Two months down and two months left to go.

Powered behind the offense of seniors Janae Mitchell and Tiffany Mellette, the Lady Aggies have been competitive in just about every match this season.

Wednesday’s match against crosstown rivals UNCG was no different. A&T hung tight in each of the first two sets but for one reason or another, they were unable to push through to win a game. The loss was the team’s third in a row after defeating Winston-Salem State a week ago.

Mitchell recorded her sixth career double-double in the effort with 11 kills and 10 digs. Mellette had a strong showing as well, with nine kills and seven digs. Head coach Toni Conway said the two team captains are versatile on offense. “They are both attackers who kill the ball from different positions on the court,” Conway said.

Midway through the season, Mitchell leads the team in kills with 138 and digs with 143. Mellette is second in each category with 107 kills and 141 digs. She leads the team with 18 service aces.

Setter Amber Inman leads the way with 216 assists. The 11 matches since Inman has returned has brought a huge increase in offensive consistency for the team, with just three matches seeing a negative attack percentage. There were five in the previous eight games. Sophomore Breanne Dotstry leads the team in blocks with 32.

The team has not been able to find a way to sustain momentum for three whole sets this year, turning close matches into uphill battles.

“Once we get down a few points we just assume the worst and can’t get back out of the slump,” Dotstry said.

Inman said the Aggies would have easily beaten UNCG had they kept the intensity up.

“We just need to get more confident and forget about the record at this point,” she said.

They have until their Nov. 16 finale against N.C. Central to do just that. Then the MEAC Tournament begins on Nov. 22.  

• Prince Askew