No. 14 Ags return to Reed with a sweep of SE Louisiana in home opener
Match #8: No. 14 Texas A&M 3, Southeastern Louisiana 0
S1: A&M, 25-16; S2: A&M, 25-15; S3: A&M, 25-18
Records: Texas A&M (6-2, 0-0), Southeastern Louisiana (5-4, 0-0)
Box Score
Back where they belong.
The 14th-ranked Aggies are back in the win column after sweeping Southeastern Louisiana in Reed Arena Thursday evening as part of the Texas A&M Invitational.
After two consecutive road losses, No. 14 Texas A&M was back to playing the clean, dominant volleyball that they are known for.
“I’m really happy with the way we played,” head coach Jamie Morrison said. “The score was obviously the score, but I thought, especially those first two sets, we played really good, clean volleyball.”
Senior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky led the team with 11 kills, while Emily Hellmuth had nine, and Kyndal Stowers had seven. Ifenna Cos-Okpalla had seven kills with nine blocks.
The Aggies set the tone early in the opener with a 4-0 run, which began with a kill and a block from Cos-Okpalla.
Another kill from Cos-Okpalla then brought the Maroon & White to an 8-2 lead, as they took full control.
A&M continued to lead throughout the rest of the set, and the Ags closed it out, 25-16.
The second stanza began much like the first, as the Aggies started on a four-point run.
A powerful kill and an ace from Cos-Okpalla began another 4-0 run for the Maroon & White, and they extended their lead to 11-4.
A&M remained dominant, and a kill from Cos-Okpalla brought the Aggies within five points of a set win. At this point in the match, Cos-Okpalla had five kills to go along with a .500 hitting percentage.
Down by 10, the Lions took advantage of a few communication errors after freshman Kirra Musgrove stepped in to set, but the Aggies quickly shut them down and finished the set 25-15.
The final set began with an early 2-2 tie until a kill from the Lions gave them their first and only lead of the match.
However, a kill from Lednicky put the Aggies back in the lead, and they remained in front for the rest of the match.
A&M continued to overpower Southeastern Louisiana, and an 8-3 lead sent the Lions into a timeout.
The Lions fought back to decrease their deficit to three, causing Morrison to take his first timeout of the night at 13-10.
The Aggies then responded with a fiery kill from Hellmuth and a three-point scoring run to extend their lead.
Southeastern Louisiana brought the score to 20-18, but it was too late for them to catch up to the Maroon & White. A 5-0 run closed out the match, and the Aggies won the third set 25-18.
Playing a number of youngsters on Thursday, the Ags look forward to playing two more matches this weekend. Further, their mindset is all about continuing to play with the energy they had against the Lions.
“Carrying on what we carried on today,” senior libero Ava Underwood said. “Focusing on coming out with a hot start and sustaining that through the game is kind of our motto right now. Pushing through, going out and putting on a show.”
A&M will have a chance to put on another show on Friday as they take on New Hampshire at 6 p.m. CT.
