News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M volleyball team claimed its third-straight win as it swept A&M-Corpus Christi in its home opener Monday at Reed Arena, 3-0 (26-24, 25-11, 25-22).
The Maroon & White’s (3-0) offense continued to roll in their return to Reed Arena, as Morgan Perkins and Logan Lednicky each logged 12 kills, while Ifenna Cos-Okpalla and Emily Hellmuth added nine of their own. The team once again was efficient up and down the roster, as it recorded a hitting percentage of .294 with 47 kills, 15 errors on 109 swings.
The Islanders (0-3) came out as the aggressors in the first frame, forging a 10-6 lead. A back-and-forth battle followed, however A&M-Corpus Christi tacked on another point to its advantage late in the set, prompting a timeout from head coach Jamie Morrison (19-13). The Aggies responded out of the break with a 7-1 run to tie the match at 20. The momentum remained on A&M’s side, as Hellmuth sealed the opener with a kill to give the Maroon & white the lead in the match (26-24), 1-0.
It was all Aggies in the second set, as they raced out to an early advantage at the media timeout (15-8). Spearheading the A&M charge was Perkins, as the junior crushed five balls throughout the set, including back-to-back strikes as A&M led, 23-10. An ace from Ava Underwood, followed by a kill from Lednicky doubled the Maroon & White’s advantage (25-11), 2-0.
A&M continued its momentum into the third frame, once again dominating to the first break where it led by nine (15-6). The Islanders didn’t know who to stop, as the Aggies had six players record a kill in the close-out set, with the team total reaching 18 in the frame. A&M-Corpus Christi put up a fight with a late charge, however a block from Cos-Okpalla and Lednicky sealed the Maroon & White’s second sweep of the year (25-22), 3-0.
COACH’S QUOTES
Head coach Jamie Morrison on today’s match …
“I thought we started a bit slow but found our style of play midway through the first set. We are playing like us earlier and earlier as the matches are going on. We did a good job spreading the ball around, and I keep saying we have a lot of great volleyball players and tonight showed that once again.”
Morrison on the 12th Man …
“I think that for a lot of our group it was their first time playing in front of a crowd like this. There is a big advantage when we play at home, and we want to come out here and do right by them.”
PLAYER’S QUOTES
Junior OPP Logan Lednicky on the atmosphere at Reed Arena …
“This is my third year, and I think we’ve just built [the home opener] up every year that I’ve been here. Seeing that many students here to support us on opening day when they could be doing anything else on their off day is awesome, and it’s only going to get better from here.”
Junior MB Morgan Perkins on her performance today …
“I’ve been working on my transitioning. I practice it a lot and Maddie [Waak] and I already have a natural connection coming from club, so I am very grateful for her.”
STAT LEADERS
Kills – Logan Lednicky, Morgan Perkins – 12
Hitting Percentage – Morgan Perkins – .550
Assists – Maddie Waak – 37
Aces – Emily Hellmuth, Ellee Stinson, Brooke Jeffrey, Ava Underwood, Morgan Perkins – 1
Digs – Ava Underwood – 17
Blocks – Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, Logan Lednicky – 5
UP NEXT
The Aggies return to Reed Arena Friday where they host Texas State with first serve set for 6:30 p.m.