For the first time since its national championship victory over Kentucky on Dec. 21, 2025, Texas A&M volleyball took the court against a pair of in-state opponents, Sam Houston and Houston, at Reed Arena on Saturday, March 28.
The Aggies took 2 of the first 3 sets against the Bearkats before winning a shortened Set 4, 15-11, due to modified scheduling.
The first lineup for head coach Jamie Morrison against Sam Houston consisted of four returning sophomores in middle blocker Djurdja Stanojevic, outside hitters Megan Fitch and Amaré Hernandez and libero Addi Applegate. Also starting was a pair of new faces to Aggieland, freshman opposite hitter Brooke Lacewell and senior setter Lily Nicholson.
Two more immediate names tossed into the Aggies’ rotation were redshirt sophomore MB Eliza Sharp and redshirt junior setter Margot Manning.
Sharp transferred to A&M from Boise State after winning Mountain West Freshman of the Year with the Broncos and ranking second in team kills, tallying 250. Nicholson was a later addition to A&M’s roster through the portal, arriving from Florida State where she tallied a team-best 594 assists.
The Aggies led the entire way through the first set en route to a 25-20 victory. Morrison rotated the squad for Set 2, with two more debutants in freshman L Gabi Rodriguez and graduate student OH Natalie Ring.
One of many highly touted transfers, Ring arrived in College Station after having taken on Marquette to the Round of 32 last season, where she also took home Third Team All-American honors.
Another duo of freshmen made their premier in libero/defensive specialist Jenna Thedford and OH Sara Bowcutt. The Aggies rode their strong rotation to another win, taking the second set, 25-17.
Two more names saw action in Set 3, including sophomore OH/OPP Taryn Morris and redshirt sophomore MB Kaia Castle. An Ohio State transfer, Castle recorded 91 blocks in 2025, shattering the program’s single-match block record.
“Kaia is gonna come in here and be a really good middle blocker for us,” Morrison said. “She saw what the 12th Man was like … and she was like, ‘I want to play there.’”
The third set saw a falter in form from the Aggies as they trailed the entire time, dropping Set 3 25-20. A&M responded immediately, winning the match in a shortened fourth set, 15-11.
In between games, Morrison gave a deep dive into the Aggies’ national championship run and his perspective of the program to members of the 12th Man. When asked about what supporters of the Maroon and White could do to help, Morrison only needed four words.
“Show up, be loud,” Morrison said.
Throughout last season, Morrison expressed his belief in turning A&M into a premier program similar to Nebraska, who the Aggies beat in last year’s Elite 8. Morrison acknowledged that while winning the national championship is the goal, last season is still just a stepping stone to establishing a culture that loves volleyball as much as him.
“We’re on the map now,” Morrison said. “The next thing is to push it over the top. To sell out Reed Arena, to maybe one day go sell out Kyle Field like Nebraska. I just want to build that audience, is the No. 1 thing I could ask you guys.”
That memorable speech was followed by A&M’s matchup against Houston, which the Aggies won 3-1. The only unused player to appear for the Aggies was redshirt junior OH Kyndal Stowers. The NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player never left the court versus the Cougars after not having appeared against the Bearkats.
Stower’s high-level experience on the court paid off immediately, as the Fightin’ Farmers took the first two sets by identical scores of 25-20. The Cougars claimed the third, 25-20, but couldn’t take a highly contested fourth set, 25-23.
A&M continues its spring schedule against TCU and Rice on Friday, April 3, at 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., respectively, at the Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston.
