BOSTON, Mass. – Despite a remarkable effort from their two outside hitters in the fifth set, the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University volleyball team lost an intense fifth set to the Northeastern Huskies on Saturday, losing in five, 25-18, 22-25, 21-25, 25-16, 21-19, at the Cabot Center.
"Today was a tough loss," said A&T head coach
Hal Clifton. "I'm really glad to see that we bounced back from yesterday and really competed to the very end. At the end of the day, we didn't execute. We had the chance and just didn't make a couple of key plays. But still some good takeaways from this road trip. Lots to build on."
The Aggies are off to a 0-2 start in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play after dropping their sixth straight match to fall to 5-8 overall. It is unfortunate considering how well the Aggies played after Saturday's disappointing fourth set. The Aggies held a 2-1 lead in the match but lost the fourth set by nine points.
But A&T gave everything it had in the fifth, led by sophomore
Zariah Winton and junior
Tyne Ross. Winton finished with five kills and zero attack errors on seven attempts for a .714 hitting percentage. Ross added six kills without an attack error on 10 attempts for a .600 hitting percentage in the deciding set. Sophomore
Nicole Ellis and freshman
Eden Eyassu each contributed three blocks. In the fifth set, A&T trailed 13-11 after a kill from Northeastern's Bryce Leatherwood. A&T responded with a block assist from junior
Agata Zwierzynska and Ellis. An attack error by Abbie Callaway tied the set at 13-13 before Zwierzynska and Ellis teamed again on a block assist to give the Aggies set and match point at 14-13.
After a Northeastern timeout, an A&T attack error kept the match going for the Huskies. Winton put the Aggies on the brink of victory again when her kill gave A&T a 17-16 advantage, but Beatrice Gennari tied the set at 17-17 with a kill. Winton gave the Aggies the lead again with another kill. The Huskies scored the next two points and challenged an Emma Rowell attack for the win. Northeastern challenged the attack-error call, but replay upheld it, tying the set at 19-19.
It would be the final point the Aggies scored on Saturday. A Gennari kill followed by a kill from Callaway gave the Huskies the win. Northeastern improved to 4-8 overall and 2-2 in league play. Ross led the Aggies with a season-high 22 kills, along with eight digs and a .340 hitting percentage. Winton added 16 kills, two total blocks and a .393 hitting percentage.
Zwierzynksa added a season-best 15 kills and posted a .444 hitting percentage. Several Aggies had career nights, starting with junior
Charlie Meadoweal, who finished with a career-best 27 assists. Meanwhile, freshman
Kirsten Kemper posted her fourth double-double of the season with 32 assists and 10 digs. Ellis had a career-high eight total blocks. Cayenne Ceman led Northeastern with 17 kills and three total blocks.
The Aggies will host their first CAA weekend against the College of Charleston, Friday, Oct. 2 (6 p.m.), and Saturday, Oct. 3 (3 p.m.).
