Credit to Sam Thornton | Assistant Director, Athletics Communications – 12thman.com
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Texas A&M volleyball team extended its winning streak to three matches following a five-set thriller versus Wright State on the opening day of the Falcon Invitational, 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 25-14, 26-28, 17-15).
The Aggies and Wright State battled back-and-forth to open the match, as the squads tied on 13 separate occasions, ending at 17. The Raiders created separation to lead by two, but A&M flipped the momentum to knot the teams once again at 20. The programs remained tied at 23, however, Wright State pushed on and claimed the opener, 25-23.
A&M responded early in the second set, as they went on a 7-1 run forcing a Raider timeout. The Maroon & White kept their foot on the gas extending the lead, 17-11. Despite a strong push from Wright State, the Aggies went on to secure the second set, 25-20.
Staying in rhythm, A&M started the third set on fire scoring six-straight points. Showing no signs of slowing down, the Maroon & White continued their dominance to lead by 10, 12-2. The squads began trading points, however, the Aggies retained their 10-point lead (19-9). A&M cruised through the remainder of the frame (25-14), taking the lead in the match, 2-1.
The teams traded blows early in the fourth, with neither side pulling away (5-5). A&M put together a 7-3 run to lead halfway through the set, 12-8. Wright State strung together a streak of its own, narrowing the Aggies lead to one (18-17), prompting a timeout from head coach Jamie Morrison. The Raiders run continued as they stole the frame in extra points, 28-26.
Wright State came out the aggressors in the fifth set, opening up an early 8-2 advantage as the team’s swapped sides of the floor. The Maroon & white fought all the way back to tie the squads at 11, forcing a Raider timeout. The programs went into a second-straight set of extras, and after surviving a match point A&M came out on top through three-straight kills from freshman Bianna Muoneke to win the set (17-15) and match for the Aggies, 3-2.
UP NEXT
The Maroon & White return to the Stroh Center tomorrow for the second match of the Falcon Invitational versus the hosts Bowling Green with first serve set for 6 p.m. CT
COACH’S QUOTES
Head coach Jamie Morrison on today’s match…
“We talked a lot about the fact we’re going to play some great teams this week. We knew someone was going to push us this week and I was curious to see what happens when it happens. In the fifth set we were down 8-2 and we were pushed to the brink, but the way we responded is something that we should rely on later down the line.”
Morrison on what’s next this week …
“We’ll go back tonight and look at the film to find some areas we can improve on, then it’s time to turn the page and focus on tomorrow’s match versus Bowling Green.”
STAT STANDOUTS
- Caroline Meuth – 28 kills – .510 hitting percentage – 11 digs – 6 total blocks
- Bianna Muoneke – 20 kills – .311 hitting percentage – 20 digs
- Nisa Buzlutepe – 43 assists – 8 digs – 2 service aces
- Ifenna Cos-Okpalla – 9 total blocks – 6 kills
- Logan Lednicky – 16 kills