No. 16 Volleyball Sweeps Rice for Third-Straight Win

• 16 Texas A&M closed its non-conference slate sweeping Rice Tuesday evening, 3-0.
• The Aggies put on a dominant offensive showing, recording 54 kills compared to the Owls’ 23.
• Kyndal Stowers led the way with 17 kills, followed by Megan Fitch and Taryn Morris with 11 and 10, respectively.

COLLEGE STATION – The No. 16 Texas A&M volleyball team closed its non-conference slate sweeping Rice Tuesday evening at Reed Arena, 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-19).

Kyndal Stowers led the Aggies (7-5) past the Owls (6-6), as she made it back-to-back games over 15 kills, finishing with 17 on the night. She was joined in double figures by Megan Fitch with 11 and Taryn Morris with 10. Lolufe Adedeji had another impressive outing with eight kills, while setter Kirra Musgrove orchestrated the offense with a staggering 46 assists in the three-set contest.

The fixture opened with back-and-forth scoring, as the programs traded throughout the opening stint and found level at nine. The Aggies gained an advantage propelled by Lolufe Adedeji who recorded a pair of blocks and kill to take the lead, 17-15. Rice continued to battle, but a kill from Fitch sealed the first, 25-22.

Texas A&M came out firing in the second, racing out to a 9-3 lead behind the service of Musgrove and Gabi Rodriguez each recording an ace in their respective runs. Stowers kept the ball rolling with three-consecutive kills to push the advantage to nine, forcing an Owl timeout. The Aggies never let the visitors get close, as Djurdja Stanojevic struck her second kill of the frame to double A&M’s set total, 25-12.

In similar fashion to the first, the programs traded points leveling out six times before the Maroon & White created a three-point gap at the midway point, 15-12. Fitch recorded five kills in the frame to give the Aggies a five-point advantage, 20-15. A&M continued its push, securing the set, 25-19, and match, 3-0.

Stat Leaders

Kills – Kyndal Stowers – 17

Hitting Percentage (Min. 10 kills) – Megan Fitch – .474

Assists – Kirra Musgrove – 46

Aces – Kirra Musgrove – 2

Digs – Gabi Rodriguez – 14

Blocks – Djurdja Stanojevic – 5

Player Notes

#1 Gabi Rodriguez

• Tallied double-digit digs (14) for the 10^th-consecutive game this season.

#6 Taryn Morris

• Recorded 10 kills for the fourth time this season and eclipsed 100 for her career.

#7 Djurdja Stanojevic

• Recorded her first career solo block and marker a career high of five total.
• Logged her first career kill and finished with four on the night.

#10 Margot Manning

• Recorded an ace for the second time this season.
• Logged a season-high five digs.

#14 Kirra Musgrove

• Dished a career-high 46 assists in a three-set contest.
• She surpassed 40 assists in a game for the fifth time this season.

#16 Lolufe Adedeji

• Recorded a career high of eight kills with a .438 hitting percentage.
• Stuffed a career-best four swings.

#20 Megan Fitch

• Recorded her second double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs.
• Finished the night hitting a career-best .474 percent.

#37 Kyndal Stowers

• Recorded 17 kills in the outing, tallying her sixth game with 10-or-more this season.

Team Notes

• Texas A&M hit .311 as a unit, marking the fourth game of the season hitting over a .300 clip.
• The Aggies recorded a season-high 54 kills in a three-set match.

Next Up

The Aggies open their conference slate at home as they host South Carolina Sunday afternoon at Reed Arena with first serve for 2:30 p.m.