Aggies face tough tests with No. 23 Florida, Arkansas venturing to Reed

Home is where the heart is.

And that’s where Texas A&M volleyball will be this weekend, as the Aggies continue onward through Southeastern Conference play.

After a 2-1 road trip, the Aggies are back at Reed Arena this Friday night to host No. 23 Florida. The Maroon & White will then face the Arkansas Razorbacks on Sunday afternoon.

First serve Friday is set for 8 p.m. CT. Sunday’s match begins at 2 p.m. CT.

“I think it’s the one point at a time mentality,” A&M head coach Jamie Morrison said. “It’s the grinding mentality, and I think we got to that in pieces in this last match, but it wasn’t there the entire time.”

The Aggies are 6-1 at home and 6-2 on the road.

A&M’s recent trip through SEC country began in Auburn, where the Ags took down the No. 24 Tigers for their first win vs. a ranked foe of the season, 3-1. Junior opposite Logan Lednicky played a critical role with 23 kills in the match.

A&M then went to Oxford to play the Ole Miss Rebels, who were a perfect 5-0 on their home floor going into the game.

The Aggies changed that.

A&M defeated Ole Miss, 3-1, as Lednicky once again led the way with 20 kills. Critical to that win was junior middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla and junior outside hitter Emily Hellmuth, as they combined for 16 kills and 21.5 points.

Finally, the Maroon & White saw their three-game winning streak snapped in Baton Rouge. The Aggies lost to LSU in five sets despite having three players record double-digit kills.

“I think we’re good enough to go 3-0 on that,” Morrison said. “There’s a little bit of frustration, a little bit that we weren’t there.”

Now, A&M looks to bounce back against a quality opponent on Friday.

Florida is 11-5 on the year, and the Gators are 3-1 on the road this year. However, they’ve also struggled in conference play with a record of 2-3.

“They're a good volleyball team, they’re well coached,” Morrison said. “Nothing but respect for Mary (Wise), and it’ll be a battle.”

The Aggies have an opportunity to land a win against a Gators team that hasn’t played their best volleyball lately. Florida has lost three of their last four matches.

A&M may have an even bigger challenge waiting for them on Sunday, as well.

Arkansas is second in the SEC with a dominant 14-2 record and perfect 4-0 conference record. The Razorbacks are red-hot right now on a six-game win streak.

Morrison & Co. will certainly have their hands full this weekend.

Both games could serve as a measuring stick of how the team stacks up against tough opponents.