Friday, December 6
Tempe, Ariz.
5:30 PM
Texas A&M
20-7,10-6SEC
3
vs
1
Colorado State
20-11,14-4Mountain West
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado St.
20
25
27
23
1
Texas A&M
25
16
29
25
3
Team Stats
CSU
AM
Kills
56
58
Errors
17
24
Attempts
142
151
Hitting %
.275
.225
Points
74.0
74.0
Assists
55
54
Aces
8
9
Blocks
10
7
Game Leaders
Kills
23
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOPP
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
Aggies Down Colorado State, 3-1, Advance to Second Round
Dec 06, 2024 | Volleyball
TEMPE, Ariz. – The Texas A&M volleyball team downed Colorado State to punch its ticket to the second round of the NCAA Tournament Friday evening in Desert Financial Arena, 3-1 (25-20, 16-25, 29-27, 25-23).
The Maroon & White (20-7) won their first NCAA Tournament match since 2019 in a four-set battle with the Rams (20-11). After trading the opening two sets of the match, the Aggies mounted a miraculous comeback in the third, fending off four-set points before ultimately taking the frame and match, 3-1.
A&M raced out of the gate behind on offensive flurry from Logan Lednicky, as the junior had four kills on four swings early (10-5). The Maroon & White pushed their advantage out further, as back-to-back blocks sent them to the media timeout up six, 15-9. Colorado State battled back in the match, as head coach Jamie Morrison called his first break of the frame (16-15). The programs found level at 17 before the Aggies went on a six-point run behind Margot Manning at the service line, as the sophomore tallied a pair of aces in the streak. A&M left no doubt, as a service error from the Rams sealed the opener, 25-20.
The teams traded points to open the second frame, as they were knotted on eight occasions before the Rams took a two-point lead at the media break (15-13). Colorado State added to its advantage taking the second set (25-16), knotting the match at one set each.
The Rams carried their rhythm into the third, leading by three early (10-7). Colorado State extended its advantage (14-9), but an A&M answer came shortly after, shrinking the gap to two as Lednicky struck three kills in quick succession (16-14). The Rams regathered their momentum to extend their lead, but once again the Maroon & White answered behind Tatum Thomas at the service line, as she logged back-to-back aces forcing a Colorado State timeout and cutting its lead to one (22-21). The Aggies continued to respond sending the frame to extras, where they defended four-set points before they struck three straight to take the frame (29-27) and lead in the fixture, 2-1.
A&M carried its rhythm into the fourth, racing out to a four-point advantage as the Rams huddled up, 13-9. Lednicky extended the lead (14-9) with her 21st kill of the night which marked her 440th on the year, which ranks fourth in a single season during the rally-scoring era in Texas A&M history. Colorado State strung together a streak and knotted the teams at 21. Leaving nothing to chance, the Aggies closed the set with a 4-2 run capped off by a kill from Emily Hellmuth to win the match, 3-1, and punch their ticket to the second round.
COACH'S QUOTES
Head coach Jamie Morrison on today's match …
"I thought we were finding different ways to win in different situations. I think the response in the third set was huge for us, I asked a lot of them during the timeout and I thought they answered really well."
Coach Morrison on how last year's postseason experience helped in tonight's match …
"We talk a lot about the more you're in uncomfortable situations the more comfortable you become in them. When we get in those moments we start to grind in there, we know what it feels like and it shows."
PLAYER'S QUOTES
Junior OPP Logan Lednicky on the teams' ability to thrive in high pressure moments ...
"Something that we've adopted throughout the season is thriving in the red zone. We all look at each other and say, 'red zone' and that's when we know to lock in, we've got it and that we've got each other's back."
Junior MB Ifenna Cos-Okpalla on this year's expectations in the tournament ...
"Our standards are certainly high. Coming into this year we were thinking 'we made it to the first round, and we can't just do that this year', we've grown and improved as a team so much, so I knew that we were going to go further than we did last year."
Junior L/DS Ava Underwood on how the year's tournament appearance feels ...
"This is a different experience to last year. This time round there's more expectations and we have really high standards for ourselves. This year we've grown really close as a team and that's been really fun, and we lean on each other a lot."
STAT LEADERS
Kills – Logan Lednicky – 23
Hitting Percentage (Min. 10 kills) – Logan Lednicky – .273
Assists – Maddie Waak – 46
Aces – Margot Manning – 4
Digs – Ellee Stinson – 13
Blocks – Morgan Perkins – 4
UP NEXT
The Maroon & White return to Desert Financial Arena tomorrow evening to face Arizona State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with first serve set for 7 p.m.
FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter by following @AggieVolleyball.
The Maroon & White (20-7) won their first NCAA Tournament match since 2019 in a four-set battle with the Rams (20-11). After trading the opening two sets of the match, the Aggies mounted a miraculous comeback in the third, fending off four-set points before ultimately taking the frame and match, 3-1.
A&M raced out of the gate behind on offensive flurry from Logan Lednicky, as the junior had four kills on four swings early (10-5). The Maroon & White pushed their advantage out further, as back-to-back blocks sent them to the media timeout up six, 15-9. Colorado State battled back in the match, as head coach Jamie Morrison called his first break of the frame (16-15). The programs found level at 17 before the Aggies went on a six-point run behind Margot Manning at the service line, as the sophomore tallied a pair of aces in the streak. A&M left no doubt, as a service error from the Rams sealed the opener, 25-20.
The teams traded points to open the second frame, as they were knotted on eight occasions before the Rams took a two-point lead at the media break (15-13). Colorado State added to its advantage taking the second set (25-16), knotting the match at one set each.
The Rams carried their rhythm into the third, leading by three early (10-7). Colorado State extended its advantage (14-9), but an A&M answer came shortly after, shrinking the gap to two as Lednicky struck three kills in quick succession (16-14). The Rams regathered their momentum to extend their lead, but once again the Maroon & White answered behind Tatum Thomas at the service line, as she logged back-to-back aces forcing a Colorado State timeout and cutting its lead to one (22-21). The Aggies continued to respond sending the frame to extras, where they defended four-set points before they struck three straight to take the frame (29-27) and lead in the fixture, 2-1.
A&M carried its rhythm into the fourth, racing out to a four-point advantage as the Rams huddled up, 13-9. Lednicky extended the lead (14-9) with her 21st kill of the night which marked her 440th on the year, which ranks fourth in a single season during the rally-scoring era in Texas A&M history. Colorado State strung together a streak and knotted the teams at 21. Leaving nothing to chance, the Aggies closed the set with a 4-2 run capped off by a kill from Emily Hellmuth to win the match, 3-1, and punch their ticket to the second round.
COACH'S QUOTES
Head coach Jamie Morrison on today's match …
"I thought we were finding different ways to win in different situations. I think the response in the third set was huge for us, I asked a lot of them during the timeout and I thought they answered really well."
Coach Morrison on how last year's postseason experience helped in tonight's match …
"We talk a lot about the more you're in uncomfortable situations the more comfortable you become in them. When we get in those moments we start to grind in there, we know what it feels like and it shows."
PLAYER'S QUOTES
Junior OPP Logan Lednicky on the teams' ability to thrive in high pressure moments ...
"Something that we've adopted throughout the season is thriving in the red zone. We all look at each other and say, 'red zone' and that's when we know to lock in, we've got it and that we've got each other's back."
Junior MB Ifenna Cos-Okpalla on this year's expectations in the tournament ...
"Our standards are certainly high. Coming into this year we were thinking 'we made it to the first round, and we can't just do that this year', we've grown and improved as a team so much, so I knew that we were going to go further than we did last year."
Junior L/DS Ava Underwood on how the year's tournament appearance feels ...
"This is a different experience to last year. This time round there's more expectations and we have really high standards for ourselves. This year we've grown really close as a team and that's been really fun, and we lean on each other a lot."
STAT LEADERS
Kills – Logan Lednicky – 23
Hitting Percentage (Min. 10 kills) – Logan Lednicky – .273
Assists – Maddie Waak – 46
Aces – Margot Manning – 4
Digs – Ellee Stinson – 13
Blocks – Morgan Perkins – 4
UP NEXT
The Maroon & White return to Desert Financial Arena tomorrow evening to face Arizona State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with first serve set for 7 p.m.
FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter by following @AggieVolleyball.
Media Availability: Jamie Morrison
Monday, December 22
Media Availability: Logan Lednicky
Monday, December 22
Media Availability: Ifenna Cos-Okpalla
Monday, December 22
NCAA Championship Postgame: Morrison, Cos-Okpalla, Lednicky, Stowers
Sunday, December 21
