Box Score
Mellette, Mitchell combined for 27 kills  

PORT ORANGE, Fla., October 25, 2008 – All of the North Carolina A&T volleyball team’s improved play over the last few matches finally turned into something the players can celebrate.

A conference win.

Janae Mitchell recorded her third double-double of the season with 13 kills and 11 digs, and Tiffany Mellette recorded double-figure kills (14) for the second straight match to lead the Aggies to a 3-1 win (25-23, 25-23, 21-25, 25-23) over Bethune-Cookman.

The Aggies, who are in a steep uphill fight to qualify for the MEAC Tournament, have been showing signs that they can be victorious in every match since the beginning of October. They beat a tough N.C. Central team in four sets before regressing a bit against the Bethune-Cookman at home.

Two days later, the Aggies played a competitive match against seven-time MEAC champion Florida A&M. Norfolk State beat the Aggies in a tough four-set match. Last Sunday, in what now looms as a significant and a disappointing loss, the Aggies took S.C. State to five sets before losing 15-13 in the final set.

Friday night, however, the Aggies got the breakthrough that had been eluding them over the first five conference matches of the season. It didn’t have the appearance of a breakthrough at first. N.C. A&T trailed 12-4 in the first set. The Aggies battled back to cut the Wildcats lead to 18-15 on an Aundia Gray kill.

The Wildcats scored the next two points, leading N.C. A&T head coach Lyndsay Schmiedel to call timeout. Whatever was said must have worked. The Aggies went on a 5-1 run capped off by a Bridget McCaskill kill that pulled the Aggies to within one, 21-20. The Wildcats were able to keep the Aggies at one-point distance until a Mitchell kill tied the set at 23. Another Mitchell kill and a block assist from freshmen Breanne Dotstry and Jordan Gray clinched the first set for N.C. A&T.

The Aggies would go on to win the second set, but lose the third which might have conjured up memories of S.C. State when the Aggies squandered a two-set lead and lost in five. But this time the Aggies remained strong. They took an early 14-8 lead in the fourth after a McCaskill service ace. The Wildcats rallied and took a 22-12 lead thanks to an Aggies service error.

Two Wildcat attack errors and a Mellette kill gave the Aggies a crucial 24-22 lead, putting them a point away from their first conference victory of the season. Julie Gibson put an Aggies celebration on hold with a kill that cut the Aggies lead to one. But Jordan Gray took a set from Mitchell and slammed down a winner to improve the Aggies to 1-5 in the MEAC and 4-20 overall.

The Aggies are back in action Sunday at noon when they take on Florida A&M in Tallahassee, Fla.