Behind Lednicky's 27 kills, Texas A&M reaches first Sweet 16 since 2019

The Aggies are on to the Sweet 16.

On Saturday evening, No. 6 seed Texas A&M volleyball notched a gritty win over No. 3 seed Arizona State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, as the Aggies dispatched the Sun Devils in four sets (25-19, 22-25, 25-15, 25-22).

In stretching its win streak to six straight, A&M is headed to the second weekend for the first time since 2019.

After a 3-1 win over Colorado State on Friday, A&M earned a date with Big 12 champion Arizona State, which entered Saturday at 30-2 overall and 17-1 vs. Big 12 foes.

Things got going on the floor with a Sun Devil attack error that gave the Aggies a 1-0 lead. In fact, the first four points of the match were scored via errors, and it was tied 2-2.

The sides exchanged points, but when it was tied at 12-12, A&M scored three straight to make it 15-12. Taylor Humphrey and Morgan Perkins each had a kill to give the Aggies this advantage and a big boost of momentum.

The Maroon & White held the high ground the rest of the first set, and Arizona State called a timeout after another attack error put A&M up 20-16.

Ifenna Cos-Okpalla put down the final two kills of the period for the Maroon & White, and her second one sealed the initial set.

Arizona State promptly got back into the game by starting the second set on a 7-4 run, with kills coming from the Sun Devils’ Shania Cromartie and Roberta Rabelo. While A&M evened the score at 9-9, ASU took the lead right back with a 6-3 run. Now up 15-12, the Sun Devils pushed to close it out.

Up 22-20, consecutive kills from Rabelo gave the Sun Devils a 24-20 lead, and a service error from Humphrey allowed the home squad to take the second set, 25-22.

The Aggies did themselves no favors in the stanza, committing 11 errors.

A&M came out firing on all cylinders in the third set, and the Ags began it with a 9-3 leg up thanks to five errors from Arizona State and kills coming from none other than Cos-Okpalla and Logan Lednicky.

The Aggies followed that with an 8-4 run to build a 17-7 edge. They were getting contributions from a number of different players, including Emily Hellmuth, who had four kills as A&M distanced itself.

With a double-digit lead, the Maroon & White continued to stifle ASU. With the Aggies up 22-12, back-to-back scores from Hellmuth had them at set point, and another Lednicky kill sealed a 25-15 win.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

Named to the All-SEC First Team, Logan Lednicky matched her career-high 27 kills on Saturday night.

An opportunity to clinch a win for the Aggies awaited in the fourth set, which was an all-out battle.

Similar to the second set, the fourth was tied at 9-9. Down 13-10, kills from Lednicky and Hellmuth had A&M even again at 14-14.

The 13th point in the set came from Lednicky’s 25th kill in the game, and she finished with a monstrous 27 kills and 11 digs.

“We knew Arizona State was going to be a tough competitor,” Lednicky told ESPN+ postgame. “They just won the Big 12. That’s no easy feat.”

Geli Cyr and Savannah Kjolhede gave Arizona State the lead right back at 18-15, and head coach Jamie Morrison called a timeout after a Hellmuth error.

At this point, the Aggies went on a match-deciding on a tear.

A&M scored five straight points to take a modest 22-20 lead, as Lednicky added two more kills and junior setter Maddie Waak tallied a service ace.

While ASU attempted to last-gasp rally, Cos-Okpalla recorded a kill, and Hellmuth claimed the game with an ace to win the fourth 25-22 and send the Aggies to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

With A&M in control for much of the evening, Lednicky and Hellmuth combined for 47 kills and a .667 hitting percentage, and the Aggies totaled eight blocks and 66 digs.

Even more impressive, A&M became the only team to beat Arizona State in Tempe this season.

“I’m a little emotional,” Lednicky said. “Me and my fellow teammates knew we had a goal to make it back to the Sweet 16. I just can’t wait to go compete with them again.”

Indeed, the Aggies will next face No. 2 seed Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 next weekend as A&M’s quest for a national championship continues.