Texas A&M volleyball beats Bayou Bengals on Senior Day at Reed Arena
On Sunday afternoon, Texas A&M (18-7) continued its winning streak with a 3-1 win over LSU at Reed Arena on Senior Day (25-14, 25-17, 16-25, 25-17).
The Aggies have now won three straight matches with just one regular-season contest to play.
“The people that you have around your program that are seniors, that are upperclassmen, they lead the charge in what it is that the culture is going to be,” said head coach Jamie Morrison. “Molly Brown has been here for four years. Ellee Stinson came in here for one semester, but I think they are going to leave a meaningful, lasting impact on this program.”
On the back line, Stinson held firm with seven digs to help the defensive counterpart of the Aggies team.
“It was so sweet to just see the girls celebrate us, the families, the team,” said Stinson. “Overall, we came together on some pretty clutch moments tonight and you could definitely tell we were gelling tonight.”
Brown started for the Maroon & White in today’s match and assisted in bringing home the win.
“I think that we haven't peaked yet, which is really good,” said Brown. “You don’t want to peak too soon. The fact that we are still waiting on that peak is great. I think we are going to wreak havoc on that tournament, which is awesome.”
A&M was off to a blazing start, taking an early 4-1 lead in the first set against a struggling LSU side. The momentum of the Maroon & White continued throughout the first, with LSU errors leading to a Tiger timeout at 20-13.
That break had little effect on the outcome, as a continued scoring run gave the Aggies a 23-13 lead over the Tigers. LSU called yet another timeout, but the damage had already been done. A tip over the net from Ifenna Cos-Okpalla gave the Aggies the first set, 25-14.
The second followed a similar pattern as the first.
A&M took an early lead and played strong with the roaring crowd of Reed Arena at their backs. After a 3-0 scoring run and an 11-7 lead by the Ags, LSU called another timeout.
This did not stop the Aggies’ total domination on the court. The Bayou Bengals seemed to be brawling with themselves, while A&M was playing as a cohesive unit. After another 3-0 scoring run built the lead to 21-13, LSU called a timeout to regroup.
However, as it usually was, it was all for naught.
The advantage never flipped to the opposite side of the net. A set from Maddie Waak, followed by a right-side kill from Emily Hellmuth, gave the Aggies the second set, 25-17.
A&M’s toughest battle of the afternoon was in the third set. LSU returned from the short break with a revitalized fire lit under them, but the Aggies were determined to put it out.
The score was tight. At the start, A&M was trailing by a point. But a 5-0 scoring run from the Aggies gave them a 10-5 lead and all of the momentum heading into the home stretch of the match.
However, a flurry of errors and a net violation from the Aggies gave LSU a five-point lead at 18-13, and A&M could not respond and lost the third, 25-16.
Set 4 saw a seismic shift from the latter. The Aggies were back. A 5-0 scoring run, a kill from Logan Lednicky and errors from the Tigers gave the Aggies a 19-13 lead before LSU called timeout.
A set from Waak to Cos-Okpalla resulted in a spike straight down the middle of the open court that sealed the deal for the Maroon & White. The fourth went to the Aggies, 25-17.
“It’s less about the wins but more about the way that we’re playing,” said Morrison. “I think the wins are one thing but execution and our ability to play the game, that’s been the most impressive thing and the thing that we can hang our hat on and have some pride in and some excitement in.”
The Aggies close their regular season with an away match against South Carolina on Saturday.
First serve is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT.