The North Carolina A&T volleyball team put together its best set of the season, but it was not enough as High Point defeated the Aggies 3-1 (25-12, 25-27, 25-7, 25-10) Tuesday night at the Millis Center.
Junior hitter Janae Mitchell led the Aggies with six kills and seven digs, while senior hitter Aundia Gray finished six kills and a block.
“We didn’t put together a complete match tonight and that’s disappointing,’’ said head coach Lyndsay Schmiedel. “I was proud to see us take a set from a very tough team, but our young ladies must believe we can do more. We have the personnel that can win matches.”
N.C. A&T’s win in the second set marked the first time this season the Aggies (0-8) won a set. It came on the back of set in which they produced a .324 hitting percentage. The Aggies also got a huge boost from Greensboro College transfer Bridget McCaskill. The Durham sophomore came off the bench to rocket three service aces past the Panthers in the set. She also played well defensively, as she recorded five digs in the set.
With the Aggies trailing 21-16 in the second set, freshman Breanne Dotstry sparked the rally with a tap that fell in between two Panther defenders for a kill. McCaskill then subbed in to serve and fueled the rest of the Aggies run. She assisted on a Jordan Gray kill and then placed slammed two consecutive service aces to the floor to cut High Point’s lead to one, 21-20.
Another Dotstry kill tied the game at 21 before the Panthers went a 3-0 run of their own to earn themselves a set point opportunity. Junior Tiffany Mellette would not let the Aggies fold, however. She hit a cross shot over the net for a kill before her fifth service ace of the season hit the floor to bring the Aggies to within one.
Mitchell tied the set at 24 with kill, but High Point’s Lindsay Raus put the Panthers a point away from winning the set again. Dotstry again bailed out the Aggies with her fourth kill of the set, tying the game at 25. Another Mitchell kill and a Raus attack error tied the match at one apiece.
Unfortunately, the rest of the night did go as well for the Aggies. They had a .000 hitting percentage in the first set and recorded negative percentages in the third and fourth sets.
The Aggies will go for win No. 1 in Alabama this weekend as they travel to Montgomery to play in Alabama State’s Volleyball Tournament that will also feature Mississippi Valley State and Alabama A&M.