Make it three straight wins for No. 14 Texas A&M volleyball, which extended its winning streak with a 3-0 victory over Loyola Marymount on Saturday, Sept. 20. The Aggies managed to end the Texas A&M Invitational without dropping a single set at Reed Arena.
The quick turnaround from the win against New Hampshire a day ago was evident in the first set for A&M, as four quick errors left it tied with LMU 6-6. The Aggies got their momentum going, stringing together a trio of kills, followed by an attack error from Lion graduate student outside hitter Sophia Keene to give A&M a 10-6 advantage.
LMU coach Kolby O’Donnell called a timeout to regroup with his pack of Lions, but this is College Station not the Serengeti, and the home crowd helped leave LMU defenseless against the Aggies overwhelming firepower on offense.
Senior Middle Blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla and senior OH Emily Hellmuth led the hunting expedition for A&M with three kills to each of their names en route to a 25-16 win in Set 1 for the Aggies.
The Aggies kept the onslaught coming in the second set, going up 11-2 thanks to four early kills from sophomore OH Kyndal Stowers. Later in Set 2, A&M amassed an 18-7 lead with four of LMU’s points coming from service errors by the Aggies. O’Donnell subsequently called a timeout following A&M’s 11-point advantage.
“It’s something we’ve been working on, is the fine line between being aggressive and keeping that ball in,” coach Jamie Morrison said when asked about the Aggies’ handful of service errors.
The Lions inched closer after the pause in play with five kills, another A&M service error and an ace by graduate student OH Maddie Boerstra, making it 19-14. Unfortunately for the comeback cats, Hellmuth had other plans, rattling off five late kills, including the winning spike that bounced right off an LMU player as the Aggies took the second set, 25-15.
The effect of three matches in three days was evident in the third set with both teams combining for 19 errors as A&M led 15-13 going into a media timeout. Nine service errors kept either squad from acquiring momentum, before the Aggies created some distance on the scoreboard thanks to back-to-back kills by Hellmuth and senior MB Morgan Perkins, giving A&M a 17-13 lead
Despite trailing for almost all of Set 3, LMU refused to quit, eventually tying the score at 20 apiece thanks to four Aggie errors and a pair of kills from redshirt junior opposite hitter Leah Burrell. However, stone-cold Stowers had ice in her veins, ending the Lions afternoon with the last five points for A&M, including an emphatic match winning ace, taking the third set 25-22.
“It was 20-20, there at one, at one point, and so obviously those last five points are the most important to sprint to the finish line,” Stowers said. “So it was great, I think our team rallied behind me as well. Obviously, it takes three touches, not just the one every single time. And so I think everybody kind of came together and pulled that one out.”
The Aggies finish non-conference play with an 8-2 record, racking up two ranked wins against then-No. 11 Minnesota and No. 21 Utah and a pair of losses to then-No. 15 TCU and No. 10 SMU.
“I’m excited about the future, and I’m happy with the past,” Morrison said. “I think we learned some lessons, I think we got better. I think we had some really good wins over some good programs, and traveled to the entire United States over a five-day period, and came out of it with frequent flyer miles and some lessons learned.”
After securing its third sweep in a row, A&M has its eyes set on Southeastern Conference play against Missouri. The Aggies welcome the Tigers to Reed Arena on Wednesday, Sept. 24, with first serve set for 6 p.m.
