error from Johnson. But a kill from Garcia-Guerrios and an attack error from Warren helped Davidson clinch the third set.
"Don't get me wrong, (Davidson) is well-coached and a solid team, but we didn't help ourselves out at key moments," said Clifton. "It was a close match, and when teams are evenly matched, you have to make plays. They did. We didn't."
A&T opened the fourth set determined to force a fifth, starting on a 7-1 run capped by an attack error from Johnson and followed by a Davidson timeout. Out of the timeout, Davidson answered with a 10-2 run to take an 11-9 advantage.
A Johnson kill stretched the Wildcats' lead to three at 16-13 before a block assist from Ngodoo Harris and Cayla Weisner made it 22-17. A&T got within three at 24-21 on an attack error by the Wildcats, but an A&T attack error gave Davidson the match and moved the Wildcats to 5-4 this season.
The Aggies hit .151 for the match. Sophomore
Daja Warren posted a season-best eight kills to go along with two total blocks. Freshman setter Kirsten had 29 assists and eight digs. Senior
Mikala Sampson added 10 kills and two solo blocks. Ross led A&T with 15 kills and 12 digs, while Johnson and Garcia-Guerrios led the Wildcats with 14 kills apiece.
"We were just too up and down," said Clifton. "We are going to figure out our offense. But right now, we are too high error. Hitting .151 isn't going to get it done."
The Aggies return to Moore Gymnasium on Thursday to welcome the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons at 5:30 p.m.
