North Carolina A&T

       

• Tyne Ross had 15 kills on Friday against the Blue Hose, extending her streak of double-figure kills to 26 straight matches. She last fell short of 10 kills on Sept. 13, 2025, at American.
• Friday was A&T's first neutral-site loss of the season.
• After Saturday's match against Furman, the Aggies will play four straight home matches against NCCU, UNC Greensboro, Davidson, and Wake Forest.

GREENVILLE, SC – The end of the third and fourth sets gave North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University problems on Friday, as the Presbyterian College Blue Hose defeated the Aggies in four sets (25-23, 11-25, 25-20, 25-20) during the second day of the Furman Invitational at Timmons Arena.

A&T played well enough to win the first two sets. A Tyne Ross service ace tied the set at 21-21, and juniors Luca Radnai and Agata Zwierzynska later tied it at 23-23 with a block assist. But a kill from PC's Julia Yurkovich and an attack error by the Aggies secured a 1-0 lead. The Aggies responded by dominating set No. 2, led by Ross, who recorded four kills.

Senior Mikala Sampson, sophomore Nicole Ellis, and Radnai had three kills apiece as the Aggies hit .467 in the set. They jumped out to an 8-1 lead and were never seriously threatened. In the pivotal third set, the Aggies took a 16-13 lead on a Radnai kill before the Blue Hose outscored them 8-1 to go up 21-17.

The Aggies got some help when PC's Anisa Dorlouis registered an attack error. However, A&T could never regain its rhythm, posting a .000 hitting percentage for the set. A block assist gave the Blue Hose set point at 24-18. Two straight A&T points, including a Ross kill, cut the deficit before Yurkovich gave PC a 2-1 lead with a kill.

Trying to force a fifth set, the Aggies jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fourth, highlighted by an ace from senior Valeria Estrada. PC answered with a 10-4 run to take a 10-8 lead. The teams then tied six times before the Blue Hose took control on an A&T attack error, putting them ahead 19-18. It was part of a 4-0 run that then gave PC a 21-18 lead.

That lead grew to four, 23-19. But sophomore Zariah Winton got the Aggies to within three on a kill. PC, unfortunately, closed out the match and the set with two straight points to improve to 4-2 on the season. The Aggies dropped to 3-2.

"Hats off to Presbyterian today; they played a solid match and made us have too many unforced errors," said A&T head coach Hal Clifton, who saw his team commit 13 service errors on Friday. "We just couldn't seem to click, and it felt like we were off balance. Quick turnaround tomorrow to face Furman – another opportunity to get better before we head into conference play."

The Aggies will face tournament host Furman at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Timmons. Ross led A&T with 15 kills and five digs. Reigning Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Rookie of the Week Kirsten Kemper added 26 assists and nine digs, and junior Charlie Meadoweal added 14 assists and eight digs. Courtney Williams led the Blue Hose with 11 kills.