Box Score
GREENSBORO, N.C., October 31, 2006 –  Two schools less than 10 miles apart should play matches down to the wire. On Tuesday, the North Carolina A&T and UNC-Greensboro volleyball teams did not disappoint.

 With a nationally-televised game on ESPNU on the arisen, the Aggies looked ready for primetime, but in the end the Spartan attackers put away the Aggies 3-2, (26-30, 30-20, 30-24, 27-30, 15-12) in Corbett Sports Center.

 Brenden Chatman finished just shy of a triple-double with 40 assists, 13 kills, and seven digs. Reigning MEAC Player of the Week Arlene Mitchell turned in a double-double with 11 digs and 12 kills. Twin sister Darlene Mitchell added 11 kills, while Lauren Walker had a season-high 30 digs.  

 In the decisive fifth game, the Spartans jumped out to an 8-4 lead, benefiting from four Aggie errors. With UNCG holding a 12-9 lead, N.C. A&T rallied behind a kill and a solo block from Arlene Mitchell to get to within 14-12. But off the serve, Branagan Fuller put down a pass from Lisa Fawell to end the match.

 Theresa Hart led the Spartans (18-11) with 23 kills and 17 digs, while Kaitlyn Nortz added 20 kills. Fawell finished with 65 assists and 10 digs. UNCG hit .197 for the match, while the Aggies hit .162.

 The Aggies forced a fifth game by jumping out to a 19-12 lead in the fourth game. A Krystal Cooper kill put the Aggies up nine, 27-18. But the Spartans didn’t make forcing a fifth game easy. Six straight service aces by Kayleigh Knerr helped the Spartans close the gap to 28-26. Darlene Mitchell responded with a kill and when Lisa Fawell committed an attack error, the Aggies were headed to their second five-game match of the season.

 N.C. A&T committed fewer attacking errors than UNCG, 36-30, and out-blocked the Spartans, 10.0-4.0, but could not over come 12 service errors, including three in the final game. “Our serve and receive game has been a focal point in practice, and tonight, we were just too inconsistent,” said coach Millicent Sylvan.

“Despite that, we played well enough to win, taking them to five games and fighting point for point, and that’s why I expect from us. Right now, we are still working toward our goal, and that’s to win a MEAC title. Matches like these will help us get better, but we need to win them to be a champion.”