Texas A&M volleyball, led by first-year head coach Jamie Morrison, is off to its most successful start in 12 years.
The Aggies seemed to take the coaching change in stride while top recruits in the nation like freshman setter Margot Manning, who was named AVCA Phenom and top 150 recruit, have added new dynamics to the team. Freshman outside hitter Bianna Muoneke has also emerged on the scene, tied for third on the team in kills while securing a sweep in the first set with a kill against Bowling Green.
Both players have highly impacted the level of play across the board. The Aggies are already breaking records, like the most kills in a match in program history within a 25-point scoring era in their match against Wright State.
Alongside Muoneke, graduate outside hitter Caroline Meuth and sophomore opposite hitter Logan Lednicky account for No. 1 and 2 in kills respectively in an Aggies’ offense that ranks No. 3 in the country in hitting percentage at .356.
Coming off a five-game winning streak, the Maroon and White will host for the first time this season at the Texas A&M Volleyball Invitational this upcoming weekend at Reed Arena. Their first opponent will be Utah State on Thursday, Sept. 7, followed by Northern Iowa on Friday and TCU on Saturday.
Utah State is off to a strong 5-1 start this season, with its only loss to No. 5 Nebraska. Junior Utah State outside hitter Adna Mehmedovic will pose a challenge to the Aggies, as she has already racked up 60 kills so far this season. Not only is their offense dangerous, but their defense ranks No. 15 for blocks per set and No. 7 in total team blocks. Freshman libero Kambree Rodriguez leads the defense with 69 digs. A&M will look towards defenders like sophomore middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, who leads the team with 28 blocks, to stifle the Aggies’ offense.
Northern Iowa is 3-3 on the season with losses to Creighton, Western Michigan and Villanova. Junior outside hitter Kira Fallart poses the biggest threat on the left side, as she has accumulated 80 kills in their six matches so far this season. She also clinched MVC Offensive Player of the Week and ranks second in the MVC for attacks per set. A key asset to the Panthers’ defense is junior middle blocker Olivia Tjernagel, who leads the team with 29 blocks and ranks No. 46 in the country in individual blocks.
TCU is off to a slow 2-3 start to the season, with two of those losses coming from No. 7 Minnesota and No. 2 Wisconsin. Despite this, the Horned Frogs will be the biggest opponents the Aggies face this weekend. Both of these teams are coming from new leadership, with TCU in its second year alongside head coach Jason Williams and the Aggies with Morrison. TCU had the biggest turnaround season of any Power Five program in 2022, making it to the Second Round of the NCAA tournament.
Junior TCU outside hitter Melanie Parra is coming off a national championship title in 2022 with Texas and has now found a new home with the Horned Frogs. The Sinaloa, Mexico native has 64 kills in her past six matches, and also leads the team in service aces. Topping her hitting numbers is sophomore outside hitter Jalyn Gibson, who leads the team with 69 kills.