Aggies Are Unlucky In Loss to FAMU

TALLAHASSEE, Florida  – North Carolina A&T played for sole possession of first place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Southern Division Friday night at the Al Lawson Center against Florida A&M.

Even though the score does not indicate it, the Aggies truly did come up just short, 3-0 (26-24, 25-10, 28-26). N.C. A&T had several opportunities to extend the match but could not get the key points when needed. N.C. A&T goes to 9-10 on the season and 4-2 in the MEAC, while FAMU (6-14, 5-1 MEAC) ascends into sole possession of first with a season sweep of the Aggies.

Sophomore Courtney Pitt led the Aggies with 14 kills. Freshman Andrea Laboy-Rivera contributed with 15 digs. The Aggies only hit .087 for the match with a tough second set accounting for the low percentage. FAMU surprisingly hit .276 against an Aggies defense that has been tough to be successful against all season.

“We are so close to being the team we want to be but the bottom line is we have to make the play when the play needs to be made,” said N.C. A&T coach Hal Clifton. “I know they have it and it’s coming. The hard work they are putting in is going to pay off.”

Clifton watched his team take set point at 24-22 in the first set thanks to a Pitt kill. He then painstakingly watched as the Rattlers scored the next four points to win the set. Two straight kills from Yvett Maria Garcia and another from Nair Canessa gave the Rattlers a 25-24 advantage.

After a N.C. A&T timeout, the Aggies committed an attack error to give the Rattlers a one-set lead. Clifton said the first-set disappointment led to a less than stellar showing in the second set where the Aggies hit a mere -.038.

It took the Aggies midway through the third set before it appeared they were finally over the first-set blues. N.C. A&T trailed by as many as five in the third set, 17-12 before they started to mount a rally. An attack error got the Aggies to within two at 19-17 before the Rattlers posted two straight points to extend their lead to four.

The Aggies then got tough at the net. They took over the serve with a service error by FAMU’s Jessa Long. Block assists from juniors Leila Haynesworth and Makaylah Elliot got the Aggies to within two at 21-19. Block assists from redshirt freshman Fatimah Shabazz and Elliot cut the lead to one and forced a FAMU timeout.

BOX SCORE

N.C. A&T took their first lead of the set on an attack error by Aybuke Kocabiyik leading to another FAMU timeout. Like the first set, the Aggies once again reached set point, this time on a Haynesworth kill that gave the Aggies a 24-23 lead. But the Rattlers reversed fortunes with an Ilayda Nurkan kill and a service ace from Nurkan to earn set point of their own at 25-24.

A ball handling error by Nurkan kept the Aggies alive before block assists from Aggie freshman Lily Walton and Pitt put the Aggies on the verge of going to a fourth set. But FAMU closed out the set and match with three straight points.

The Aggies are in a second-place tie in the South with the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. They play the Wildcats Sunday afternoon at 1 in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Aggies won the first matchup in three sets at home.

NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION