Coming off a 3-0 sweep against the Oklahoma Sooners, Texas A&M volleyball attempted to further its momentum as the Aggies returned to Reed Arena to host the Georgia Bulldogs on Friday.
The Aggies did not disappoint their fans, beating the Bulldogs 3-1 thanks to junior setter Maddie Waak’s 41 assists and junior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky’s 15 kills. Lednicky also recorded 6 blocks in the Maroon and White victory, reaching the 250 career blocks milestone.
“Sometimes things slip at the end of the season that could feel like a drag,” Lednicky said. “I think we are doing a really good job at coming into practice and preparing for the tournament”
The Aggies got off to a promising start as Lednicky and junior middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla recorded kills to gain momentum early in the match.
A&M got out to an early 13-8 lead after Cos-Okpalla and Lednicky recorded back-to-back kills before Georgia began a scoring run. Aggie errors, two kills by graduate OH Erykah Lovett and a service ace by senior S Clara Brower gave the Bulldogs momentum and evened the score, 15-15.
While A&M tried to strike back, Georgia kept its foot on the gas. As Aggie errors piled up and graduate MB Sophie Fischer and sophomore OH Bianna Muoneke racked up kills, Georgia pulled away with the set, 25-18.
The second set began with back-and-forth action as both teams split the first 12 points. However, four Bulldog errors and a kill by Lednicky gave the Aggies a 12-7 lead. The Bulldogs did not back down as after an Aggie service error, Fischer scored a kill to get them within reach, 16-18.
Georgia’s comeback hopes were put on hold as junior Pepperdine transfer OH Emily Hellmuth, junior MB Morgan Perkins and Lednicky nailed three kills in a row to give A&M a 21-17 lead. After this run, blocks by Cos-Okpalla sealed the second set for the Maroon and White, 25-20.
Neither team gained an advantage early on in the third, proving this would be a close match all night. Hellmuth gave the Aggies some energy as she recorded a kill immediately followed by a block to put them in front, 11-9.
Later in the set, A&M found some daylight after junior OH Taylor Humphrey, sophomore S Margot Manning and Perkins had consecutive scores to put them up 21-16. A&M’s frontline continued to demonstrate their skill as Humphrey, Hellmuth and Perkins were all assisted by Waak to score kills and close out the third set, 25-19.
The start of the fourth was more of the same from the previous sets . After both teams were tied at 9-9, the Aggies went on a small run after a Bulldog attack error, a Hellmuth ace and Humphrey kill put them up, 12-9.
A&M errors and a kill by Lovett sparked Georgia’s hopes of a comeback but were quickly shut down by errors of their own. The Maroon and White maintained a comfortable lead late in the set. After an Aggie error and a kill from Lovett, Hellmuth contributed her 10th kill and Lednicky recorded her 15th kill to seal the match, 25-18.
“I’m excited about the way we are playing volleyball,” coach Jamie Morrison said. “One of the things we talk about a lot in our program is response. I didn’t think we had a great first set but I really appreciated the response we had in the second. We slowly started figuring things out and got better and better as that match went on to the point where Georgia couldn’t play with us.”
“I think we played very well and were very clean,” Cos-Okpalla said. “Coming off a road win, I think we needed to bring that energy back to home especially for it being the end of the season.”
The Aggies are in action when they host the LSU Tigers at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 24, in Reed Arena.