Texas A&M's modest streak reaches three with four-set win at LSU
Texas A&M made their appearance in the Bayou after rolling through Mississippi, and yes, the good times rolled again
Now 5-2 in the SEC, the Aggies took down LSU in Baton Rouge in four sets (25-23, 16-25, 25-21, 25-16).
In a match that did not lack any effort, A&M stretched its winning streak to three, while the Tigers’ skid is now a trio of defeats.
For Texas A&M, Logan Lednicky had 14 kills as Bianna Muoneke (13) and Caroline Meuth (11) also joined her in double figures. Meuth and Ava Underwood each had 13 digs, while Nisa Buzlutepe dished out 23 assists.
No question, both teams were prepared for battle from the outset.
"I thought we started the match a little tight, but I really liked that we were able to relax as the match went on,” said A&M head coach Jamie Morrison. “I thought that we got back to being ourselves in the fourth set and were able to close out the match."
LSU found success with their first few servers, but A&M forced scrappy Tiger play with their speed in the opening set. Point for point, both sides looked incredibly even early, but there was an ease on A&M’s court that can only be described as “Morrison Magic.”
Coming out of a timeout, Lednicky, Morgan Perkins and Ital Lopuyo tamed the Tigers front row with blocks. Margot Manning laid an ace. Though both teams struggled to maintain momentum, kills from Lednicky ended the first, 25-23.
Moving on to the second, LSU gained the first point and didn't look back. The Tigers tooled off of A&M’s block to take control of the frame, including five aces in the set. A&M managed only 13 in the set as LSU handed the Aggies a 25-16 beatdown.
Still a bold response came from the Aggies.
Long rallies allowed the Aggies to settle back into their game. Each team had to fight for every point in the third, but Underwood held ground for the Ags in the back row as Buzlutepe and Manning had more options when running their offense.
Responding to a three-point run from LSU late in the set, Morrison called a timeout, and once again, Lednicky took over to seal a 25-21 win.
In the fourth and final frame, Ifenna Cos-Okpalla came out swinging, setting the tone. Muoneke, Lopuyo and Meuth gained three kills in a row, followed by a Muoneke ace. A well-rounded A&M team kept control of the fourth as Aggie hitters had a response for every LSU point. Lednicky and Muoneke put in the final kills of the match.
"I think we've found multiple ways to win,” Morrison said. “I thought we played really clean against Mississippi State and maybe didn't tonight, but being able to calm down and respond is really important, and we did that."
Following a perfect 3-0 road swing, the Aggies return to Reed Arena on Sunday, Oct. 15, to face South Carolina. First serve is set for 2 p.m. CT.