Â
- Seven players provided points in some form for the Aggies on Thursday.
- A&T earned its first sweep of the season with its 3-0 win over the Royals.
- The Aggies have won all three of their neutral site matches this season.
- A&T head coach Hal Clifton moved one step closer to history.
GREENVILLE, SC – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University volleyball is off to a fast start this season, speeding its head coach toward history.
The Aggies topped Queens University of Charlotte in three sets (25-19, 22, 23) on Thursday during the first day of the Furman Invitational at Timmons Arena. The win moved A&T to 3-1 overall and put head coach Hal Clifton one win away from tying Kathy Bullock for most wins in program history.
A&T faces Presbyterian College Friday at 3 p.m. at Timmons. The Aggies got Clifton win No. 161 with deadly accuracy. They hit .342 for the match, including an impressive .414 in the first set. Junior A&T outside hitter
Tyne Ross added to her collection of career nights, posting a career-best .500 hitting percentage after recording 18 kills on 32 attack attempts with only two errors.
She also made her presence felt defensively with eight digs and two solo blocks. Sophomore
Zariah Winton added 13 kills and five digs with a career-best .310 hitting percentage. Sophomore
Nicole Ellis added seven kills and a solo block. Clifton said his team got a lot of offensive production from different players.
"It was nice to see," said Clifton, who is in his 16
th season. "We have to be able to spread the ball around to put pressure on the other team's defense."
The offensive wealth got distributed evenly during the first set. Five Aggies recorded at least one kill in the first set, with four of those Aggies posting multiple kills, and senior
Valeria Estrada added a service ace for good measure. A&T led throughout the set, taking an 18-12 lead on a Winton kill. The Royals cut A&T's lead to 19-16, but never got any closer.
Junior
Agata Zwierzynska pushed A&T's lead back to five with a kill before Winton secured the 1-0 lead with back-to-back kills. A&T only committed one attack error in the second set, but service errors kept the Royals competitive. Callie DeSchryver completed a 3-0 run for Queens with a kill to tie it at 21-21. After an A&T timeout, Ross sparked a 4-1 A&T run to clinch the set.
Once again, Winton closed the set with a kill to give the Aggies a 2-0 advantage. In the third set, the Aggies trailed 15-14 going into the media timeout. However, they gained control with a 7-1 run highlighted by three kills from Ellis. The Royals responded with a 5-0 run to tie the match. Ross ended the spurt with a kill, but Layni Tobias tied the set again with a solo block.
The two teams traded points again, tying the match at 23-23 before Ross gave the Aggies set and match point with a kill. That was followed by a block assist from
Luca Radnai and Zwierzynska to put A&T in the winner's circle. Both A&T setters were in double figures with assists, led by reigning Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Rookie of the Week
Kirsten Kemper with 26. Junior
Charlie Meadoweal added 14.
Emma Norris led the Royals with 12 kills.
"It got a little tight at the end of the third, but I'm really happy that we kept our composure and were able to put the match away," said Clifton.
