Aggies Sweep Texas A&M Invitational with Win Over Louisiana, 3-0

Sunday, September 15

Bryan-College Station

2:00 PM

Texas A&M

7-0,0-0SEC

Louisiana

2-6,0-0Sun Belt

Louisiana

Texas A&M

Sep 15, 2024 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Sam Thornton, Athletics Communications

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The Aggie volleyball team swept the Texas A&M Invitational, as it downed Louisiana on the final day of the tournament Sunday afternoon in Reed Arena, 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-16).

Balance was the key to A&M's (7-0) seventh-straight victory, as the team hit .340 as a group while also logging nine blocks in a dominant win over Louisiana (2-6). Head coach Jamie Morrison has now led his squad to back-to-back 7-0 starts in his two years at the helm of the Aggie volleyball program, following a strong display at the Texas A&M Invitational.

It was all Aggies to open the match, as they forged a seven-point lead forcing an early Louisiana timeout (11-4). A&M continued to pile on the points after the break with a 6-3 run, as the Ragin' Cajuns called their second timeout. The unrelenting Maroon & White offense continued, as they took the opener behind both Logan Lednicky and Emily Hellmuth's four kills in the frame, 25-14.

Both teams came out firing in the second frame before the Aggies notched a one-point advantage at the media timeout (15-14). Another quick flurry from A&M prompted a second break called by Louisiana, 18-15. The Maroon & White doubled down on their advantage in the match with six kills and an ace to conclude the second set, 25-18.

The Aggies entered the third set trailing early following a back-and-forth battle with the Cajuns (10-7). Errors from Louisiana, combined with blocks from Lednicky and Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, helped A&M close the gap and claim the lead (12-10). The Maroon and White extended their advantage with five kills and a block, prompting a timeout from the Cajuns (19-15). Following the break, the Aggies tacked on another five unanswered points before Cos-Okpalla sealed the sweep with her eighth kill of the match, 25-16.

COACH'S QUOTES
Head coach Jamie Morrison on the lessons the team learnt in the tournament …
"We learn different lessons from different matches. Last night gave us some confidence that we can be in dire straits and come out of it, and then bounce back the next day."

PLAYER'S QUOTES
Junior L/DS Ava Underwood on the teams' balance in the match …
"It shows that we can win in different ways. Yesterday, our defense and our passing were really good, our blocking and our offense have shined at times too. It's really cool that we can win with just our offense or our defense and when both of them are working together."

Junior MB Ifenna Cos-Okpalla on the benefit of playing teams with different styles …
"I like to think of it as there are different ways we can win. So, whenever we play a team that maybe has a fast offense that we will face in the SEC, we're going to have to adapt to win, like we did this weekend."

STAT LEADERS
Kills – Logan Lednicky – 15
Hitting Percentage (Min. 10 kills) – Logan Lednicky – .542
Assists – Maddie Waak – 37
Aces – Maddie Waak – 3
Digs – Ava Underwood – 10
Blocks – Logan Lednicky – 7

UP NEXT
The Maroon & White head out on the road, as they face UNI Wednesday, Sept. 19, 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.