N.C. A&T volleyball players Edie Brewer and Courtney Pitt made the preseason All-MEAC First- Team, making the Aggies one of the favorites for winning their division.
Last year, Brewer became the first Aggie to receive the American Volleyball Coaches Association honor. Additionally, she was named Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) co-player of the year and received five weekly awards. Additionally, she led the MEAC in triple-doubles with eight and was second overall in the nation.
Meanwhile, Pitt set a career-high last season with 384 kills, good for fourth in the MEAC. Last season, she also recorded a career-high 32 kills against Western Carolina, the second-most in school history.
In addition to these players having excellent seasons, the team had a 16-15 (13-1 in MEAC) overall record and its first appearance at the National Invitational Volleyball Championships (NIVC) in school history. However, they lost in the semifinals of the MEAC tournament and lost in the first round of the NIVC.
For the 2020-2021 season, the Aggies volleyball team was primed to become N.C. A&T’s first volleyball team to win a MEAC tournament championship, with Brewer and Pitt leading the way.
The team was picked to win the southern division, for the second straight season, after compiling 20 of 22 first-place votes in a poll held by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.
Edie Brewer also believed that they should have been favorites to win the MEAC tournament.
“We definitely saw ourselves being the first A&T volleyball team to win a championship and this was our year to do it,” Brewer said.
Although they believed in their chances of winning this year, they won’t be competing this fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brewer and Pitt are seniors and are disheartened at the possibility of not being able to compete for the MEAC championship in their final seasons.
“It didn’t set in until we started practicing. Then, I thought it was kind of heartbreaking since it is our senior year,” Pitt said.
It still surprised both Brewer and Pitt that they were honored for their performances since the season wasn’t going to happen.
“I was shocked they were still doing the awards because we did not have a season. It still was really cool,” Brewer said.
However, they may compete in the spring with the season starting in January and ending in March at the MEAC tournament in Norfolk, Va. If there isn’t another chance for Brewer and Pitt to play in the MEAC, they left a good last impression for their senior year.
