Texas A&M volleyball drops exhibition match to No. 15 Baylor, 3-1
Bringing in a very excited 12th Man crowd to Reed Arena after summer break, Texas A&M fell to No. 15 Baylor in exhibition play Saturday, 3-1. Though the energy never waivered, the Aggies hit .179 and put down 42 kills and 16 total blocks on the day.
A&M had a slow start in the first set, unable to gain momentum until a four-point run late into play.
Logan Lednicky and Caroline Meuth were both expected to establish big kills against the Bears, and the Maroon & White off-blocker defense proved to be almost unbreakable.
“Jamie [Morrison] is huge on the little things; our off-blocker defense, coverage on the block, eye work, just little things like that we pay so much attention to in practice,” Lednicky said.
A&M fell just short, ending the first set 25-22 Baylor leading.
The second set began much like the first with Baylor taking an early lead. The looming shadow of missed serves and defensive errors haunted the Aggies.
Meuth, Lednicky and Bianna Muoneke each picked up a kill, and Alayna Pearson earned a notable ace, but nothing seemed to set a fire on A&M’s side.
Baylor held its lead — driving the score 25-16 to end set two.
As libero Lauren Hogan recalled: “I think this team does a really good job of listening to each other. We are really good at taking feedback and communicating with each other when things aren't going well. After the second set, me and Logan looked at each other and said, ‘This isn’t us, this isn’t Aggie volleyball.’ And we were ready and able to make the switch next time we hit the court.”
A&M charged into set three, gaining their first lead of the match. Lednicky alongside Ifenna Cos-Okpalla accounted for a block, and after an error from Baylor, it was evident the Aggies had caught their second wind.
Nisa Buzlutepe took three aces in a row from the service line, completely redefining the energy for the rest of the set. Behind the 10-foot line, Hogan and her defensive specialists left little room for Baylor to use, ending the third stanza 25-13.
The Maroon & White continued straight into the fourth set with the momentum built from the third. A&M’s presence on the net was apparent with Morgan Perkins and Ital Lopuyo throwing up blocks from the outside.
Both teams stayed neck-and-neck until the very end, but as quickly as A&M came out of a timeout, Baylor stepped back in to end the match in the fourth set, 27-25.
“We will have some conversations as a team about who we were in the first and second vs. who we were in the third and fourth, and talk about how we kick start into that.” A&M head coach Jamie Morrison said. “I think it's normal with a new coach. I think it was a really cool environment. It was electric. Some nerves are going to kick in, probably get into a little bit of a freeze, but I know we will be OK in the next match.”
The Aggies begin the 2023 regular season against Omaha this Friday at the Omaha Invite.