Texas A&M volleyball hosted LSU for its last home game of the season Sunday at Reed Arena. The Aggies’ penultimate SEC match was also Senior Day, as libero/defensive specialist Ellee Stinson and middle blocker Molly Brown were recognized. The senior duo was rewarded with a 3-1 victory as A&M won its third match in a row.
“It was sweet to see our families and the team celebrate us,” Stinson said. “Overall, we came together in some pretty clutch moments, and you could tell that we were just gelling tonight.”
A&M got out to an early lead in the first set due to a couple of service errors from the Tigers as well as a service ace from junior Pepperdine transfer outside hitter Emily Hellmuth. The Aggies’ offense ignited from a powerful kill from junior MB Morgan Perkins, putting A&M up, 7-5.
The Maroon and White were unstoppable at the net, tallying six blocks in the first set compared to the Purple and Gold’s zero. A couple of back-to-back blocks from junior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky and junior MB Ifenna Cos-Okpalla allowed the Aggies to shut down the Tigers’ offense and limit it to a hitting percentage of .103, while the Aggies averaged .478.
The Aggies limited themselves to only two attacking errors throughout the first set, giving the Tigers no room for error. Efficient play allowed A&M to win the first set, 25-14.
The second set started with back-and-forth action before the Aggies took it away with four attacking errors from the Tigers, allowing them to gain a six-point lead in the middle of the set. Cos-Okpalla was strong at the net with 5.5 blocks, finishing the match with 10. Not only was Cos-Okpalla a blocking machine, but she also finished the match with 13 kills on 20 attempts. The second set ended with a powerful hit from Hellmuth, ending the set, 25-17, in A&M’s favor.
Although the Aggies were up two sets to none, the Tigers were not done fighting as they came out strong in the third set. LSU sophomore OH AC Froehlich had two back-to-back service aces, changing the momentum in the set. The Purple and Gold continued to dominate with three consecutive kills from freshman MB Jessica Jones, leading to a 25-16 LSU win and forcing a fourth set.
The Maroon and White entered the fourth set swinging, securing the first point with a kill from Lednicky, her 11th of the afternoon. The Aggies led the entire set before emphasizing their lead with two kills from Cos-Okpalla and one from Lednicky before heading into a media timeout with a 15-10 edge.
The Tigers came out of the timeout swinging with sophomore OH Jurnee Robinson getting three kills in the Bayou Bengals’ attempt at a comeback. Robinson had 18 kills as the Tigers’ go-to hitter all match. The Aggies secured the fourth set and match, 25-17.
“I thought we played really well,” coach Jamie Morrison said. “We talked before the match about the team that I believe we are and what we are capable of, which is a team that can make a run in the NCAA Tournament. We have to play like we have nine of our last eleven sets of volleyball we’ve played going back to the Oklahoma match. We play really clean volleyball for long stretches, but we have to learn how to clean stuff up like in the third set today. Overall, I am really happy with the result and the way we executed, and I am really happy with the decision making and fight that we showed.”
Now on a three-match winning streak, the Aggies will travel to Carolina Volleyball Center in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday to end regular season play against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
