Aggies, Longhorns meet again as Lone Star series shifts to Gregory Gym
They meet again.
Texas A&M volleyball is headed out of town again, and they’re going about 90 west to Austin for a date with the seventh-ranked Texas Longhorns.
First serve from Gregory Gym is set for 7 p.m. CT, and the match will be televised on ESPNU.
“I think this rivalry is really, really good for the sport,” head coach Jamie Morrison told TexAgs Live on Tuesday. “The fact that we hold the attendance record now, I think that ruffled some feathers down the road. I think they want to reclaim that but couldn’t play this match at Moody.”
Off a hot-and-cold weekend, the Aggies went 1-1 at Reed Arena. It began with a 3-0 loss to No. 23 Florida on Friday night but was followed by a 3-1 win over Arkansas.
Friday was just the second time the Aggies had been swept this season and the first at home.
“I was pretty disappointed,” Morrison said. “We talked to the girls about that and talked about the response that we wanted to see. We came into the next to practice as a completely different volleyball team, and that showed up against Arkansas.
“I couldn’t be more proud of that.”
The response came even after the Ags dropped the first set to the Hogs.
Following a 25-23 second-set win, the Maroon & White had their most incredible display of volleyball they’ve had this season, as they crushed the Razorbacks 25-6 in the third.
Junior opposite Logan Lednicky logged her 1,000th career kill in the winning effort.
“She’s going to go down as one of the greatest Aggies that has ever played Texas A&M volleyball,” Morrison said. “Her game is continuing to evolve. She’s really, really good, and her ability to push further is what’s going to make her great.”
With the Aggies looking to gather some newfound momentum, they find a roll in this season’s second installment of the Lone Star Showdown.
In September’s first meeting this season between A&M and Texas, the Longhorns came away with a 3-1 victory in front of a record crowd at Reed Arena.
“We feel our fans,” Morrison said. “They’re rowdy. They’re vocal. … It means a lot to hear that behind us.”
Of course, the Aggies will want to avenge that defeat while also trying to start up a new winning streak.
A&M stands in sixth place in the SEC with a 4-3 conference record and a 14-4 overall make, while the Longhorns are 12-3 overall with an unblemished 7-0 SEC record.
Yet, Morrison does not believe the Horns to be invincible.
“If we play like Sunday, we can beat everybody. I wholeheartedly believe that,” he said. “Texas is primed for a loss at some point. The SEC is craziness. It’s bedlam this year.”