DURHAM, September 30, 2007 – North Carolina A&T junior right side hitter Aundia Gray had a career-high 17 kills and a hitting percentage of .394, but it wasn’t enough to stop Providence as the Friars defeated the Aggies 3-1 (30-26, 22-30, 30-26, 30-23) at the N.C. Central Volleyball Tournament at Hillside High School in Durham.

Junior outside hitter Krystal Cooper matched her season-high with 18 kills to go along with her seven digs. Senior setter Brenden Chatman nearly notched her second triple-double of the season as she finished the game with 10 kills, 38 assists and seven digs. Chatman is now 183 assists shy of becoming the Aggies all-time leader in that category.

Later in the day, the Aggies lost to N.C. Central 3-0 (30-24, 21, 18) to conclude the tournament.

The Aggies (2-18) played well offensively against the Friars, finishing the game with a .264 hitting percentage, but the Friars played even better. In Game 1 and Game 3, they nearly posted a .500 hitting percentage.

The one game they did not was Game 2. The Aggies took advantage by posting a .314 hitting percentage. Leading 14-11 in Game 2, the Aggies began to pull away thanks to block assists from Gray and Nyra Taborn. Chatman followed with a service ace to give the Aggies a five-point advantage.

Cooper closed the game by scoring five of the Aggies last seven points on kills, which help the Aggies tie the match at 1. The Aggies looked to take the lead in the match in Game 3.

Avignon Williams gave the Aggies a 20-19 lead on a kill set up by Kaycee Anderson. The Friars would rally to take a three-point lead, 25-22, on a Gray attack error. Gray would come back on the next point and slam down a kill to move the Aggies to within two. The Friars would score the next two points to take a 27-23 lead, but the Aggies would fight back.

A service error by Friar Kasey Adinolfi, followed by a Williams kill moved the Aggies back to within two at 27-25. The two teams would exchange the next two points before two errors by the Aggies gave the Friars the 2-1 lead.

The Friars were led by Fleming’s 17 kills. Elizabeth Flynn added 16 kills, and Sara Sheehan had 54 assists.

The Aggies return to conference play on Saturday as they face six-time defending MEAC champion Florida A&M at Corbett Sports Center at 6 p.m.