No. 9 Texas A&M volleyball hosted No. 3 Kentucky for Reed Arena’s first-ever top-10 matchup, which showcased two undefeated Southeastern Conference squads.
After a hard fought four-set battle, the Wildcats claimed victory over the Aggies 3-1, snapping a seven-game winning streak for the Maroon and White and handing them their first SEC loss of the season.
The Aggies were led by senior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky, as she recorded her second match with 20-plus kills this season when she broke apart the Wildcat defense in each set.
The first set got off to a stellar start as senior middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla showcased her dominant serve that led to three consecutive points for the Maroon and White. Her serve was so vicious, she ended the set with two aces and forced Kentucky coach Craig Skinner to use both of his timeouts as the Wildcats tried to ice her.
The fourth largest 12th Man crowd that Reed Arena has ever seen acted quickly, as their taunting led to four service errors by Kentucky, shifting the momentum back to A&M.
“That excites me,” coach Jamie Morrison said. “It’s not just the number of people in the seats, but the level of excitement that’s happening in our gym … but there’s nothing like the 12th Man in the world. And again I can say it until I’m blue in the face, I’m so appreciative of the way people are coming out and showing up.”
Set 1 was taken over by Lednicky, who had seven of the Aggies’ 17 kills, as the Maroon and White handed the Blue and White their first SEC set loss of the season.
Senior Maddie Waak led the SEC in assists with 573 before entering Wednesday’s matchup, where she added on 47. She showed just how important she is as A&M’s leader with a setter kill midway through the second set, lighting up the 12th Man.
After the Wildcats began to wake up toward the middle of Set 2, they were able to go on a 6-0 scoring run, which was eventually broken up by Lednicky. Playing from behind, the Aggies were caught in fight or flight mode, and they chose to fight.
The gritty display was led by senior libero Ava Underwood who was all over the court making sure the ball stayed up while giving the Aggies a chance to rally. Underwood was on fire from the start, picking up her highest number of digs through conference play this season with 17.
Despite a resilient four-point rally and three consecutive dominant kills from Lednicky, the Wildcats were able to outlast the Aggies as they took the second set, 25-22. Kentucky’s senior outside hitter Eva Hudson was able to take over with seven kills, leading the Wildcats to even the match.
Hudson was a huge pickup for Kentucky this season after she transferred from Purdue, where she led the Big Ten in 2024 with 4.81 kills per set.
The Aggies fell behind early in Set 3, as they allowed the Wildcats to go on a 6-0 run to force them to play from behind once again. After mustering up only nine kills in the third set, the Aggies had a match-low hitting percentage of .067, compared to the Wildcats’ .290.
“So there’s parts of it I’m proud of, parts of it we got to get better at,” Morrison said. “We addressed a little bit of that after the third and I thought my team responded in a very positive way in the fourth.”
With Kentucky up two sets to one, Set 4 was a must-win for A&M and it got off to a strong 3-0 start. From the first play, fans could see the determination from the Aggies to take this match to a final fifth set.
Tied at 19, it was crunch time for both squads as A&M fought to extend the match, while Kentucky fought to secure its fourth SEC victory. After going point-for-point and tying the match at 25, the Aggies had one last opportunity to extend the game. But a series of errors against A&M gave the victory to Kentucky.
Despite the loss, redshirt sophomore Kyndal Stowers showed out in Set 4 with six kills and ended the day with 13 kills, 10 digs and two blocks.
With the Aggies now sitting at 4-1 in SEC play, they will hit the road and head to Starkville, Mississippi, to take on the Bulldogs on Sunday, Oct. 12 at 2 p.m.
