The last time 2-seed Texas A&M volleyball and 3-seed Texas faced each other before the Allstate SEC Volleyball Tournament, the Aggies took down the Longhorns in a five-set thriller in front of a record crowd on Halloween at Reed Arena. 

For folks wondering if playing at a neutral site would dim any of that intensity — not a chance. But this time, it was Texas, which took the match after a victory in a third set that neither team led by more than two points and set the tone for its 3-1 victory over A&M in the tournament semifinals at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia, on Monday, Nov. 24. 

“I hope we see them again in the tournament and get a chance to play them again,” A&M coach Jamie Morrison said. “So yeah, I think my thing is, we’re ready. We’ll learn from the mistakes we made in this, we’ll get those two points better, but we’re ready to go compete.”

Now the Aggies await Selection Sunday. Morrison has stated that he believes the Aggies are NCAA Tournament 1-seed material, although he admitted the loss to the Longhorns doesn’t help their case.

“I think the SEC has three of the best teams in the country,” Morrison said. “And I think we’re starting to get credit for that as we go. So I hope [the NCAA Tournament Committee] watched. I hope they saw what we’re made of, that we’re going to go battle, that we’re going to go grind and that we’re deserving of a high seed.”

Texas controlled the match’s opening moments, jumping out to a 11-5 lead early in the first set before Morrison was forced to call a timeout. The Aggies cut the gap to as little as three points, but every short scoring run for the Maroon and White was answered by the Longhorns with one of their own, as Morrison took another timeout with Texas leading 21-15.

That didn’t change things, though, as Texas secured the Set 1 victory, 25-18.

At times in the first set, A&M was its own worst enemy. The Aggies hit just .156 and had a trio of service errors. Meanwhile, the Longhorns hit .321 in the opening frame and out-dug the Aggies 11-7.

The second set flipped the earlier script on its head. Texas was forced to call timeout after a series of back-to-back-to-back combo blocks — senior middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla having a hand in all three — and an ace from redshirt sophomore outside hitter Kyndal Stowers gave A&M a 5-1 lead. 

Suddenly, an A&M team that had struggled early on looked like the most dominant force to come through Savannah since Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman’s March to the Sea.

“I think just mentally we were ready for the push and shove,” senior libero Ava Underwood said. “I mean, when we push, they push back and vice versa. So we were just really ready to battle. And I thought we had a really good response, which I was super proud of.”

That lead grew to 12-5, when A&M let the ball hit the floor after seemingly thinking the point was over. Morrison challenged that Texas had four touches after the ball skimmed the head of sophomore MB Ayden Ames, and after video review the A&M advantage grew to 13-5. Texas wasn’t done yet, though, as A&M called another timeout after the Longhorns rallied to cut the Aggies’ lead down to 14-9.

That didn’t stop the Maroon and White, though, as Texas called its next timeout with A&M closing in on a set win with a 21-14 lead and the traveling contingent of the 12th Man doing a “BTHO t.u.” yell behind the Aggies’ bench.

Apparently, that gave A&M all the momentum it needed. The Aggies pulled away to take Set 2, 25-16. At this point, senior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky and Stowers were the driving force behind the Maroon and White offense, each recording nine kills as A&M had improved its hitting percentage to .286 — and reduced Texas’ to .259.

Stowers was a dominant force for the Aggies in the match, leading all players with 18 kills while recording a trio of aces.

“The one thing that we really value on our team is the ability to do everything,” Morrison said. “ … I think they made some adjustments serving-wise against us, and I think once we countered that, [Stowers] had a really good passing night as well. She was a good blocker, and she played some good defense and served exceptionally well.”

In contrast to the clear narratives of the first two sets, Set 3 got out to a deadlocked start, with A&M holding a mere 15-14 advantage at the media timeout. Neither team was able to get out to more than just a two-point advantage, and with Texas holding a late 21-19 lead, Morrison called timeout.

Whatever Morrison said in that timeout, it worked, as A&M regained the lead, 23-21. But a quick 2-0 Texas run tied things up, leading to another Aggie timeout.

The pattern continued, and the war went to deuce. A&M had its chances to bring home a set victory with a pair of set points, but it couldn’t seal the deal and Texas took home the critical Set 3, 27-25, thanks to a kill from freshman OH Abby Vander Wal — one of three Longhorns to record double-digit kills.

SET 3 (1-1): Texas 27, Texas A&M 25.

Texas with a massive Set 3 win after the Aggies had two set points. That was war. pic.twitter.com/iTmtvjOaw1

— Ian Curtis (@Texiancurtis) November 25, 2025

“Texas is a great volleyball team, and that was a fun match,” Lednicky said. “Like that was fun to get back and forth and stay in it. And so I think just like digging in and the intense moments and just kinda having fun with it, even though we came up a little short.”

For the first time since Set 2, one of the two squads held a three-point lead with Texas’ 7-4 advantage in Set 4 — a feat the Longhorns were able to repeat by going up 12-9, before the Longhorn lead bounced between two and three points. 

That Maroon and White defensive dam couldn’t hold forever, though. After the early deadlock — and with the Aggies’ momentum seemingly gone after the close Set 3 loss — the Longhorns pulled away to take a 25-19 win in the final set and the match victory, 3-1. 

FINAL: Texas 3, Texas A&M 1.

3-seed Texas eliminates 2-seed @AggieVolleyball from the SEC Tournament here in Savannah.

The Longhorns will face Kentucky in the final, and the Aggies will await their NCAA Tournament seed. Story to come. pic.twitter.com/PhM8Non3oi

— Ian Curtis (@Texiancurtis) November 25, 2025

Even still, the intensity was no surprise to Underwood. 

“It’s what everyone expected for this match,” Underwood said. “It’s kind of what everyone expects for every matchup that we come across when it’s us and them. And so again, great volleyball team. They played really, really well. We had glimpses of ourselves tonight, and I like how we battled. I don’t think we were fully us, but I mean, it’s a good spot for us to be in.”

While Texas advances to face 1-seed Kentucky with an SEC Tournament title on the line, A&M heads back to Bryan-College Station to await its NCAA Tournament fate on Selection Sunday.