Credit to Sam Thornton | Assistant Director, Athletics Communications – 12thman.com
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M volleyball team fell to No. 15 Baylor in an exhibition match Saturday evening at Reed Arena, 3-1 (25-22, 25-16, 13-25, 27-25).
The opening frame of the Aggies’ season was a back-and-forth battle, as the teams’ traded points and were knotted at nine before A&M gained a small two-point advantage, 11-9. The Bears responded pulling out in front, 18-13. The Maroon & White found a run of their own, shrinking Baylor’s advantage, 22-19, however, the Bears went on to take the opening set, 25-22.
Baylor continued its momentum in the second, opening up an early lead, 9-6. The Maroon & White regained their footing, tying the match at 14 following a four-point Aggie run. Baylor found its rhythm and won the second set, 25-16.
A&M came out as the aggressors in the third set, creating a quick four-point lead, 5-1. The Aggies continued their onslaught, increasing their advantage to lead 10-5. Nisa Buzlutepe extended the Maroon & White’s advantage singlehandedly, as the junior setter served three-consecutive aces. Nothing was stopping the Aggies momentum, as the team led by double-digits, 19-9. The run didn’t stop for A&M as they closed out the third set 25-13.
Facing an early deficit, 5-2, the Aggies squared the teams up at five. Nothing separated the squads as they remained tied at 10. In a true fourth set battle neither team gave an inch maintaining the deadlock at 23. The Maroon & White defended a pair of match points from the Bears, however, Baylor went on to win the set (27-25) and match, 3-1.
UP NEXT
The Aggies gear up for their first road trip to Omaha, Nebraska, to open the regular season at the Omaha Invite where they will face the host Mavericks and Pepperdine August 25 and 26, respectively.
COACH’S QUOTES
Head coach Jamie Morrison on the 12thMan…
“Shoutout to the 12thMan, I thought our crowd was electric. I’m disappointed we couldn’t send it to the fifth set because I wanted to do that for them, but I thought we did a lot of things really well today.”
Morrison on flipping momentum after first two sets…
“I’m happy with the way our team evolved as the match went on. We weren’t quite ourselves in the opening two sets, however, I thought we settled in as the game went on.”
PLAYER’S QUOTES
Sophomore outside hitter Logan Lednicky On the teams work ethic…
“This team loves to grind. I mean as soon as Jamie came in after last season we were ready to hit the ground running. Everyone is in the gym everyday getting after it, we’re all here for each other.”
Senior libero Lauren Hogan On how blocking impacted the game…
“I think our block game was huge, everyone up front really stepped up. We had some great blocks, and nothing gets a gym, crowd or team going more than a huge block. I think that was a game changer.”
STAT STANDOUTS
- Caroline Meuth – 12 kills – 3 aces
- Logan Lednicky – 9 kills – .368 hitting percentage
- Ifenna Cos-Okpalla – 11 total blocks
- Margot Manning – 24 assists
- Lauren Hogan – 12 digs