Sam Thornton | Assistant Director, Athletics Communications – 12thman.com
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas A&M volleyball team opens its NCAA Tournament campaign at the home of the No. 5 Texas Longhorns Thursday in Gregory Gymnasium with first serve set for 6 p.m.
The Aggies were selected to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019, their 26th postseason appearance in program history. The Maroon & White finished the regular season with an overall record of 16-12 and 8-10 in conference play. The 16 wins in head coach Jamie Morrison’s debut season are the most in any of the past four seasons.
During the non-conference schedule, A&M claimed wins over five tournament teams including, Omaha, Pepperdine, Wright State, Utah State and UNI. The Aggies also secured their largest upset win in 24 years when they outlasted then-No. 4 Florida in a five-set thriller (3-2).
The Longhorns look to defend their 2022 national title, as they face A&M in the opening round. Texas claimed the Big 12 title and held a record of 22-4 at the end of the regular season, it enters the fixture on a four-match winning streak.
Blocking has been where the Aggies have held their hat this year, as they peaked at No. 1 in blocks per set in the nation earlier this season, while also maintaining a top-10 ranking in the statistic all year.
Ifenna Cos-Okpalla spearheaded the defense for the Maroon & White during the 2023 campaign. The middle blocker led the nation all season long in blocks per set, finishing the year averaging 1.64. Fellow middle, Morgan Perkins, added 97 total blocks to Cos-Okpalla’s 146 as the duo both reached 200 career blocks during the season.
The Maroon & White are led on offense by three highly productive pins in Logan Lednicky, Caroline Meuth and Bianna Muoneke. Lednicky paces the Aggies with 332 kills, while Meuth and Muoneke added 307 and 285, respectively. The trio accounts for 70% of A&M’s total offense.
Margot Manning ranked among the conference’s best servers, as the freshman averaged 0.38 aces per set which was good for fifth in the SEC. She also totaled 24 aces in conference play which placed her sixth.
Ava Underwood took the reins of the Libero jersey this season and led the squad in digs (225) and digs per set (2.65), she also eclipsed double-digit digs 14 times this season.
Lednicky and Muoneke were recognized by coaches around the league, as they were named to the All-SEC Team and SEC All-Freshman Team, respectively.