EAST GREENSBORO (October 12, 2018) –Even the most cynical person who despises coach-speak must admit North Carolina A&T's team effort Friday night against arch-nemesis North Carolina Central was truly just that – a team effort.

N.C. A&T volleyball had three players reach double-figure kills, five players hit better than .200, six players had double-figure attack attempts and two players had 20 or more kills in the Aggies 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-20) triumph over the Eagles.

The win keeps the Aggies (9-9) in first place in the MEAC Southern Division with a 4-1 mark. It also marked their fourth straight win overall.

“We are excited about 4-1 going into the second half of the conference season,” said N.C. A&T coach Hal Clifton. “We have a couple of weeks off to fix some things, get healthy and get rested."

The Aggies will spend the next two weeks away from competition. Their next match is Friday, Oct. 26 at Florida A&M. In the meantime, they can rejoice a few days thanks to their impressive showing.

Junior Makaylah Elliot led an impressive showing by the Aggie middles. She had 10 kills and no attack errors on 14 attempts for a .714 hitting percentage. Sophomore Edie Brewer shared time at setter and right side and was magnificent at both. Brewer recorded her ninth career double-double, her second that included kills and assists, as she finished with a career-high 16 kills to along with 33 assists.

Brewer, who hit .414 for the night, was so good on the outside that she helped senior Megan Wiggins record 20 assists. Macenzie Richards followed her nine-kill, .471-hitting percentage performance at Savannah State with eight kills and a .235 hitting percentage against the Eagles. Junior Christa Wilson spent more time on the outside Friday and responded with five kills, while reliable sophomore Courteney Pitt turned in her usual strong performance with 15 kills.

Even in defeat in the first set, the Aggies played well. In fact, they led 19-15 on a solo block from Elliot. The Eagles ran off three straight points to get to within one before Richards ended the run with a kill. The Eagles tied the set at 20 with a kill and a service before Brewer put the Aggies back in the lead with a kill. The Eagles (4-14, 2-3 MEAC) put together a 5-0 run, however, to win the set despite the Aggies hitting a match-high .321 in the first set.

But the combination of Elliot, Brewer and Pitt proved to be too much for the Eagles in the second set. After Morgan Goodwin torched a kill to give the Eagles a 19-18 lead, kills by Edie Brewer and freshman Lily Walton forced the Eagles to call a timeout. An attack error and a service ace from freshman Andrea Laboy-Rivera furthered the Eagles troubles as they fell behind 22-19.

A Brewer kill followed by an NCCU attack error put the Aggies in command. Pitt ended the set with a kill from Brewer.

“We feel like we can get more out of Edie offensively,” said Clifton. 'She is very savvy with the ball, so we were able to get some splits and some one-on-ones against Central's left side blockers. Any time you can isolate Edie on the right side, it usually works out well. I thought Megan did a nice job of finding her and Edie did a nice job of finishing.”

Elliot helped the Aggies take command of the third set. She had four kills on six attempts in the set including a thunderous cross-court kill that gave the Aggies a 20-18 lead. She followed that with another kill. After an NCCU attack error, N.C. A&T led 22-18. A service ace from Wilson and a kill by Brewer helped the Aggies close out the set.

“Makaylah is a dynamic and energetic player who competes well,” said Clifton. “She is starting to connect with her setters. Even when the set wasn't good tonight, she made something happen. That was good to see out of her. She made plays on the ball and she made bad situations better.”

N.C. A&T took complete control of the fourth set and led 20-10 on an Arlanda Faulkner attack error. The Aggies faltered a bit, allowing the Eagles to cut the lead to 24-20 before Walton rose up to smack down the final kill of the night.

“It was a good team effort,” said Clifton. “The team really practiced well this week. I think that really led to a lot of the success we had tonight. I also want to give a huge shout out to the crowd and the Aggie Livewires. They kept the energy going, especially after the first-set loss."