Coming off a loss against Missouri at home, Texas A&M Volleyball got back on the road against the Ole Miss Rebels, clinching its third SEC win.
Sophomore middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, who still leads the NCAA in blocks per set, lived up to her title, starting the game off strong with a block and a kill, forcing the rebels to be quick on their feet with defense.
This became a back-and-forth set with each team taking turns scoring. Coming in No. 3 in blocks per set, A&M quickly tallied 6 blocks to force the Rebels to hit around the block.
Sophomore opposite hitter Logan Lednicky with 2 kills to extend the Aggies’ lead.
On the other side of the net, coming in at No. 17 in hitting percentage was senior Ole Miss middle blocker Payton Brgoch. She led the team with 123 blocks last season and came out with 2 kills to get the setter-hitter connection established early in the first set.
Senior Ole Miss setter Aly Borellis led both teams with 7 assists early in the first set, but the Aggies still held on to a 16-13 lead.
The credit for this was given to Freshman outside hitter Bianna Muoneke, who led both teams hitting .571. Head Coach Jamie Morrison bragged about Muoneke, saying she was, “doing things freshman should not be doing.”
The lead was quickly passed to Ole Miss, however, who went on a 4-0 run to go ahead by 1 point, forcing Coach Morrison to call a timeout.
A successful timeout for the Aggies allowed them to push forward by 2 points ,being the first to 20 in Set 1. Sophomore middle blocker Morgan Perkins closed out the set with a block, giving A&M a 25-22 set victory. Early in Set 2, both teams were tied and went back and forth, as junior Ole Miss outside hitter Julia Dyess tied Lednicky with 6 kills early on. A quick set by Borellis allowed preseason All-SEC selection senior middle blocker Sasha Ratliff to get past Cos-Okpalla and gain a much-needed kill for the Rebels, pushing them ahead by 2.
Both teams hit below .100% due to the defensive presence on both sides of the net. Sophomore Ole Miss libero Cammy Niesen led both teams with eight digs. On the opposite side of the net, Sophomore libero Ava Underwood trailed behind with six digs in the set. A kill by Lednicky closed out the set 25-20.
The Rebels had a low hitting percentage, while trying to work around the wall that the Aggies put up at the net, which forced many errors from the Rebels.
Set 3 looked different for Ole Miss, who jumped out to a 5-0 lead. A kill and block by sophomore Ole Miss outside hitter Nia Washington kept the momentum in favor of the Rebels and forced a timeout by the Aggies 7-1.
The Aggies seemed out of sorts in Set 3, and Washington continued to pour it on, hitting .545 and helping street the Rebels’ lead, 13-6. Senior libero Lauren Hogan clinched an ace for the Aggies, giving them a glimpse of hope, but could not defend the kill by sophomore outside hitter Vivan Miller, stopping all potential momentum
For the first time in the match, freshman setter Margot Manning subbed in for the Aggies. Manning was quick to find the hot hands of Perkins, bringing in 2 kills. Despite this, the Aggies’ defense couldn’t seem to stop the Rebels offense. The frustration shown by the Aggies was evident, as the set concluded 25-16 in favor of Ole Miss
Set 4 appeared that the Aggies had forgotten about the past as A&M opened with the lead and never looked back. Slowly they pushed ahead by 3, making the score 6-3. A kill by graduate outside hitter Caroline Meuth, who trailed only behind Lednicky in team kills, gave her eight kill of the night.
Purdue transfer Junior middle blocker Molly Brown brought in a much-needed kill and block for the Aggies, making the score 12-5. Lednicky brought in a team high of seven blocks, as back-to-back kills by Muoneke and Meuth pushed Texas A&M ahead 18-11.
Four consecutive kills by Lednicky closed out the match 25-13, clinching A&M ‘s third SEC win this season.
The Aggies will face Mississippi State for the second time in Starkville, Mississippi on Sunday, Oct. 8.