The 12th Man led yells to cheer on the Texas A&M men’s club volleyball A team as they retained their title at the 2025 Southern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Championships tournament on March 29 at the Legends Event Center in Bryan.
The Aggies dominated the courts on Saturday after placing first in the SIVA 2024 National Tournament. A&M went undefeated through four games against Texas, Sam Houston and LSU without losing a set. The team is now ranked No. 11 in National Collegiate Volleyball Federation Division I as they head to the national levels on April 17-19.
Agriculture leadership and development senior, outside hitter and club president Benjamin Hutka explained that the team has spent the fall and spring seasons leading up to the SIVA Championships figuring out how to play together and focusing on cohesiveness.
“It was a struggle to successfully pull out a win consistently,” Hutka said. “But now it feels like we’re peaking at the moments we should.”
The Aggies defeated the Longhorns 2-0 in their first match of the day after falling behind at the beginning of the first set. But the Maroon and White managed to gain the lead and win the match, 25-14. A&M kept a solid lead throughout the second sent, taking the frame 25-10 and earning them the victory over Texas to move into the gold bracket.
Coach Emily Hubacek noted that since the Aggies are the former champions, they will see every team’s best competition, no matter their ranking.
“We have a target on our backs, we always do,” Hubacek said. “You’re not allowed to play silly. We hold ourselves to really high standards.”
Entering the gold bracket for their second match against Sam Houston, A&M won 2-0. Aside from the start of the first set, the Aggies stayed ahead of their opponent, taking the first set 25-17 and the second set 25-20.
In the semi-finals, the Fightin’ Farmers competed against the ‘Horns’ A team, earning a first set win, 25-20, and taking the second 25-14.. Supply chain management junior setter Evan Ortega secured the winning point of the match.
While the match kicked off leisurely, Ortega noted the team usually has slow starts, and despite clinching the final point, he gave credit to Hutka as the big factor in the final win.
“Once we start getting our game going, I mean, there’s no real way people can stop us,” Ortega said.
As A&M took on LSU in the finals, fans crowded to the stands to watch. In the first set the Aggies fell behind but caught up from multiple spikes by political science junior outside hitter Zac James to win the set, 25-19. The Maroon and White held a close lead in the second set before widening the margin for the rest of the match. The match point went to A&M after LSU hit a return out, winning them the Regional Championship.
A&M will head to Phoenix, Arizona, on April 16-19 to compete for the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation National Championship.
