No. 9 Texas A&M volleyball outmatched Mississippi State and earned a 3-0 sweep on Saturday, Oct. 12, at the Newell-Grissom Building, as A&M hopped back into the win column. The Aggies improved to 13-3 on the season, also handing A&M coach Jamie Morrison win No. 50.
The first set gave the fans in Starkville, Mississippi, a competitive and close-scoring game. However, A&M kept Mississippi State on a short leash, never allowing them to take the lead throughout the entire first set.
The Aggies leaped out to an early 4-1 lead, but with both teams trading blows, the score quickly began to climb. As the score rose to a close 10-8 margin, the Aggies started to pull away as they added four points in a row with senior setter Maddie Waak contributing to each point, growing the lead to 14-8.
As momentum shifted in the Aggies’ favor, they started to rain in kill after kill. Although the Bulldogs went on a short spree of kills from junior middle blocker Gha’Naye Whitfield-Moss and junior outside hitter Mele Corral-Blagojevich to make the score 21–16. The Aggies ramped up their offense to show no mercy toward the Bulldogs’ defense and pumped up the score to 23–16.
Mississippi State attempted to fight the maroon wave with kills of its own, made by freshman OH Lindsey Mangelson and Whitfield-Moss, to close the score to 23–18.
Nevertheless, the Aggie onslaught overwhelmed the Bulldogs as freshman OH Megan Fitch delivered the final two kills to muzzle the Bulldogs. A&M took the first set with a score of 25-18.
In Set 2, the match continued almost identically to the first, even ending with the same score of 25–18. The Aggies once again took an early lead and put their best foot forward with a 3–0 start, with two points scored by senior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky.
However, both teams remained competitive, staying neck and neck in the race for the set. As the game progressed, each side stood firm in this toe-to-toe battle, reflected in the close 11–9 score. However, after a kill by Lednicky, victory averted her gaze from the Bulldogs and looked toward the Aggies, who went on a five-point run to make it 17–10.
From there, A&M rode the momentum and allowed its lead to build; however, Mississippi State began to fight as its back was now against the wall. With blocks from freshman defensive specialist Avery Power and kills by Corral-Blagojevich, the Bulldogs brought the score to 20–16.
The combined effort of the Aggies brought the Bulldogs to heel with an ace by Fitch, which put the score at 24–17. A fiery kill from senior OH Logan Lednicky closed a second set in which the Aggies never threw the Bulldogs a bone to let them take the lead, 25-18.
A&M strutted back onto the court in Set 3 after two back-to-back wins, which put Mississippi State on the ropes. However, Set 3 was by far the most competitive as the Bulldogs fought like wild animals, biting at every chance they could and threatening to rip the Aggies to shreds. Mississippi State jumped out to a lightning-fast 3-0 lead, which took A&M by complete surprise.
The Bulldogs clamped their jaws on the lead and took it to a score of 11-10 in favor of the Bulldogs, in which the Aggies had to fight tooth and nail to even out the score. \Fitch tied the score at 11 after she forced an attack error, only for Mississippi State to punch back and regain the lead 12-11.
Both teams ramped up their efforts to gain momentum; however, as the middle stage of the set ended, neither team could find a steady footing. With the score at 16-16, then 17-17, 18-18, 19-19, and again in another tie of 20-20, it seemed to be a full western shootout as both teams unloaded their offensive and defensive guns into each other.
As both Mississippi State and A&M traded blows, it culminated in a high-noon showdown with a score of 24-24, in which gunslinger Fitch blasted a bullet of a kill, which swayed momentum in favor of A&M.
With match point on the line, Corral-Blagojevich attacked in hopes of tying the score; however, when the dust settled, freshman libero/defensive specialist Addie Applegate answered the call and forced an attack error to leave the 12th Man the last man standing in a 26-24 win in the third set. This earned the Aggies a dominant yet competitive sweep to cage the Bulldogs.
The sweep marked another step forward in conference play and their third sweep of the regular season, with A&M moving to 13–3 on the season. The Aggies will be reunited with the 12th Man back in Reed Arena for their next match against Oklahoma on Friday, Oct. 17.
