North Carolina A&T

Hal Clifton became the ninth head coach in the history of the North Carolina A&T volleyball program on August 2, 2011, when Director of Athletics Earl Hilton announced his appointment. He came to A&T with the charge of leading the Aggies back to the success they enjoyed during the 1990s and early 2000s. 
 
Clifton exceeded expectations. In a postponed 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Clifton led the program to its first-ever conference championship when the season concluded in the spring of 2021. The Aggies won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) title thanks to a thrilling 3-2 semifinal tournament win over Delaware State and a four-set win over Coppin State in the final. 
 
 The Aggies have also won two regular-season MEAC titles under Clifton. Before the 2022 season, Clifton had led the Aggies to five straight seasons of finishing .500 or better. In four of those seasons, the Aggies finished better than .500. In addition, the Aggies made three consecutive postseason appearances. They earned invitations to the 2019 and 2021 National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) tournaments. They also earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in the spring of 2021, where they earned a forfeit win over Rice before losing to perennial NCAA power Penn State. 
 
Before the Aggies departed the MEAC in 2021 for the Big South Conference, Clifton led the Aggies to eight straight MEAC tournaments. When the Aggies made the MEAC tournament in 2013, it was their first appearance since 2007. 

In 2023, Clifton led the completion of the Aggies transition from the MEAC to the Big South to the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). The Aggies were on the verge of reaching the CAA tournament in their first year in the league before Stony Brook rallied from a 2-0 deficit on the final day of the regular season to upset Elon, earning the eighth and final seed into the tournament by winning the tiebreaker scenario over A&T.  
 
 In 2022, the Aggies first season as a Big South member, the Aggies went 20-11 overall and 11-5 in the league. It was the Aggies first 20-plus-win season under Clifton, marking the program's first 20-win season since 2005.  
 
 A&T entered the Big South Championship as the No. 4 seed and defeated USC Upstate 3-1 in the quarterfinals before losing to the top-seeded High Point Panthers. Also, during the historic season, the A&T volleyball earned its first-ever Power Five win by defeating the ACC's Virginia Tech Hokies 3-2 on Sept. 18, winning the Hokie Invitational. 
 
 In A&T's final season in the MEAC, Clifton led A&T to an 11-2 regular season, which included an 8-0 conference record and a win over East Carolina. In 2019, the Aggies won their first regular-season MEAC title since 1998, and in 2018, the Aggies advanced to the MEAC tournament championship match for the first time since 2005. 
 
Clifton has also enhanced the Aggies recruiting efforts. Setter/Right Side Edie Brewer will go down as an all-time great in the history of A&T Athletics. Brewer, one of the most versatile players in program history, won MEAC player of the year honors in 2019 and 2020. She also received three first-team all-conference honors, two in the MEAC and one in the Big South. In addition, Brewer is a three-time American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-South Region performer, and she was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the MEAC tournament during the spring of 2021, becoming only the third player in program history to earn the honor. 
 
 Brewer ranks in the top-10 in school history in five categories in her career. She is second in assists (2,171), fifth in service aces (135), sixth in block assists (155), eighth in digs (783) and 10th in kills (709). Brewer concluded her career with 29 double-doubles and a record nine triple-doubles. 

Clifton has coached two of four Aggies to eclipse the 1,000-career dig mark in Ashley Johnson (school record 1,576) and Andrea Laboy-Rivera (1,067). Johnson was a first-team All-MEAC selection in 2012 and a third-team selection in 2015. Laboy-Rivera was a second-team All-MEAC selection in 2020 and on the All-MEAC Rookie Team in 2018.
 
 Two Aggies have reached the 1,000-kill mark under Clifton, including Brooke Stamnes (1,017) and Courteney Pitt (1,064). Stamnes was selected second-team All-MEAC, and Pitt received first-team All-MEAC honors in three consecutive seasons in 2018, 2019, and 2020. In addition, she earned All-MEAC Rookie Team honors in 2017. 
 
Naiya Sawtelle also appears to be headed toward greatness. In her first two seasons as an Aggie, she compiled 825 kills, 464 digs, 56 service aces, 104 block assists, 85 total blocks and 946 points. She earned second-team and all-freshman team honors from the Big South Conference in 2021 before securing second-team All-CAA accolades in 2022.  

The volleyball program also remains one of the top academic programs. The program has had a multi-year NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of above 980 in six consecutive annual reports. A perfect score is 1,000, and a below-average score is 930.
 
 Clifton came to A&T after concluding his sixth season as the assistant coach of the Elon Phoenix. Clifton came to Elon University in August of 2005 from St. Andrews Presbyterian College and served as the assistant coach for the 2004 season. At St. Andrews, Clifton helped lead the team to the NCAA Division II Tournament and a regional ranking of seventh. The team tied a school record with 14 conference victories and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Clifton coached four all-conference athletes at St. Andrews and one conference freshman of the year.
 
 Before his stint at St. Andrews, Clifton spent three years as the head coach at Jack Britt High School in Fayetteville, N.C. At Jack Britt, he achieved an overall record of 62-20, including a 28-2 season. Clifton was a three-time Mid-Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year and the Cape Fear Region Coach of the Year in 2003. He led Jack Britt to consecutive conference championships and state tournament appearances in 2002 and '03. Clifton coached three Mid-Southeastern Conference players of the year and nine all-conference selections. 
 
 Clifton also served six seasons as the head coach of the Carolina Region High-Performance club team from 2002-2007. In 2003 and '04, he served as the head coach of the developmental team before becoming the head coach of the youth team in 2005. Clifton also spent three seasons with the Fayetteville Area Volleyball Association as a head coach. His 17-and-under team won the Carolina Regional Championship and three other tournaments in 2002. 
 
 Clifton graduated with a B.S. in athletic training from Appalachian State University in 1994, where he played for the men's volleyball club team. While at Appalachian State, Clifton received the Ron H. "Doc" Kannoy Award for being the most outstanding athletic trainer. 
 
 He earned his master's in exercise and sport science from the University of Florida in 1996. During his time in Florida, Clifton served as the athletic trainer for the World University Volleyball team while they trained and played exhibition matches throughout Florida before going to Japan for competition. As an athletic trainer at Florida, Clifton worked with the 1994 Southeastern Conference Champion football team and the top-ranked men's tennis and men's golf programs. 
 
 Clifton and his wife, Jennifer, have two children.