Texas A&M volleyball defeated No. 8 Arizona State 3-1 on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA volleyball tournament. The Aggies advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time under coach Jamie Morrison.
Last time out, the Aggies defeated the Colorado State Rams 3-1 to advance to the second round for the first time since 2019. Saturday’s match saw a battle of second-year coaches at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Arizona.
Heading into the tournament, the Aggies had won their last five and posted a 20-7 record on the season. The Sun Devils put together an 18-game winning streak to close out their 30-2 season.
The opening set saw the Fightin’ Farmers and Sun Devils neck-and-neck until the Aggies were able to pull away 17-13. Once taking the four-point lead, the Maroon and White put its foot on the gas to close out the set 25-19. Junior middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla recorded two kills late in the set to put it away for the Aggies.
A strong defensive effort gave Arizona State the advantage in the second set. After a 9-9 start, the Sun Devils pulled away thanks to blocks from graduate outside hitter Roberta Rabelo and senior OH Geli Cyr.
Up 19-13, the Sun Devils defended a 6-2 run from the Aggies before Rabelo ended the run with two kills of her own. Arizona State would take the set 25-22 to tie up the match at one.
The Sun Devils carried their momentum to the early moments of the third set, taking a quick 2-0 lead. The Aggies were quick to respond with a 9-1 run to take the lead 9-3. Monster blocks from junior OH Taylor Humphrey, Cos-Okpalla and junior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky helped load the Aggies with momentum, and they never looked back. The Maroon and White went on to take the third set handedly 25-15.
The fourth set saw Lednicky all over the offensive stat sheet, recording nine of A&M’s 20 kills. She recorded the Aggies’ first two points of the set before the two teams exchanged points until the squads were tied at 14.
Cyr recorded two kills to give the Sun Devils a three-point lead, but the Aggies responded with three kills of their own. Late service aces from junior setter Maddie Waak and junior OH Emily Hellmuth combined with a late kill from Cos-Okpalla put the match away for the Fightin’ Farmers.
“I’m proud of my team,” Morrison said. “The attitude that we brought to this, the joyfulness that we brought to this, the aggressiveness that we brought to this. … I’m just proud that we showed that on the stage because that’s what this team is about, and I’m really really proud.”
Lednicky led the match with 27 kills, tying a season-high she set at Tennessee on Nov. 10. The Sugar Land native also recorded a career-high in points on Saturday, recording 30 and surpassing her previous mark of 29, which was set in 2022 at Arkansas. Lednicky and Cos-Okpalla led the match in blocks, both with six. Hellmuth also recorded a season-high 20 kills on the way to victory.
“These three are huge,” Morrison said. “We’ve been very selective with the people that we bring into our program, and, as much as I can talk about volleyball, I can talk about human beings. They’ve talked a lot about how we care and how we trust and how we do those things. Those are the things I’m most proud of.”
Waak dominated in the assist category, recording 59 on the night and setting her career-high, surpassing her previous mark of 58 that she set this season against New Hampshire. The next highest was Arizona State graduate S Argentina Ung with 31 in the match.
With Saturday’s victory, A&M will seek revenge against the No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers in the Sweet 16. In their last meeting in September, the Badgers swept the Aggies in the Wisconsin Invite.
The two squads will face off in Tempe, with the time and date to be announced. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
