Box Score GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG Volleyball defeated the cross-town rival North Carolina A&T Aggies 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-16) on Saturday afternoon in Fleming Gymnasium. UNCG improves to 22-2 against A&T all-time, and has now won 13 straight in the series. UNCG hit at a .268 average, the best as a team in a match this season.
Ashley Muench (Hurdle Mills, N.C./Orange) led the Spartans with 12 kills on the afternoon, hitting at a .417 clip. Jasmine Jones (Stafford, Va./Brook Point) also recorded double-digit kills, earning 10 on 23 attacks. Christina Gregory (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) led the defense with 14 digs, with Grace Howell (Plano, Texas/Rockwall-Heath) setting a new season-best with 12 digs. Howell also contributed her first career kill. Anna Romaniszyn (Port Orange, Fla./Spruce Creek) also earned 10 digs, and added a kill. Allison Penner (Aurora, Neb./Aurora) led the team with 37 assists.
UNCG raced out to a 10-5 lead in the first set, before forcing A&T to call its first timeout of the match. Out of the timeout, the Spartans used a 7-2 run to take a commanding lead at 17-7. UNCG and A&T were back and forth for the remainder of the match, but the Spartan lead was too much for the Aggies to overcome. The set ended on a Romaniszyn service ace. Jones earned three kills in the set, while three others contributed a pair of kills.
The second set started more balanced, as the Spartans and Aggies were tied at 13 before UNCG got a little space on a kill from Jones and a service ace from Gregory. A&T kept it close, using a kill from Samara Brown to trim the lead to 19-18. Three Aggie errors, followed by a Brezwyn kill gave UNCG a 24-20 lead, the largest of the set. UNCG finished the set on a kill from Jones.
The Spartans earned 17 kills in the final set, hitting at a match-best .371 clip. Romaniszyn helped propel the Navy and Gold to a 14-6 lead, as UNCG scored eight points with her serving. Kills from Jessica Brezwyn (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South), Penner, Muench and Jones with Romaniszyn chipping in an ace, led to the Spartan advantage. UNCG's lead was too much for the Aggies, as the teams exchanged points before Muench finished the match with her 12th kill.
The Spartans return to Fleming Gymnasium this evening, as they take on the Hampton Pirates in the final match of the Spartan-Aggie Invitational at 7:00 p.m.
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