No. 9 Texas A&M volleyball continued its road trip out east with a sweep over Ole Miss to advance to 17-3 on the season — the Aggies’ best start under coach Jamie Morrison. The Aggies also improved to an impressive 9-1 in Southeastern Conference play.
The Rebels got off to a quick start in Set 1 as they went on a 5-point run aided by communication errors during the Aggies’ serve receive as the Rebels picked up back-to-back aces.
A&M was all out of sorts early in Set 1 as Ole Miss was able to get ahead 9-3 thanks to its offense, which recorded four kills in its first nine points.
After a much-needed timeout, the Maroon and White got the offense going, as senior outside hitter Emily Hellmuth and senior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky found holes in the Rebels’ defense and tied the game up, 12-12.
Following the early timeout from A&M, the Aggies were able to outscore the Rebels 11-4 before coach Bre Henry was forced to give her Rebels a break. The true resilience of Morrison’s team showed as it climbed back to secure Set 1 with a 25-23 victory.
Lednicky took over Set 2 notching eight kills for the Aggies, as well as posting a team-high 16 for the match. After the impressive performance, Lednicky rose to No. 6 all-time in kills for A&M.
The Aggies fell behind again in the middle of Set 2, yet the performance from senior middle blockers Morgan Perkins and Ifenna Cos-Okpalla was outstanding, as the two combined for six kills to give A&M some much-needed momentum.
Set 2 once again showed the true grit of the Aggies, as they were down 23-21 before Hellmuth, Lednicky and redshirt sophomore OH Kyndal Stowers combined for four kills to round out the set.
Up 2-0, the Maroon and White needed just one more set to secure their fifth straight conference victory and they did just that in dominant fashion. While the beginning of the set was back and forth, three straight A&M points forced an Ole Miss timeout, but the Aggies didn’t let that ruin their momentum.
After two unforced errors by the Aggies, Morrison’s team scored nine straight points to blow the game wide open.
The Rebels struggled at the net in Set 3, hitting .000 and committing five attacking errors during the Aggies’ incredible 9-point run. The Rebels finally ended the Aggies’ run with a powerful kill from junior OH Shayla Meyer, who had nine kills on the day for Ole Miss.
With 10 errors in Set 3, Ole Miss couldn’t come back as it dropped the set 25-14, while the Aggies improved to 17-3 on the season and 9-1 in SEC play.
A&M is headed back to College Station for the Lone Star Showdown, featuring another top-10 matchup in Reed Arena for the second time this season as it hosts No. 2 Texas on Friday, Oct. 31, for what could be another statement win for the Aggies.
