The defending national champions look to remain undefeated in conference play.
No. 14 Texas A&M volleyball welcomes Alabama and Mississippi State to Reed Arena for its second and third games of Southeastern Conference competition, with play against the Crimson Tide on Friday, Oct. 2, beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT.
The Aggies kicked off SEC play in dominant fashion, sweeping South Carolina while never claiming a set by fewer than seven points.
“(I am) excited about the progress our team's making,” head coach Jamie Morrison said. “And excited to take some next steps. And just when we have these matches, that's what I treat them as, chances for us to improve what we've been working on throughout the week. So, I'm excited for what's coming.”
A&M has seen drastic improvements across the board in its four-game winning streak, dropping just one of their last 13 sets played.
A lot of that success has been on the backs of reserves. In the wake of injuries to sophomore defensive specialist Addi Applegate and junior middle blockers Kaia Castle and Eliza Sharp have forced Morrison to reach into the bench to win games.
“I think as a coach, it's one of those things where you get out, and you believe in everybody that's on your roster,” Morrison said. “So if somebody were to go down the middle of it, you believe people can come in, but it's nice to be able to give people that opportunity to step out on the floor from 0-0 and go show the world.”
Sophomore Djurdja Stanojevic and freshman Lolufe Adedeji have filled the gap left by Castle and Sharp, combining for 28 kills and 20 blocks in the last four games.
Even with a record of 8-3, Alabama has shown signs of struggle against good competition, with losses to both Ole Miss and LSU to kick off SEC play. The Crimson Tide doesn't have a ranked win and has collected only one win on the road.
Unlike Alabama, Mississippi State has started the season undefeated in conference play, earning a win over LSU in five sets. The Bulldogs' only loss of the season came from Rice, which the Aggies swept earlier in the season.
"It's interesting because we had all these injuries. Everyone was a little nicked up,” Morrison said. “But I actually feel like once we get everyone back, we're in a really good spot. I just talked about October being the time where I want us to push, and a little bit of that rest was for that reason. It's time to put the pedal to the metal right now and keep improving as we're going.”
