Click here to view Texas A&M volleyball’s Monday press conference.
No. 12 Texas A&M travels to West Lafayette, Ind., this week to face a pair of ranked opponents in No. 14 Purdue and No. 21 Indiana on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, at the Holloway Gymnasium.
The Aggies and Boilermakers square off at 7 p.m. CT to kick off Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge Week.
A&M comes into week three on a three-match win streak after defeating Grand Canyon, Arkansas State and Cal Poly this past weekend at the Texas A&M Invitational on home ground.
Throughout the weekend, the Aggies won nine of 10 sets, notably sweeping Cal Poly, who made an NCAA tournament appearance in 2025.
“When I say learn and learn quickly, it has to be within matches; it has to be within days,” A&M head coach Jamie Morrison said. “And if you look at that first match, we dropped that third set. It wasn’t necessarily volleyball. It was intensity. It was the way we showed up with passion and emotion.”
Morrison was also ready to see how the team would respond when being pushed even harder against Cal Poly.
“We’re getting to times of tension here; how do we respond to those?” Morrison said. “Do we back down and get passive, or do we become truer versions of ourselves in those moments?"
These lessons were put on display on Saturday in moments where it was anyone’s game. The Aggies showed in high-intensity situations they can stay who they truly are.
As opponents get more competitive, the way the Maroon & White handled Cal Poly is a step in the right direction when building resilience through the team.
Most importantly, the 12th Man played a bigger role this past weekend than they may know. The fourth-highest attendance in program history on Friday night motivated the Aggies to play their game for more than just themselves.
“It's special,” Morrison said. “It's unique. Makes me feel more fulfilled. Makes our players feel more fulfilled. It helps recruiting because people want to play in a place where they are going to be relevant.
“It makes it much more enjoyable for us to do what we do when we know we have the support of the 12th Man.”
Building off this past weekend’s success, the Aggies are ready to face two top-25 foes within the next two days.
“It’s exciting for us to be able to play in these games and help the sport grow,” said graduate student outside hitter Natalie Ring. “The best competition is going to develop the best players and the best teams.”
Facing the nation’s top opponents allows A&M to prove everything the Aggies have developed so far in this preseason.
“I would like to be able to say we are going to play the best competition we can because, win or lose, as long as we keep it close, it’s going to be valued in a positive way,” Morrison said.
Playing high-quality matches with extremely quick turnarounds is an advantage to prepare the Aggies for both the Southeastern Conference Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
Seeing ranked opponents so early on in the season will make November come more naturally for A&M.
Entering these matches, sophomore defensive specialist Addi Applegate will return to her home state of Indiana, contributing nostalgic feelings but a motivating mindset.
“Indiana is a big volleyball state,” Applegate said. “A lot of great volleyball players come from there, and IU and Purdue are great volleyball programs, and I expect a battle between them.”
Instead of feeling nerves coming into this homecoming weekend, Applegate feels pure excitement to have the best of both worlds in one place.
She looks forward to seeing her extended family in the stands.
She and her Aggie teammates are again excited to see where they stand.
