Game Preview
Elite 8 baby! Here we stand, only 8 teams left in the entire NCAA Volleyball season. In the sweet sixteen last season tears fell as we saw Wisconsin cheering on the other side of the net in a dramatic 5 setter. Tears fell again in the Aggies sweet sixteen match last night, but tears of joy. Texas A&M pulled off the coveted reverse sweep against a 2 seeded Louisville Cardinals. Next up is the 33-0 Nebraska Cornhuskers tomorrow 2pm on ABC.
After dropping the first two sets that saw the Aggies leading late in both, the Aggies answered back and took set 3 despite being down late into the set. Down 16-14, the Aggies fought back in a back and forth affair to take set 3. The tide began to turn, but an uphill battle to pull off an unthinkable reverse sweep remained. Momentum carried over and the Aggies got to a 10-6 but then exploded to a 20-11 mark. Louisville would surge late, but the Aggies desperately needing another set win to keep their hopes alive propelled to a strong finish and a 25-18 set win to extend the match to a final set.
2-2 in sets, first to 15. Winner advances to the elite eight, loser goes home devastated. Back and forth like a boxing match. 2 giants kept swinging at one another. Tied at 10, every serve, pass, set, and swing brought with it immense pressure and importance. The Aggies struck first off a swing by Lednicky, then Hellmuth and Perkins would get a big block to extend the lead to 2 after an intense rally for the history books. With the match 12-10, the two would exchange blows once more till it was 13-12. Just as Louisville had a chance of hope, A&M would strike back as Hellmuth would took the block creating match point. Megan Fitch would serve a tough ball across, Louisville doesn't get a great hit on it. We get the ball up, Fitch then sets Stowers who delivers the final blow and Louisville can't dig it up. A&M players drop to their knees, Morrison throws his fist in the air, the girls huddle to embrace one another, Aggies everywhere rejoice as they realize what just happened. A reverse sweep over the reining national runner ups to advance to the elite eight for the first time in 24 years and only the 3rd time in program history.
The celebration is deserved. The champagane should be sipped, the confetti should fall, hugs should be tight, and whoops should be loud. What the Aggies accomplished was extraordinary. We took down a storied program in a dramatic fashion and earned our place amongst the best in the game in the elite eight. However, after busting down one door, the next one opens and with it comes a historic and dominant team. The crown jewel of the sport, the undefeated, unstoppable 33-0 Nebraska Cornhuskers.
The Cornhuskers who've lost 1 set in nearly 3 months came into the tournament as one of the strongest favorites in its history. They are well rounded and seemingly have no weaknesses. They are coached by Dani Busboom-Kelly who had to replace legend John Cook who won 4 national titles, played in 8 national championships, and 24 sweet sixteens in 25 years. DBK led Louisville for 8 years before going back to her alma mater. She has led them to a perfect season so far.
Nebraska is a well rounded team filled with many All Americans and All Conference players. They are led by 6'1 setter Bergen Reilly who is arguably the best setter in the country. She has options galore. They have one of the best outside hitters in 6'2 Harper Murray and the best middle blocking tandem in 6'3 Andi Jackson and 6'4 Rebekah Allick. She also has her 6'5 opposite hitter Virginia Adriano who moved after playing pro in her home country Italy and 6'5 outside Taylor Landfair. They also have a talented group of back row specialists, Laney Choboy and Olivia Mauch who have split time in the Libero position.
They don't seem to have any weaknesses, they spread the ball around efficiently and can attack you so many ways. But what makes them so strong is their defense. They have a strong block with so much height across the net. Even when they don't get the block, they seek to get hands on every swing and their back row cleans everything up with elite defensive play. They don't have a lot of aces, but they do serve tough and will attack our weak points in serve receive.
So many, if not all, will write us out. They'll acknowledge we have talent, that we've had a great season and that we undoubtedly have earned the right to be in the elite eight. We earned it. But with a perfect season, comes with immense pressure. All the pressure is on them. We can go in guns a-blazing, and just let the ball rip with nothing to lose.
We need to be firing on all cylinders. We're going to have to take some risks serving tough. We're gonna need our best passing effort from the back row. We're gonna need Waak with some great sets to all of our weapons. We're gonna need to hit sharp angles, tool their block, and find gaps. Most importantly we're going to need to play Aggie Volleyball at its best. They will capitalize on our errors, they will pick at our weaknesses. We must be at our absolute best.
We all need to appreciate this team, we don't know how much volleyball they have left together. We may only get a few more sets of watching these seniors in an Aggie uniform. We're about to play on a huge stage, so don't forget to embrace where we are and enjoy it. What Morrison and his staff have done to this program is exemplary. This is year 3. Year 3! We aren't rolling in NIL money, his first full recruiting class are freshman this year. Look at where this program is, look at how much you care about this program and this team. Jamie is the man! This program deserves all our support tomorrow, next week, next year, and for the foreseeable future! We made a huge stride this year, but I know we can really turn Aggieland into a volleyball community!
But our season isn't over. It's time to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers. At their place in front of 18,000 plus people, with a 0 on the right side of their win-loss record, we have to e opportunity to do something legendary and historic. The whole world will be watching. Getting to the elite 8 is a huge feat for this program, but why not go for more. Why not us. Why can't we go into the Bob Devaney Center and shock the world. Why can't we put together a perfect game and take down Nebraska. I believe in these girls, I believe in Coach Morrison and his staff, I believe in this program, I believe that we can make some history tomorrow and I believe that we can BTHO nebraska!!!!!
