The main takeaway from Friday night’s postgame presser: Do your job.
“Everyone [is] doing their job … everyone just needs to do their part,” graduate transfer outside hitter Caroline Meuth said after Texas A&M volleyball took down Louisiana in four sets. Meuth finished the match with 13 kills and helped lead the Aggies to victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns.
The Aggies are rolling with five straight wins hoping to stay hot before kicking off SEC conference play on Sept. 21 at Ole Miss. Reed Arena was full of loud and animated Aggie fans that made for a great environment.
“As a team, we all feed off the fans, off the 12th Man,” freshman opposite hitter Logan Lednicky said. “And so, when we have that student fanbase, it really helps us lock in.”
The Aggies came out hot on Friday, Sept. 9, quickly amassing an 8-2 lead in the first set. The Ragin’ Cajuns regained some short lived momentum before the Aggies scored six straight, turning their 14-8 lead into a 20-8 lead. Louisiana’s final serve in the set sailed just over the back line to give the Aggies a 25-12 set win.
The Ragin’ Cajuns showed more energy in the second set and got out to an early lead. Kills exchanged from both sides had the set tied at six, nine and then at 12 each. Louisiana then jumped out to a 17-13 lead behind some big kills from senior outside hitter Kelsey Bennett before surging and winning the set 25-16 over the Aggies.
Tied at one set each, the beginning of the third set was a back-and-forth battle. Tied at nine each, it looked like the set was going to go down to the wire. However, after an even start, the Aggies rolled the rest of the way. Bolstered by the 12th Man in the stands and a wave of momentum, A&M took the set 25-13.
The Aggies distanced themselves early in the fourth set and jumped out to a 10-3 lead. With time running out and momentum fading, Louisiana head coach Kristi Gray called an urgent timeout. The timeout proved to be too little too late after the Aggies won a challenge and were now ahead 17-8. The crowd lit up, and the Yell Leaders got the student section rocking as the Aggies cruised to the end of the set and topped the Cajuns 25-12.
A&M head coach Laura Kuhn was pleased by the effort on the court and the quick start. Kuhn wanted to see them uphold A&M’s standard.
“We really talked the last two days about being locked in,” Kuhn said. “Respecting the game, respecting the opponents and playing to what our standard is.”
The Aggies look to uphold that standard against Indiana on Friday, Sept. 16. The Aggies have only lost two sets in their past five games.