Texas A&M volleyball is riding high on a four-game win streak after sweeping South Carolina at the Carolina Volleyball Center on Saturday in its last match before the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies secured 10 wins in SEC play for the first time since 2019 behind junior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky’s 13 kills and junior middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla’s nine kills.
“Oh yeah, it feels great,” coach Jamie Morrison said. “I think I’ve talked the last three or four weeks after we lost a couple matches about just the way we are playing. I think we are saving our best volleyball for the end of the year and that is a very good sign for us heading into the tournament.”
The first set began going back-and-forth as both teams split the first 18 points. Cos-Okpalla contributed a block and a kill to give the Aggies a small 12-10 lead.
After a kill by South Carolina junior OH Alayna Johnson to knot both teams at 14, junior Pepperdine transfer OH Emily Hellmuth, junior MB Morgan Perkins and Lednicky each recorded consecutive kills to give A&M a three-point lead that it would never lose. A kill by Lednicky and a South Carolina attack error clinched the first set for A&M, 25-21.
As the crowd quieted down with the Gamecocks behind, the Aggies jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set after a couple Gamecock errors and a Lednicky kill. However, South Carolina quickly answered back after a service ace from freshman defensive specialist/libero Victoria Harris and a couple of A&M errors to tie it up at 3.
No team broke open the set with six ties. After a kill by the Gamecocks’ graduate OH Riley Whitesides to give them a slight 16-15 advantage, the Aggies struck back with a kill from Hellmuth and outstanding defense that turned into back-to-back South Carolina errors.
Later in the set, a block by Cos-Okpalla and a kill by Lednicky gave A&M its largest lead of the set at 21-17. A couple of kills from South Carolina sparked the hopes of a comeback but were quickly shut down by kills from Cos-Okpalla and Lednicky as A&M took home the second set, 25-22.
Rolling on high momentum from the first two sets, the Aggies quickly jumped out to an early 8-4 lead after junior OH Taylor Humphrey, Lednicky, Perkins and Hellmuth each notched kills. Later in the set, A&M held a 16-10 lead until South Carolina came storming back.
A kill by the Gamecocks’ graduate MB Ellie Ruprich and back-to-back aces by Whitesides energized the crowd. As the yells grew from the fans, so did South Carolina’s momentum. Sophomore setter Sydney Floyd only furthered its momentum with back-to-back service aces to tie up the set at17.
The Aggies sought to avoid a third set and needed an answer fast. A&M’s frontline performed in crunch time as kills by Lednicky, Humphrey and Hellmuth ended the Gamecocks’ momentum and put the Aggies in control of the set. A couple of South Carolina attack errors sparked by dominant A&M defense ultimately led to a sweep as A&M captured the third set, 25-21.
“Our play quality is on a level” Morrison said. “You just look at every single touch, and we are really big on upgrading our touch to put it in the middle of the court to influence the next touch as much as we possibly can. I think we are going to do that at a really high rate. I think passing-wise it starts there, on the offensive side and on the serving side it has started to pick up over the past few matches.”
The Aggies’ next opponent and location in the first round of the NCAA Tournament will be announced at Sunday’s selection show at 5 p.m.
