Texas A&M cruises to fourth straight victory with sweep over Sam Houston
Texas A&M produced a plethora of season-best records in a 3-0 win over Sam Houston on Tuesday evening.
Powerful swings from new and returning hitters led the Maroon & White to their fifth win of the season. They smashed 51 kills — a three-set match record this season — and nearly doubled the Bearkats’ .152 hitting percentage (.343).
Logan Lednicky may be a freshman, but her arm proved otherwise. The Sugar Land native showed out in the first set, totaling a new match-high eight kills. The Aggies claimed a quick lead in the first set, but the Bearkats remained resilient, battling to tie the score 15-all. The in-state foes traded off points until Lednicky put the game away, 28-26, with her second ace of the set, another record for the young talent.
“I have got to keep reaching for bigger goals,” Lednicky said. “It’s only going to get harder from here, especially when SEC play starts.
This is the beginning. I need to keep striving for the best in practice and in matches.”
In the second set, Notre Dame transfer Caroline Meuth showed her electricity behind the ball, recording six kills and helping the Aggies maintain their momentum from the first.
Setter Elena Karakasi had no trouble setting up hitters for some sizable swings, as Lednicky continued to display her talent by averaging an impressive .412 attacking percentage. The high-powered offensive effort launched Texas A&M past Sam Houston for a quick 25-14 second set win.
“At one point, I think we were hitting better out of the system,” A&M head coach Bird Kuhn said. “That’s being patient, trusting each other and trusting the liberos with out-of-system balls. It’s the competitive chemistry I talk about.”
The Bearkats settled back in and took advantage of the Aggies’ third set errors. Sam Houston out-killed the Aggies but could not hold onto the lead. The Maroon & White finished off the final set, 30-28. Overall, Lednicky posted 18 kills, Meuth added 13 and returner Madison Bowser recorded a career-high 10.
“We’ve seen that for years now,” Kuhn said. “To see her connect and have that type of a match, just for her and who she is for our program, we know it’s there, and now she’s proving it and doing it consistently.”
The Aggies will return to Reed Arena on Friday as they face the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns at 6 p.m. CT.
