Second chance for Texas A&M comes in Sweet 16 bout with Wisconsin

Four more wins stand between the Aggies and immortality.

The next opportunity on that journey comes against a college volleyball giant.

In the Sweet 16 for the first time in five years, No. 6 seed Texas A&M continues its NCAA Tournament run on Friday when the Aggies play the No. 2 seed Wisconsin Badgers at 6 p.m. CT in Lincoln, Nebraska.

A win would send A&M to its first Elite Eight since 2001.

However, the battle-tested Aggies aren’t overlooking Wisconsin, which reached the Final Four in 2023 and won the national title in 2021.

“I talked to the team right before we stepped on the floor, I said, ‘We’re the only team here that’s been battle tested so far,’” head coach Jamie Morrison said of A&M’s second-round match vs. Arizona State. “We’re enjoying competing right now. We’re enjoying being in this moment right now.”

Last weekend, the Aggies defeated Colorado State and the aforementioned Sun Devils by identical 3-1 scores.

Taking care of those foes is a sign A&M can take care of business against another tough test.

This time, Morrison’s Aggies are essentially re-taking a test they failed previously.

On Sept. 21, the Badgers ended A&M’s 8-0 start to the season by sweeping the Aggies out of Madison.

“We’ve grown a lot since then,” Morrison told TexAgs Live on Tuesday. “I said it right before the selection show started... I said, ‘Hey, whoever we get in this, I have a feeling they’re going to be scared to play us because we’re playing really good volleyball right now.’

“Wisconsin’s a good volleyball team. … It’ll be a challenge, but we’re different right now.”

In that loss, star opposite Logan Lednicky notched 15 kills while hitting .353.

In Saturday’s win over Arizona State, the first-team All-SEC selection upped her production to 27 kills, 11 digs and six blocks while attacking at a .500 clip.

“I think we’re playing a lot better volleyball than we were against Wisconsin back in preseason,” Lednicky said this week. “We’re dynamic. We’re extending rallies longer and longer, making calm, simple touches.

“All around, every single player has added some stuff to their skillset since we played Wisconsin last.”

Since then, the Badgers went 17-3 in Big Ten play to finish third in the conference behind only Nebraska and Penn State.

At 25-6 overall, Wisconsin was 15-1 at home, and while not overly vulnerable away from UW Field House, the Badgers are clearly not invincible.

“We talked in that locker room about how we want that second chance. I said I hope we get the chance to play them in the tournament,” Mossions said. “I’m excited about that opportunity to go back in there and do what we didn’t do the last time.”

Indeed, things must be different than A&M’s last outing against Wisconsin.

But with how the Aggies are playing right now, anything is possible.