Click here to view Texas A&M Volleyball’s Thursday press conference.
A championship banner will be raised in College Station.
No. 8 Texas A&M volleyball makes its return to Reed Arena for the first time in 2026 after a rough showing at the AVCA First Serve.
The Aggies went 0-2 against No. 7 Louisville and No. 11 SMU, only winning one set in the two matches.
“We've got to make sure that we learn lessons quickly within this and throughout the season,” head coach Jamie Morrison said last weekend. “And we talked a little bit about those within this match, but I'm happy with the progress our team's making, and we're really excited to get back home.”
The weekend was marked by errors, with 47 attack errors and 21 service errors over the two games.
The Aggies notably only hit .141 vs. their opponents' .265, a drastic decrease from last season's .297.
“Sense of urgency that we need to get better,” Morrison said on Thursday. “And I think, again, I've said that this group can be very good by the end of the year, but we can't take days off. We can't take weeks off. So I think regardless of when we lost, if we would have won, it probably would have been the same thing.”
There were plenty of standouts, though.
Freshman Libero Gabi Rodriguez recorded the most digs in a game as a freshman since 2022, with 18.
Graduate outside hitter Natalie Ring also made her presence known in her first games as an Aggie, leading the way with 24 kills over two games.
A fresh start is in order for Morrison & Co. in their home opener, with a raising of the championship banner taking place before the first serve of A&M’s evening game on Friday, Aug. 28.
“I think there's just a lot of pride to bring [the banner] back home to the 12th Man,” Morrison said. “And then as far as just getting back inside of Reed, you've always said you want to put on a show for the 12th Man. And I'm excited to do that.”
Before that, though, the Aggies will take on Grand Canyon at 11 a.m. CT.
The Antelopes finished last season with a record of 17-13, good for fifth in the Mountain West. This matchup marks the first between the two programs.
In game two on Friday, A&M takes on Arkansas State after unveiling the banner. The Red Wolves come to College Station after winning the Sun Belt for the first time in 10 years and securing a bid to the NCAA Tournament last season.
Finally, the Aggies take on their toughest opponent of the weekend on Saturday night. The Cal Poly Mustangs are coming off of an NCAA Tournament appearance as well, but their journey went all the way to the Sweet 16 with wins over BYU and USC.
“Just because they aren't from a Power Four conference doesn't mean they're not good,” Morrison said. “I got asked at the end of our last press conference, do you think this is how the top is going to be, that it's going to be a dogfight against everybody? I don't think it's just the top 10 teams. I think it's the entire country.”
The question remains on the front of whether senior outside hitter Kyndal Stowers will be suiting up for her return to Reed.
After tweaking her back in warmups before A&M’s match against Louisville, Stowers did not play in either of the contests in Milwaukee.
"Kyndal Stowers is getting better day by day,” Morrison told TexAgs Live on Tuesday. “We have a plan of how to attack things. It's a starting point. It's about long-term health. It's not rushing back to play on Friday. It's how to get her healthy enough for the rest of the season and to where she's feeling bulletproof when she goes off to play a professional career and a national team career.”
If Stowers doesn’t take the floor after the banner raising, the Aggies will be without any of their starters from the 2025 championship run.
The Texas A&M Invitational kicks off on Friday, Aug. 28, at 11 a.m. against GCU, with the match to air on SEC Network+.
