Morrison's undefeated start continues with sweep of Bowling Green
Texas A&M volleyball earned its fourth win of the season with a sweep against Bowling Green on Friday (25-20, 25-21, 25-19).
The team combined to hit a .318 hitting percentage, outhitting Bowling Green by 40 kills to the Falcons’ 33. The Aggie defense also stepped up, digging 24 balls and making it difficult for Bowling Green to find holes in the court.
“We continued to get better today which is our main goal,” head coach Jamie Morrison said. “I thought there were things we improved on from yesterday which is really encouraging.”
The first set started off with a strong offensive presence from the Maroon & White, which seems to be a common denominator through the first four games of the Morrison era.
“I think hitting at over .300 percent for four straight matches is a testament to all of our players on the floor,” Morrison said. “I believe our next step to becoming an elite team is being able to improve on the small things, but we’re heading in the right direction.”
Middle blockers Ifenna Cos-Okpalla and Morgan Perkins made their presence known early, beating down the Bowling Green defense almost immediately with the first two kills of the day.
Setters Margot Manning and Nisa Buzlutepe quickly established all three hitters, spreading the offense and ultimately creating easier matchups for the A&M attack. Both Manning and Buzlutepe kept the offensive production up throughout the entirety of the opening set, which set A&M up for a dominant evening.
Logan Lednicky also continued her strong start to her sophomore campaign, shutting down Bowling Green’s attempt at a comeback in the first set. The Aggies took the opening stanza, 25-20.
The second frame was a closer match-up between the two teams, but the Aggies’ momentum could never be slowed.
Although A&M did not play as clean as it did in the first set, the Aggies still continued to capitalize on Bowling Green’s errors and took the second, 25-21.
Desperately needing the third set, Bowling Green appeared to be in control...up until the final points of the match.
“I told the team at the end of the match that we will get into holes during matches, but we need to continue to find ways out of them like we did tonight,” Morrison said.
Bianna Muoneke, who was benched early into the third with an apparent shoulder injury, turned out to be the Aggies' saving grace.
With three Muoneke service aces and 10 unanswered points, the Aggies took the lead and found themselves at match point.
On par with her impressive performance throughout the entire evening, Cos-Okpalla’s kill handed Bowling Green its first loss of the Falcon Invitation. Cos-Okpalla tallied seven kills, five blocks and hit an astonishing .600.
Hand in hand with Cos-Okpalla’s performance, Perkins also had a stand-out showing by hitting at a .750 clip to go along with nine kills and two blocks.
Other notable performances for the evening came from Caroline Meuth and Lednicky. The duo recorded nine kills each and combined for five blocks.
A&M is now 2-0 in the Falcon Invitational and concludes the weekend against Loyola Chicago on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT.