AGGIES HOPE EXPERIENCE, DEPTH LEAD TO POSTSEASON PLAY

BLUE-GOLD SCRIMMAGE BOX SCORE 8/18/2006

Two outstanding achievements were accomplished by North Carolina A&T volleyball coach Millicent Sylvan in 2005. One was not.

In her fifth year as a head coach on the collegiate level, Sylvan earned her 100th career coaching victory on November 12, 2005 when the Aggies defeated Norfolk State 3-0. After her Aggies went 22-18 overall and 9-1 in the MEAC, increasing their win total by 12 from the 2004 season, Sylvan earned MEAC Coach of the Year honors.

What she didn’t accomplish, however, is foremost on her mind and the mind of her players. “Coaches and players put in a lot of hard work, and you put in that hard work so your players have an opportunity play beyond the regular season,” said Sylvan.

“It’s definitely important and it’s definitely what these young ladies should be shooting for, a chance to play in the postseason. But we can’t get ahead of ourselves. Our young ladies are hungry and anxious to get out there and win a championship, but we’ve vowed to take it one game at a time.”

The Aggies advanced to the MEAC Championship last season against perennial champion Florida A&M, where the Rattlers defeated the Aggies to win their fifth straight MEAC Championship. The Aggies are picked to finish second in the conference in 2006, with prognosticators picking the Aggies to finish behind the Rattlers again.

Despite the difficulty of getting over the Rattler hurdle, Sylvan is not focused on taking down Florida A&M as much as she is focused on raising the Aggies level of play.

“We can’t look so far ahead that we miss the mark on the way there,’’ said Sylvan. “If we continue to play consistent, quality volleyball throughout the season, success will take care of itself.”

The Aggies have won 20-games or more four times in the last five seasons, so consistently winning matches has not been a problem, and the same should hold for this season. The Aggies lost two players from last season’s team in part-time starter Shea Stark and starting middle hitter Ashley Marsh. Stark’s leadership will be missed, but Sylvan looks to replace her leadership with three seniors who have played a vital role in the program.

The most visible faces on the team look identical. The Mitchell twins – Arlene and Darlene – are seniors who most observers will look to as the standout players for the Aggies. Arlene Mitchell is a three-time second-team All-MEAC performer. However, senior librero Lauren Walker, a quiet but effective player on the court, could be the difference maker as the Aggies try to win a title.

Walker, who enters her third season with the Aggies after transferring from Alcorn State, is one of the best defensive players in the conference. She won Team MVP in 2005 and was a second-team all-conference selection as a sophomore.

“Lauren is an extremely hard worker,’’ said Sylvan. “We are working on making her more vocal. She leads by example through her play on the court, but we think she can contribute even more by helping her teammates through difficult times and helping some of the younger players learn what (assistant coach) Lyndsay (Schmiedel) and I expect of them.”

To assist in the experience department while giving the Aggies more depth, Sylvan signed two junior college players. Kaycee Anderson out of Sheridan College should help at outside hitter, while Nyra Taborn will add depth in the middle.

The mainstays are back as well with junior Brenden Chatman still running the Aggies offense from the setter position, and Krystal Cooper is back for her third season as one of the Aggies outside hitters.

Junior Ashleigh Odom is back defensively for the Aggies and with two outstanding blockers back from last season in sophomores Avignon Williams and Aundia Gray, the loss of Marsh may not be that big. Each player totaled more than 90 blocks on the season. 

If the Aggies can avoid injuries and gain some momentum during their pre-conference schedule, Sylvan and the Aggies could add a much needed accomplishment.

“We are a team that can look amazing for two plays and dysfunctional on the next play,’’ said Sylvan. “Consistency is the key. We are not as worried about what other teams do. It’s about doing the things we need to do.”

SETTER

Chatman is back to run the Aggies up-tempo attack on offense. She is coming off of her best season since becoming an Aggie, a season that helped her earn second-team All-MEAC honors in 2005. Chatman recorded a career high 1,258 assists and averaged a career high 9.0 assists per game. She also became more active at the net, slamming down 1.42 kills per game. Her most impressive match from a year ago was a 48-assist, 17-dig performance against Delaware State in which the Aggies won 3-1 in the MEAC Roundup.

“With this being her third season, I think Brenden has really learned what the coaches expect of her,’’ said Sylvan. “She has learned a lot about reading defenses, she has learned about where her teammates need her to set the ball and she has done all of that because she works hard at every practice. You can appreciate that in an athlete. When you do the right things, you’re destined for greatness.”

OUTSIDE HITTERS

N.C. A&T went 8-4 without the talented Arlene Mitchell. It is not a feat the Aggies are trying to repeat. A healthy Arlene Mitchell means more in sync rotation for the Aggies, a fiercer punishing attack on offense and the added bonus of having her in the lineup is that she is one of the best servers in the country.

Arlene Mitchell averaged 0.77 aces per game last season, ranking her fourth in the nation. In each of her first three seasons, she has ranked in the top 15 nationally in aces.

“I think when Arlene’s career is over here, she can look back on it and be proud of all she accomplished,’’ said Sylvan, who watched Mitchell win MEAC Player of the Week honors twice last season. “But speaking as a former athlete myself, those individual accomplishments don’t mean as much until you win a championship. I think that’s where her focus is. You may forget how many kills you had in a certain year, but you’ll never forget winning that championship.”

Sister Darlene plays a variety of roles for the Aggies. She plays some as the outside hitter and in some rotation she will stand in as the right outside hitter. During her sister’s absence because of an ankle injury last season, Mitchell averaged 4.1 kills per game as the Aggies went 8-4. She finished the season ranked 11th in the conference in kills, was fourth on the team blocks and fifth on the team in digs.

Another experienced outside hitter is Cooper. Cooper enters her third season as an Aggie, and was a frequent starter her previous two seasons. For the second straight season, she ranked among the top five servers in the conference.

The Mitchell twins and Cooper have played together for three seasons with setter Chatman, which should give the Aggies an edge. Anderson shouldn’t compromise the chemistry because she is a veteran player. 

Tiffany Mellete returns for another season as she learns under the Mitchell twins and Cooper. Sylvan also signed an outside hitter for the future in Janae Mitchell.

MIDDLE HITTERS

The Aggies have an opportunity to be dominant at this position. Williams and Gray ranked among the top 8 in the MEAC in blocks.

After Williams’ freshman season in ’05, she worked out with Sylvan to work on her conditioning and timing. If Williams can improve on her 1.0 blocks per game, which placed her second in the conference, the Aggies will be hard to deal with in the middle no matter who is playing there because Aundia Gray is also improved.

Gray played in 39 of the Aggies 40 matches and played in 111 games as a freshman. N.C. A&T added Taborn, a junior college transfer out of Kaskaskia (Ill.), in the middle.

DEFENSE

Walker, who will enter her third season as the Aggies librero, will anchor the defense for N.C. A&T. She has been nothing short of spectacular since transferring to Aggieland. In each of her previous two seasons, she has ranked in the top 10 in digs in the conference in digs. Last season she was second in the league with 4.5 digs per contest. She had 32 digs in a 3-1 over Bethune-Cookman in October, and in a nationally televise game on ESNPU, Walker recorded 30 digs.

 Odom is back for year three. Odom had 92 digs in 89 games played a year ago. She rotates in to help neutralize the opponents’ top hitters.  Freshman Stacey Malone will step into the rotation as well.