Texas A&M begins road trip with four-set win over Ole Miss
Texas A&M volleyball traveled to Oxford on Friday and downed the Ole Miss Rebels, 3-1 (25-22, 25-20, 25-16, 25-13).
After a five-set win against high-ranked Florida and a devastating loss to Missouri, the Aggies were able to regain confidence against the Rebels.
Bianna Muoneke and Logan Lednicky were dominant throughout the victory, carrying the offensive effort with 34 combined kills. Muoneke tallied 12 kills, hitting a .241 clip with 12 digs. Lednicky led the offense with 22 kills, hitting a .226 clip.
Despite big performances from Lednicky and Muoneke, the Aggies hit well below their season average percentage, only producing a .171% clip.
Both teams were evenly matched in the first set, going point-for-point.
Muoneke hit well above a .500 clip throughout the majority of the set. Although the opener was tight, the Aggie offense was an undeniable force.
To polish off the first set, Morgan Perkins and Lednicky shut down Ole Miss’ Anna Blair with A&M’s fifth block of the night as they went on to top the Rebels, 25-22.
The second set was again point-for-point until the Aggies took control late in the set.
A&M’s libero, Ava Underwood, tallied 11 digs throughout the match and vocally led the Aggies, which is not abnormal for her.
With their offense and defense both producing, the Maroon & White eventually grew a comfortable lead over the Rebels and took the second set, 25-20.
The Rebels managed to immediately respond.
Not allowing the Aggies to gain momentum, Ole Miss led 8-1 to open the third set.
For a few moments, the A&M defense looked similar to as it did during the 2022 season, not being able to pick up a single kill the Ole Miss offense was sending over the net.
With the Aggies also out of sync offensively, the Rebels caught a breath of fresh air for the last time, taking the set 25-16.
"Overall, I'm happy with today's performance. We had a small blip in the third set but then fixed that right away in the fourth," head coach Jamie Morrison said. "The SEC is a grind, and any win is a good win in this league."
In the fourth, the Aggies came back with a vengeance.
With the offense finding its grove again, Lednicky went on to call the match with four back-to-back kills to claim the final points of the set and the victory.
"We have a lot of good volleyball players, and not just the six on the court, but the entire 14 on our roster.” Morrison said. “We have a lot of talent which allows us to run our offense in a lot of different ways and keep people off balance."
The Aggies will travel to Starkville and face Mississippi State on Sunday. First serve is set for 2 p.m. CT.