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If there is such a thing as carrying momentum from the east side of Greensboro to Maryland over five days, then the North Carolina A&T Aggies volleyball team is in pretty good shape heading into the 2024 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Championship Volleyball Tournament.
On Saturday at Moore Gymnasium, during the program’s annual Senior Day, the Aggies rallied from a two-set deficit to defeat UNC Wilmington in five sets (21-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21, 15-13). Freshman Tyne Ross led the Aggies with 21 kills and seven digs as A&T finished the regular season 17-9 overall and 12-6 in CAA play. Sophomore Mikala Sampson had a career day, finishing with career highs in kills (16) and total blocks (7).
The Aggies compiled the most wins in conference play this season than they have had since going 13-1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) in 2019. A&T, the No. 5 seed, will open the CAA tournament on Thursday, November 21, from Towson University’s TU Arena with a contest against fourth-seeded Hofstra at 3 p.m.
Not bad for a program that lost its second all-time leader in kills and the 2023 CAA rookie of the year from last season’s team. Not bad for a team that voters predicted to finish 11th out of 12 teams in the CAA preseason poll. But now the Aggies are headed to their first-ever CAA Tournament and will finish with their first winning record since joining the CAA in 2022. It is also their first time having a winning conference record within the CAA.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” said A&T head coach Hal Clifton about the 2024 regular season. “We had a great preseason. The ladies were determined to set their goals, and they did not let anything stop them. We played some really good matches and high-level volleyball throughout the year.
They’ve enjoyed each other, which has really been nice. So, it has just been a fantastic journey to set the team goals and make history. I just came along for the ride.”
It was another crazy ride on Saturday. Before the match, the Aggies celebrated seniors Ceci Carter, Hannah Howell, Maya Johnson, Laurel Rogers, and Madison Sanabria as a part of Senior Day. But after the festivities, the Aggies started slowly, losing the first two sets, and the third was touch-and-go.
UNCW rallied from an 18-15 deficit to tie the set at 18-18 before the Aggies could take a 21-19 lead. The Seahawks got to within one on an A&T attack error before back-to-back kills from Sampson put the Aggies ahead 23-20.
A block assist from Sanabria and Sampson gave the Aggies set point at 24-21 before Grace Melnick kept the Seahawks in the set with a kill. However, A’siya Magazine followed with an attack error for UNCW to move the match to a fourth set. That fourth set saw the Seahawks take a 16-12 advantage before the Aggies put together a spurt where they outscored UNCW 8-3, which included back-to-back service aces by Luca Radnai.
Magazine slowed down the Aggies briefly with a kill before the Aggies went on a 5-1 run to end the set, as Sampson’s back-to-back kills forced the fifth and final set. The two teams produced an excellent fifth set that featured 11 lead changes and eight ties, even though UNCW took a 3-0 lead.
The final tie of the set and match came on a Magazine kill before Ross scored on a kill, and Sampson followed with another kill to give the Aggies set and match. Melnick finished with 10 kills, but UNCW’s season ended at 7-18 overall and 4-14 in the CAA.
In her final match in Moore Gymnasium, Howell finished with 13 kills and nine digs. Rogers had 11 digs, and Johnson and Sanabria finished with six total blocks and three total blocks, respectively. Carter ended the afternoon with two kills. Meanwhile, sophomore setter Leonor Polezzi had another double-double with 49 assists and 18 digs. She has 11 double-doubles in 2024.
The Aggies lost two three-setters to Hofstra recently in Hempstead, N.Y. If the Aggies defeat the Pride, they will face No. 1 overall seed College of Charleston on Friday at 3 p.m. from TU Arena.
