A&M improves to 7-0 after downing Northern Iowa in straight sets
The Morrison Mafia continues to grow as excited fans packed Reed Arena yet again for the second day of the Texas A&M Invitational.
The Aggies, who have now claimed four straight sweeps, continue to steamroll any team unlucky enough to cross their path after defeating Northern Iowa on Friday night in straight sets (25-19, 25-23, 25-23).
A&M is now 7-0 on the season.
“It's an insane feeling to know that all the hard work that we put in during the spring and summer is really paying off,” Logan Lednicky said. “We all had to buy into the new coaching staff and their method of teaching. We all want this so bad, so it was easy for us to put our everything into this season."
After an impressive performance on Thursday against Utah State, it was only right that A&M put up their first two points on the board with blocks.
Setters Margot Manning and Nisa Buzlutepe were forced to run an out-of-system offense for most of set one, keeping the Aggies from their normal runs out of the gate. Caroline Meuth earned an ace to help A&M gain enough momentum to unleash the arms on the front row.
Finishing the job was not a problem with a kill from Logan Lednicky. Ifenna Cos-Okpalla and Bianna Muoneke followed with a block, and Cos-Okpalla immediately earned another kill, allowing Lauren Hogan to seal the first set with an ace, 25-19.
Lednicky arrived into set two swinging, getting the first and second ball kill.
The Panthers were prepared for a point-for-point fight, leaving little space for the Aggies to gain ground against their defense. There was a change in liberos between sets as Ava Underwood headed up the back row.
Even after the personnel changes, though, the serve receive continued to struggle. The A&M leaders took some time on the court to level the team’s head, and with a UNI missed serve, set two ended 25-23 in favor of the Maroon & White.
“When we come into those huddles and timeouts, that time is for effective words, not just encouragement,” Lednicky said. “It's a lot of strategy. We keep each other accountable.”
A&M’s thought for accountability showed entering the last set of the night. The Aggies remained consistent with their passion for winning driving each point.
Muoneke led the team with 13 kills in match play, many of which became momentum drivers to finish set three. The Panthers caught up with the Aggies at 17-17, but the force of Cos-Okpalla on the net rendered too much for UNI, and A&M finished the third 25-23.
“I am fired up that we are finding different ways to win every match,” A&M head coach Jamie Morrison said. “This team does an amazing job at keeping the momentum going which is what we want in our team."
A&M looks to keep that momentum going another day as they finish the TAMU Invitational against TCU on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT.