Saturday, December 7
Tempe, Ariz.
7:00 PM
Texas A&M
21-7,10-6SEC
3
at
1
Arizona State
30-3,17-1Big 12
1
2
3
4
F
Texas A&M
25
22
25
25
3
Arizona St.
19
25
15
22
1
Team Stats
AM
ASU
Kills
65
43
Errors
22
18
Attempts
142
138
Hitting %
.303
.181
Points
77.0
56.0
Assists
62
40
Aces
4
2
Blocks
8
11
Game Leaders
Kills
27
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
20
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOPP
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
Aggies Upset No. 3 Seed Arizona State, Punch Ticket to Sweet 16
Dec 07, 2024 | Volleyball
TEMPE, Ariz. – The Texas A&M volleyball team upset No. 3 seed Arizona State to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Saturday evening at Desert Financial Arena, 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-15, 25-22).
The Maroon & White's (21-7) historic season continues, as they downed the Sun Devils (30-3) in a four-set showdown with an offensive masterclass led by Logan Lednicky. The junior logged 27 of the teams' 65 kills in the match with a staggering .500 hitting percentage, spearheading the programs' first trip to the Sweet 16 in five years. The team's traded opening frames, but a dominant third set and a comeback in the fourth punched its spot in the third round.
The match started with back-and-forth volleyball, as the teams were knotted at seven. A&M created some separation behind Lednicky's fast start, as she logged five kills as the Maroon & White led by three (11-8). The Aggies continue their push, extending the advantage by another point as the Sun Devils called a pair of timeouts, 20-16. A&M held its rhythm after the break, closing out the set (25-19) to lead in the match, 1-0.
The second frame opened in similar fashion to the first, as the team's traded points and found level at nine. Arizona State created a gap as head coach Jamie Morrison huddled up his squad (19-13). Responding out of the break, the Maroon & White shrunk the gap to three, as the Sun Devils called a timeout of their own (21-18). Arizona State recaptured its momentum, and despite defending two-set points, the Sun Devils won the frame (25-22) and tied the match, 1-1.
Racing out in the third set was A&M, as it ripped off an 8-3 run forcing Arizona State to burn an early timeout. The onslaught continued, as the Aggies piled on another 9-4 streak prompting a second Sun Devil break (17-7). Giving up nothing, the Maroon & White continued to dominate as they won the frame by double digits (25-15) to recapture the lead in the match, 2-1.
Both teams came out firing in the fourth, as Arizona State held a one-point advantage at the media break (15-14). The Sun Devils built on their lead, as coach Morrison gathered his squad (20-17). There was no panic on the Maroon & White's side of the net, as Lednicky continued her outstanding performance, tacking on her ninth kill of the set and 27th of the match to knot the teams at 20. With a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 on the line, the Aggies held their momentum, as they ripped off another 5-2 run capped off by an Emily Hellmuth ace to take the set (25-22) and match, 3-1, ensuring their Sweet 16 berth.
COACH'S QUOTES
Head coach Jamie Morrison on today's match …
"I'm proud of my team. This win was a testament to the work put in by these 15 women and our staff. This match shows the development of this program, and about getting this program back to where it has been which is Sweet 16's and Elite eight's."
PLAYER'S QUOTES
Junior OPP Logan Lednicky on the teams' ability to deal with the pressure in that fourth set ...
"On the court we kept thinking that the pressure's on them [Arizona State], and we just need to go out and ball like we know how. We made sure to trust in the training and stay cool, calm and collected."
Junior MB Ifenna Cos-Okpalla on what the teams' mindset is late in matches ...
"We all look at each other as soon as it gets to 20 on the scoreboard and say, 'here we go, let's work here, five points is all we need and let's play as clean as possible' and that's our mindset."
Junior OH Emily Hellmuth on slowing down Arizona State's offense ...
"We just made sure to expect with a fast offense there will be miss connects, but whenever we had some of those, we're making sure to lock in and execute again. We knew they were going to get theirs and we would get ours, we just needed to let it roll."
STAT LEADERS
Kills – Logan Lednicky – 27
Hitting Percentage (Min. 10 kills) – Logan Lednicky – .500
Assists – Maddie Waak – 59
Aces – Tatum Thomas, Emily Hellmuth, Ava Underwood, Maddie Waak – 1
Digs – Ava Underwood – 16
Blocks – Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, Logan Lednicky – 6
UP NEXT
The Maroon & White head to Lincoln, Nebraska, where they will face No. 2 seed Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 with first serve set for 6 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's (21-7) historic season continues, as they downed the Sun Devils (30-3) in a four-set showdown with an offensive masterclass led by Logan Lednicky. The junior logged 27 of the teams' 65 kills in the match with a staggering .500 hitting percentage, spearheading the programs' first trip to the Sweet 16 in five years. The team's traded opening frames, but a dominant third set and a comeback in the fourth punched its spot in the third round.
The match started with back-and-forth volleyball, as the teams were knotted at seven. A&M created some separation behind Lednicky's fast start, as she logged five kills as the Maroon & White led by three (11-8). The Aggies continue their push, extending the advantage by another point as the Sun Devils called a pair of timeouts, 20-16. A&M held its rhythm after the break, closing out the set (25-19) to lead in the match, 1-0.
The second frame opened in similar fashion to the first, as the team's traded points and found level at nine. Arizona State created a gap as head coach Jamie Morrison huddled up his squad (19-13). Responding out of the break, the Maroon & White shrunk the gap to three, as the Sun Devils called a timeout of their own (21-18). Arizona State recaptured its momentum, and despite defending two-set points, the Sun Devils won the frame (25-22) and tied the match, 1-1.
Racing out in the third set was A&M, as it ripped off an 8-3 run forcing Arizona State to burn an early timeout. The onslaught continued, as the Aggies piled on another 9-4 streak prompting a second Sun Devil break (17-7). Giving up nothing, the Maroon & White continued to dominate as they won the frame by double digits (25-15) to recapture the lead in the match, 2-1.
Both teams came out firing in the fourth, as Arizona State held a one-point advantage at the media break (15-14). The Sun Devils built on their lead, as coach Morrison gathered his squad (20-17). There was no panic on the Maroon & White's side of the net, as Lednicky continued her outstanding performance, tacking on her ninth kill of the set and 27th of the match to knot the teams at 20. With a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 on the line, the Aggies held their momentum, as they ripped off another 5-2 run capped off by an Emily Hellmuth ace to take the set (25-22) and match, 3-1, ensuring their Sweet 16 berth.
COACH'S QUOTES
Head coach Jamie Morrison on today's match …
"I'm proud of my team. This win was a testament to the work put in by these 15 women and our staff. This match shows the development of this program, and about getting this program back to where it has been which is Sweet 16's and Elite eight's."
PLAYER'S QUOTES
Junior OPP Logan Lednicky on the teams' ability to deal with the pressure in that fourth set ...
"On the court we kept thinking that the pressure's on them [Arizona State], and we just need to go out and ball like we know how. We made sure to trust in the training and stay cool, calm and collected."
Junior MB Ifenna Cos-Okpalla on what the teams' mindset is late in matches ...
"We all look at each other as soon as it gets to 20 on the scoreboard and say, 'here we go, let's work here, five points is all we need and let's play as clean as possible' and that's our mindset."
Junior OH Emily Hellmuth on slowing down Arizona State's offense ...
"We just made sure to expect with a fast offense there will be miss connects, but whenever we had some of those, we're making sure to lock in and execute again. We knew they were going to get theirs and we would get ours, we just needed to let it roll."
STAT LEADERS
Kills – Logan Lednicky – 27
Hitting Percentage (Min. 10 kills) – Logan Lednicky – .500
Assists – Maddie Waak – 59
Aces – Tatum Thomas, Emily Hellmuth, Ava Underwood, Maddie Waak – 1
Digs – Ava Underwood – 16
Blocks – Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, Logan Lednicky – 6
UP NEXT
The Maroon & White head to Lincoln, Nebraska, where they will face No. 2 seed Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 with first serve set for 6 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.
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