Game #1: No. 9 Texas A&M 3, No. 11 Minnesota 1
S1: A&M, 25-23; S2: MINN, 25-21; S3: A&M, 25-21; S4: A&M, 25-21
Records: Texas A&M (1-0, 0-0), Minnesota (0-1, 0-0)
Box Score
Officially in the win column!
No. 9 Texas A&M volleyball won its first match of the season against No. 11 Minnesota 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 25-21) late Monday night in Sioux Falls, SD, as part of the AVCA First Serve Showcase, which featured matches between four of the top teams in the country.
Senior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky had a successful night, with 22 kills, 12 digs and a .421 hitting percentage. Additionally, senior outside hitter Emily Hellmuth also led with 15 kills, and junior outside hitter Kyndal Stowers had nine.
With seven blocks on the night, senior middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla climbed into the top 10 of Texas A&M’s career blocking records.
The first set was a back-and-forth battle, with 13 total ties as the Aggies and Golden Gophers came ready to compete. While the Agg went on an early 4-0 run powered by Hellmuth and Lednicky, Minnesota did not let up and eventually evened out the score.
Kills from Stowers and Lednicky brought A&M to a 14-12 lead, but a kill from the Gophers and a Lednicky error tied the frame again, 14-14.
Minnesota then took a 20-18 lead, but back-to-back points from Cos-Okpalla brought the Aggies within one.
Tied at 23-23, a kill from Hellmuth gave the Aggies set point, and a block from Cos-Okpalla and Lednicky closed out the opening stanza, 25-23.
Lednicky ended the first set with six kills and a .455 hitting percentage.
The second was much like the first, this time with 14 ties.
A kill from Cos-Okpalla and a Minnesota attack error gave the Aggies a 12-10 lead, but the Gophers quickly brought it to a tie. The set remained close until an attack error from Hellmuth gave the Gophers a 20-18 lead.
The Gophers extended their lead to 23-19, but A&M did not go down without a fight as kills from Stowers and Lednicky brought the score to 24-21, until a Minnesota kill sealed the win, 25-21.
Lednicky added another six kills in the set as she continued to lead the A&M offense.
The third set began much like the first two, with eight ties early on.
Kills from Hellmuth gave the Aggies an early 4-2 lead, but the score then began to tie up again until kills from Lednicky and Stowers gave A&M a lead of 12-10. A 3-1 run brought A&M up by four, and the Aggies led for the remainder of the set.
Minnesota tried to steal momentum, but a kill from senior middle blocker Morgan Perkins ruined their hope and brought the Aggies to set point. A Perkins kill then closed out the set, 25-21.
An early 3-1 lead for the Aggies set the tone in the fourth, as the Maroon & White dominated the final set. A&M then went on a 4-0 run and extended its lead to 8-4.
The Aggies continued to find success as a block from Perkins brought the score to 14-10. Keeping with that theme, Cos-Okpalla dominated the net, with back-to-back blocks as A&M crept closer to the victory on opening night
While Minnesota played competitively, the Aggies were truly unstoppable.
A Hellmuth kill gave A&M set point, but an attack error from freshman outside hitter Megan Fitch brought the score to 24-21.
However, the error was quickly forgiven, as a kill from Perkins sealed the win for the Aggies, 25-21.
This win could set the tone for the Maroon & White as the Aggies look to have a successful year and prove that they are a top 10 team in the entire country
A&M will be back in action on Aug. 29 against the Rice Owls in Houston at 6 p.m. CT.
