Midway through the season, No. 10 Texas A&M volleyball has continued to impress the country, boasting a 13-3 record, its best through 16 games since coach Jamie Morrison took over the program.
A&M has been soaring through Southeastern Conference play as it sits at a 5-1 record, with their only loss coming against then-No. 3 Kentucky. It has won statement games against then-No. 21 Missouri, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi State, where they dropped only two sets across all five games.
What Morrison has done with this volleyball program is commendable — the Maroon and White have already picked up two non-conference AP Top 25 wins this season against then-No. 11 Minnesota and then-No. 21 Utah.
With nine games remaining in the regular season, the Aggies aim to maintain their winning streak as they seek a high seed in the SEC Volleyball Tournament, with the ultimate goal of preparing for the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive season.
Throughout the season, the Aggies have been led by senior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky, who cracked her way into A&M’s top-10 career kills list as she currently sits at 1,427 kills during her four-year career in Aggieland.
“She’s going to go down as one of the best players to play in a maroon uniform,” Morrison said. “Getting into the top 10, it’s not a surprise, but it’s an honor and I know she wears that … her being a fourth-generation Aggie, like it means a lot to her.”
A&M has been powerful all around this season, as it sits behind three dominant volleyball programs in No. 16 Tennessee, No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Kentucky as far as hitting percentage, and have posted a .282 through the season.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Maroon and White have also been excellent as they sit in second place in opponents’ hitting percentage, limiting opposing teams to just .162 on the season.
The rest of the Aggies’ schedule is going to be tough, as they face nine solid SEC squads in a conference where it truly can be anyone’s game. With that, the Maroon and White will have a home advantage for four more matchups, hoping that the 12th Man can bring some extra energy and fight to the court.
“The SEC is really interesting this year,” Morrison said. “You see it in the standings, you see it with the … upsets that are happening night in and night out, and anybody can beat anybody.”
Another big key to A&M’s offense and defense comes from senior middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, who has a .413 hitting percentage on the season, landing herself third among the top hitters in the conference.
The seven-time SEC Defensive Player of the Week has been on fire at the net this year as she has posted 91 blocks this season, while currently averaging 1.6 blocks per set. Cos-Okpalla has also been incredible at the service line, leading the team with 19 aces, something you don’t normally see from a middle blocker.
“Just her ability to hit that serve at a pretty good pace and not miss a lot but put pressure on the opponent constantly,” Morrison said. “ … So I think it’s just the consistency piece that is most impressive.”
As the season gets into the nitty-gritty with the Aggies facing nine strong SEC programs, they have several nationally ranked teams to compete against. But that hasn’t been a problem in the past, as A&M was able to take down its in-state rival, then-No. 7 Texas last season in Austin, as it took home the Lonestar Showdown trophy for the first time since 2010.
After multiple weeks of playing on Wednesday nights, the Aggies can get into a schedule this upcoming week, with two home matchups against Oklahoma and Arkansas taking place this weekend.
After two matchups at home, the Maroon and White head back on the road for matchups against LSU and Ole Miss, who both hold losing records in conference play. Then, the Aggies will head back home to take on the No. 2 Longhorns for a much-anticipated matchup on Halloween in front of the 12th Man.
A&M then travels again for three straight matches against Tennessee, Auburn and Florida, before heading back to College Station for one more Reed Arena matchup against Georgia to close out the regular season.
A&M will face Oklahoma on Friday, Oct. 17, for its seventh SEC matchup of the year and the 17th overall match of the season. With the Aggies currently sitting in third among the SEC in conference record, a dominant win against the Sooners can give them a chance to continue and advance upward.
