Despite its recent weekend sweep, No. 7 Texas A&M volleyball is going back to the drawing board.
While A&M already has a 2-0 record, this will be Ole Miss’s first matches of the season. A&M had a solid start to their season, with sophomore outside hitters Lauren Davis and Morgan Christon leading the way in their most recent match. On Sunday, Davis put up 20 kills and Christon posted 14.
Leading the way defensively for the Aggies is junior libero/defensive specialist Taylor Voss and sophomore libero/defensive specialist Karly Basham. Voss put up 22 digs during the double-header against LSU, and Basham posted 33 digs.
A&M coach Laura “Bird” Kuhn said the team is focused on recovering so the Aggies can start fresh.
“[It’s] back to the drawing board,” Kuhn said “We hit the road on Wednesday, so recovery is huge. We’ll work on us a little bit, and then we’ll start game planning.”
Due to the new back-to-back match format, the team puts an extra emphasis on resetting, Davis said.
“I think resetting after every game is going to be a big thing throughout the season,” Davis said. “Every game is a new game, every set is a new set. We have to make adjustments to their adjustments and stick to our game plan at the same time.”
With this being the Rebels’ first doubleheader of the season, they will be looking to make a big first impression for the rest of their season.
First year Ole Miss head coach Kayla Banwarth said the Rebels are ready to take on A&M.
“I believe Texas A&M is ranked No. 8 in the nation currently, and they’re coming off of two strong wins against LSU. First couple matches will be a really big test for us and this new program we’re starting, but the girls are really fired up,” Banwarth told olemisssports.com. “We’re ready to compete as always.”
Christon said she is excited to follow up her stellar breakout performance.
“I’m just really excited to continue this journey with this team,” Christon said. “To practice more and to perfect my craft.”
One Ole Miss offensive player A&M will have to watch out for is sophomore Anna Bair. The outside hitter posted 271 total kills during the 2019 season.
Banwarth said the Rebels have been prioritizing sports psychology.
“We’re very, very process-oriented in our gym. We’re worried about getting better and learning, and we’re not so much worried about results,” Banwarth said. “We work a lot on breathing and staying in the present moment and those types of sports psychology aspects too.”
Kuhn said she is seeking improvement from her team during the Rebel’s season opener.
“Ole Miss, it’s their opening weekend and they’re hosting,” Kuhn said. “One area of improvement I am looking to see in our upcoming matches against Ole Miss is consistency. The way we started our matches wasn’t very strong but we finished very strong. So I think that focus at the beginning of the match, we want to set the tone.”