Some would call 3-seed Texas A&M volleyball’s NCAA Tournament run to the national championship the stuff of miracles.

A reverse sweep of 2-seed Louisville in the round of 16. A shocking upset of an undefeated overall 1-seed Nebraska in its own arena — a team that fans and pundits had penciled in as the national championship favorite all year long.

And then a dominant sweep of another 1-seed, Pittsburgh, to reach the national championship match begged the question that the Aggies had been asking themselves since the win over Louisville: “Why not us?”

With the 12th Man roaring, A&M secured its first national championship with a 3-0, 26-24, 25-15, 25-20 sweep of 1-seed Kentucky at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

YOUR 2025 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, THE TEXAS A&M AGGIES 🎉#NCAAWVB x 🎥 ABC / @AggieVolleyball pic.twitter.com/TgTgOAgoC9

— NCAA Women’s Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 21, 2025

And as the Aggies’ tears of joy mixed with confetti and discarded tags from championship t-shirts and hats on the arena floor, they could hardly believe it themselves.

“I honestly don’t know if there’s a word for it,” senior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky said. “I was pretty emotional all day today, knowing that — no matter the outcome of this game — it would be my last getting to represent A&M on my chest. … I just can’t even believe it. It means the world to me. I’m so happy I get to carry this with me through the rest of my life and remember all the memories of these girls.”

Powering that mantra of “why not us” was a moment that occurred on the concourse of the Bob Devaney Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, with A&M down 2-0 to Louisville.

Lednicky and senior libero Ava Underwood — a pair of Aggie legacies and two of A&M’s nine seniors — said that their boyfriends started shouting “Why not us?” at each other on their way to the concession stand. 

Soon, the mantra had spread to social media, shoes and even t-shirts. And now, “Why not us” has become “It is us.”

“For the rest of their lives, they get to call themselves national champions,” coach Jamie Morrison said. “And again, I’m going to smile every time I say it because I’m still in a little bit of disbelief.”

Nobody outside of the Aggies’ program thought they’d sweep their way through the Final Four. And to start the match, it didn’t look like they would, despite A&M hitting .257 while holding Kentucky to just .148 for the match.

Kentucky started out on a 3-0 run before a service error gave A&M its first point. The Wildcats extended that run to 6-1 before Morrison called the Aggies’ first timeout. The Maroon and White fought to keep the Wildcats’ lead hovering around five or six points through the middle of the first set. 

Though the Aggies weren’t content to just wait around. A 4-0 scoring run cut the deficit down to just 18-16, as Kentucky coach Craig Skinner called his first timeout. A&M tied things up at 20 with a “Monster Block” from Lednicky and senior middle blocker Morgan Perkins. But Morrison called his second timeout with Kentucky up 23-21 late in the set. 

A&M tied things up 23-23, but Kentucky earned the first set point of the contest. The Aggies put together a quick 2-0 run, though, and took their first lead of the match up 25-24 and with a set point as Skinner called timeout.

Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Kyndal Stowers sealed the deal with a kill assisted by Lednicky, and after trailing for almost the entire first set, the Aggies stood just two sets away from a national championship after winning Set 1, 26-24.

Stowers led all players in kills in the first set with five, as the Aggies hit .205 in Set 1. The NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player wasn’t even playing volleyball a year ago after an involuntary medical retirement at Baylor. 

A year after watching the Final Four from her home, she hoisted the trophy.

“I sat on my couch and watched some good friends of mine actually win this game, and now to be living that is genuinely surreal,” Stowers said. “I feel like the joy that I’m feeling in this moment, genuinely, is a testament to everyone around me.”

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that the Kentucky fans in attendance had hope for another sluggish start by A&M. They were swiftly disappointed. 

The Aggies came out roaring in Set 2, taking a 10-5 lead early while hitting .417 before the Wildcats called their first timeout.

That didn’t stop A&M’s run. The Maroon and White extended their lead to 15-7 as Skinner was forced to call his second timeout. The Aggies soon hit the red zone first, up 20-11. 

Several Kentucky attack errors — and a hitting percentage of -0.021 in the set — made sure that A&M wouldn’t have a problem securing the Set 2 win, 25-15.

It’s not unheard of for teams to fold in the Aggies’ position, up 2-0 in a major match. A&M reverse swept Louisville earlier in the tournament, and Kentucky reverse swept Texas in the SEC Tournament final.

But A&M knew what was coming and handled it early. The Aggies started off Set 3 with a 6-1 advantage, buoyed by an ace from Stowers. Kentucky fought back to cut the Aggies’ lead down to just three points, but the Maroon and White pulled back in front 15-10 at the media timeout thanks to another ace from Stowers.

Aggies on a ROLL 👏#NCAAWVB x 🎥 ABC / @AggieVolleyball pic.twitter.com/6feeCbNn6P

— NCAA Women’s Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 21, 2025

The Wildcats backs were against the wall when Skinner called timeout with the Aggies up 17-11. A&M put together another quick pair of kills from Lednicky and senior OH Emily Hellmuth, and Kentucky took the final timeout of its season.

The Wildcats rallied and cut the Aggies’ lead down to 24-20, with Big Blue Nation hoping for a miracle.

Then — perhaps fittingly — A&M’s seniors struck with a kill from senior middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla assisted by senior setter Maddie Waak.

And then, pure euphoria for the Aggies. Euphoria for a senior class which was hoping to build a program that future Aggies would be able to take to the next level.

Instead, they climbed the mountain themselves.

“The coolest thing is, they weren’t here to go win a national championship,” Morrison said. “They weren’t here to be top-10. … All of them, they wanted to build something. They wanted to be a part of something and to be able to go out on top with a national championship, I’m just really happy.”