EAST GREENSBORO – One hundred, fifty-two days after the original start date, the North Carolina A&T volleyball team is ready to complete. For the first time in school history, NCAA sanctioned volleyball matches in the spring will happen for N.C. A&T.
The Aggies were prepared to start the season on Aug. 28. However, with the coronavirus still lingering, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) decided to postpone fall sports to the spring semester of 2021.
"There's so much more excitement in the gym right now," N.C. A&T coach Hal Clifton, who is entering his 10th season with the program. "The players are ready to see someone else different across the net. We train for this. They're super excited to get on the court and compete against another program. It's been a long wait."
The extra time gave the Aggies a four-month window to prepare for the season instead of the routine three-week preparation they receive before the season starts in August. Clifton said his team has never had this luxury before. It makes a tremendous difference, he added.
"As freshmen, the speed of the game is so much faster than what they are used to," said Clifton. "They were the big dog at 18 years old and dominating at those divisions, and now suddenly, you come in as an 18-year old, and you're the underclassman. You are competing against 21 and 22-year old women who have had three years of college experience and three years of weight room underneath them. It's a big change for them.
We enjoy having that time to spend with them, to get them up to speed and to get them into the flow of things. We get to find out what they are capable of doing. It gives us a big advantage."
N.C. A&T has a very experienced team going into the season. They only lost three seniors from last season's MEAC southern division championship team. Players who produced 88.5 percent of the Aggies kills last season will be on the court along with 99.4 percent of the assists, 78 percent of the service aces, 85.8 percent of the digs and 86 percent of the total blocks.
"We have several experienced players coming back," Clifton said. "They all contribute to the team in different ways. It's very exciting to have them as seniors, juniors and sophomores. They all have different playing experiences and competitive experience at the college level. That experience on the court makes a big difference for us. They see things differently. They're not as nervous. They understand how to compete."
Senior setter Edie Brewer leads the Aggies. The MEAC named Brewer the 2019 co-player of the year in 2019, and she enters this season as the preseason player of the year. Brewer led the MEAC and ranked second nationally in triple-doubles with eight.
Senior outside hitter Courteney Pitt joins Brewer on the preseason team. Pitt ranked fourth in the MEAC in kills per set (3.40). Brewer and Pitt received an even more significant honor than being named to all-conference teams. Media members and sports information directors voted the duo to the MEAC's All-50th Anniversary Volleyball Team as two of the best volleyball players in MEAC history.
"Getting to the top is hard and staying at the top is even harder," said Clifton. "We understand that we've got to put in the work every day. We put ourselves in that position, where people are going to be gunning for us. It's a fun place to be. It's a stressful place to be, but the ladies understand it, and they trained hard in the fall."
The ladies have their sight on something more prominent this season. They want to win the MEAC title in the final year of playing in the conference.
"They haven't achieved their goal," Clifton said. "They're not resting until they win a conference championship. Even though we had a great season, that's in the past. The focus is and always, win the division, win the MEAC and make it to postseason play. That's where our sights are."
Junior middle blocker Fatimah Shabazz returns for another year. She averaged 2.69 kills and 0.67 blocks last season. Two vital defensive players return for another season, junior libero Andrea Laboy-Rivera and junior middle blocker Shaylynn Hall. Laboy-Rivera ranked third in the MEAC in digs per set (4.26), and Hall led the MEAC in blocks per set (1.16).
The Aggies welcome four newcomers, two transfers and two freshmen. Junior libero Nadia Montalbán-El Hiriche transferred from Eastern Wyoming College. During her two years at EWC, she recorded 465 digs and averaged 2.42 digs per set.
The other transfer is junior outside hitter Amalie Rupertova from Butler Community College. She is from Tlucen, Czech Republic and 277 kills, 205 digs, 36 blocks and 37 service aces as a freshman at BCC. Her sophomore year, she posted 252 kills, 350 digs and 47 blocks.
Freshman outside hitter Aiyana Bermudez and freshman setter Arie Walker are also welcomed additions.
Bermundez recorded 403 kills, 101 digs, 56 service aces and 25 blocks with a .313 hitting percentage in her senior season. She earned American Volleyball Coaches Association High School all-region. Walker is a two-time all-conference performer and an all-state academic award recipient as a senior.
The Aggies posted a 15-13 mark overall and a 13-1 record in the MEAC, losing in the MEAC tournament semifinals in 2019. N.C. A&T received its first ever-postseason bid as they accepted an invitation to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship Tournament.
N.C. A&T opens the season with four non-conference starting with a 6 p.m. contest Wednesday, Jan. 27 at UNC Greensboro. The season is 152 days late, but who's counting?
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January 27, 2021 at 09:14PM
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Volleyball Starts In The Spring Time - NCAT Aggies
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