Texas A&M volleyball returned back home to Reed Arena for a pair of matches against Mississippi State, beginning Friday, Oct. 7, at 6 p.m. Game 1 ended in a loss for A&M after a tight matchup and powerful play from both teams.
The Aggies headed into this match in hopes of improving their 4-3 record at Reed Arena this season by shutting down the Bulldogs on their home court. Historically, A&M dominates the all-time lead 12-4 against Mississippi State. This match was marked by intense, lasting rallies and 102 total kills from both teams. It was a dog fight until the very end for A&M, but Mississippi State ultimately took the win in three sets.
Set 1 started off exceptionally fast-paced, and both teams were able to compete defensively. Freshman opposite hitter Logan Lednicky shined as the offensive power early in the set. A&M was able to get Mississippi State out of system with its strong hits at the beginning of the match and caused many scrappy freeballs to be sent back over the net. Both teams played with high energy and sound athleticism up to the 18-all tie, and no clear winner was in sight. Graduate outside hitter Caroline Meuth put down kill No. 6 and raised the crowd’s energy to cause a Bulldog timeout. The fight continued to 24-all. Mississippi State held on to the opening set and won 31-29, but not without a valiant effort from A&M. Rookie Lednicky led with seven total kills in Set 1.
Mississippi State started off quick with a 3-point run and stayed in front of A&M for the majority of Set 2. The Aggies continued to trail the Bulldogs diligently. A&M fell defensively in this set as Mississippi State was able to adjust and cut more hits around the block to win the second set 25-18.
A&M started off sluggish in Set 3 and continued to struggle to get a side out on defense. However, Lednicky’s booming hits didn’t let up this set with 19 total kills at 18-12, Bulldogs in the lead. A&M battled back to down 23-21, and the momentum was back in the Aggies’ court after a strong block followed by a kill from redshirt junior middle blocker Madison Bowser, her fourth block and seventh kill for the match. After one too many offensive errors from A&M, Mississippi State secured the Set 3 win 25-22 and an overall 3-0 game win.
Offensive leaders included Lednicky as the overall match leader with 22 kills and 10 from Meuth. Graduate setter Elena Karakasi was the connecting piece for the offense and put up 41 total assists. Freshman libero Ava Underwood led the Aggies defensively with 15 total digs, followed by 10 from junior defensive specialist Lauren Hogan.
Karakasi explained the need for her team to come together to prepare for Match 2 against the Bulldogs.
“I think Logan [Lednicky] did a great job today setting up, not only scoring-wise but as an energy leader on the team,” Karakasi said. “But, I think we need more people to step up, and I think I believe in them. They can do that.”
When asked about the fight from A&M during this matchup, Kuhn answered with pride and hopes to respond successfully to Mississippi State for the second game tomorrow.
“We’ve always been a team that fights,” Kuhn said. “That’s the one thing that I’m proud of them for. We can make adjustments and put people in, and they’ll come in and do their job. Now it’s just the consistency of that, and that’s on us as coaches to figure that out and find that chemistry for them to compete that way every day.”
A&M will face off with Mississippi State in Reed Arena again on Saturday, Oct. 8, at 4 p.m., to finish up the two-game series.