Lednicky tallies 1,000th career kill, A&M downs Arkansas in four sets
Back on track.
The Aggies were hoping to rebound following a 3-0 loss to the No. 23 Florida Gators on Friday.
And rebound they did, as Texas A&M grinded out a victory over Arkansas in 3-1 fashion (22-25, 25-23, 25-6, 25-16) on Sunday afternoon.
The team snapped their two-game losing streak and are now 13-4 overall and 4-3 in Southeastern Conference play.
Junior outside hitter Emily Hellmuth started the opening set with a kill. Both teams had a hitting percentage over .400 in the period and at least 15 kills.
It was tied at 8-8 with an Arkansas service error, and the Razorbacks then took a two-point lead following a kill and an ace.
Arkansas found their footing soon after, grabbing a 17-12 lead late in the set.
Sophomore outside hitter Romani Thurman was key for the Razorbacks in this run with three kills.
With Arkansas holding a commanding 21-14 advantage, A&M head coach Jamie Morrison called timeout for A&M. The Aggies scored three straight points after that, with kills coming from Hellmuth and junior middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla.
But it proved to not be enough, as the Razorbacks took the set 25-22.
A&M did make it interesting by scoring three straight points with Arkansas having set point, but another kill from Thurman was the final touch the Razorbacks needed.
A&M came out firing in the second set, getting out to a 9-5 lead.
A pair of kills from junior opposite Logan Lednicky had the Aggies off to a hot start, but Arkansas was able to knot it up at 12-12 thanks to redshirt freshman outside hitter Aniya Madkin, who willed the Razorbacks back into the set with three kills.
The Aggies then went on a 6-2 run to lead the set 18-14.
With A&M gaining momentum, the Aggies furthered their lead to 23-18.
But the Razorbacks stormed back to make it 23 apiece. Arkansas scored three of their last five points via A&M attack errors.
However, the Aggies took the set 25-23 after a kill and service ace from Hellmuth.
It broke a streak of five straight set losses for A&M, dating back to when they lost the fifth set in their loss against LSU last Sunday.
“It’s more than just you,” Hellmuth said. “Looking at the teammate next to you, cheering on the teammate next to you, picking up the teammate next to you, that’s what you do to get out of your own head.”
The Maroon & White played perhaps their most dominant set of volleyball all season long in the third, and they began it with a fast start. They led 6-1 early, as Hellmuth continued to do damage with three more kills.
A&M continued to do work and held a staggering 15-4 lead, about as big of a lead at any point they’ve had this year. A slew of errors from the Razorbacks, as well as more kills from Lednicky, propelled the Aggies forward.
A&M continued to absolutely stifle Arkansas, and the team won the third set 25-6. The Aggies closed the set on a crushing 10-2 run, and the Razorbacks did themselves in with eight attack errors during this stretch. The six points Arkansas scored in this period was the least amount of points A&M has allowed in a single set so far this season.
“It was flawless in terms of ‘we made every play we were supposed to,’” Morrison said of the dominating set.
The two teams traded points early in the fourth.
With the Aggies leading 10-9, they really began to separate themselves from the Razorbacks as more attack errors from Arkansas and kills from both Hellmuth and Lednicky pushed them to a 17-12 lead.
The Maroon & White continued to push Arkansas back, and the Razorbacks had to call timeout after the Ags took a 21-14 lead. Arkansas had no answer for Lednicky, who added two more kills to her total.
With the seven-point lead, junior middle blocker Morgan Perkins recorded two kills for A&M, and another attack error from Arkansas gave A&M the 25-16 set win and 3-1 victory.
“Every win in the SEC this year is a valuable commodity,” Morrison said. “Regardless of the rest of the season, we need to gobble up every win we can.”
Lednicky and Hellmuth combined for an impressive 34 kills.
It was also a milestone game for Lednicky. The Sugar Land native tallied her 1,000th career kill, becoming the 21st player in program history to accomplish the feat.
“I never thought I’d be here playing volleyball at A&M,” Lednicky said. “The success I have, I gotta owe it all to my teammates, coaches, the support around me.”
Next, the Aggies will face the No. 7 Texas Longhorns on Wednesday. First serve is set for 7 p.m. CT.