Friday, September 13
Bryan-College Station
6:30 PM
Texas A&M
5-0,0-0SEC
3
vs
0
Temple
3-5,0-0AAC
1
2
3
F
Temple
10
18
26
0
Texas A&M
25
25
28
3
Aggies Sweep Temple on Opening Day of Texas A&M Invitational
Sep 13, 2024 | Volleyball
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The Aggie volleyball team swept Temple for its fifth-straight win on the opening day of the Texas A&M Invitational Friday evening at Reed Arena, 3-0 (25-10, 25-18, 28-26).
Balance was the key to the Maroon & White's (5-0) fifth win to start the 2024 campaign, as they recorded 37 kills on the night to pair with 10 total blocks as a team to sweep Temple (3-5). This marks A&M's third-consecutive sweep and fourth on the year, while only dropping a single frame through the first-five fixtures.
The Aggies dominated the opening set from the start, racing out to an early 10-3 lead. A&M didn't take its foot of the gas with another 10-7 run, leaving them five-points away from taking the first frame. The Maroon & White closed out the first set with a kill from Taylor Humphrey (25-10), marking their 16th in the frame on a staggering .577 hitting percentage.
Both teams came out trading blows to start the second frame; however it was the Maroon & White who snatched a one-point advantage at the media timeout, 15-14. Following the break, the Aggies began to light up the stat sheet, ripping off three-consecutive points behind an ace from Ellee Stinson, a kill from Ifenna Cos-Okpalla and a Temple service error, prompting an Owl timeout. The onslaught continued with a 7-4 run to conclude the frame, doubling A&M's advantage (25-18), 2-0.
Temple flipped the momentum with an early push to open the third, 6-3. The Maroon & White regained their footing with a 4-1 run, but that was countered with another streak from the Owls as they led by five late (22-17). In need of a rally, the Aggies did just that as they went on to tie the match at 22 and eventually push on to secure the win in extras (28-26) sealing their third-straight sweep.
COACH'S QUOTES
Head coach Jamie Morrison on finding different ways to win …
"We're going to play some great competition out there, and we need to find different ways to win. There are going to be some teams that can shut us down, we need to shut them down back. There's going to be some teams that hit for a really high efficiency, and we need to go hit for a high efficiency back. I'm glad we figured out a way to win, that needs to be how we go forward in every single match."
PLAYER'S QUOTES
Junior L/DS Ava Underwood on tonight's match …
"I think we all have the mentality of taking it one game at a time and it's good to be pushed like that in the last set. It's good for us to have that challenge. We could've separated our lead a little bit more in the third, but I'm proud of how we finished."
Junior MB Ifenna Cos-Okpalla on teams' resilience in the final set …
"We like to be pushed, that's what makes teams stronger. In those moments, we just come together. Jamie [Morrison] likes to say we squeeze. We focus on doing things together and knowing that you can lean on a teammate next to you."
STAT LEADERS
Kills – Morgan Perkins – 10
Hitting Percentage (Min. 10 kills) – Morgan Perkins – .692
Assists – Maddie Waak – 29
Aces – Tatum Thomas, Ellee Stinson – 2
Digs – Ava Underwood – 15
Blocks – Ifenna Cos-Okpalla – 8
UP NEXT
The Maroon & White return to Reed Arena tomorrow for the second day of the Texas A&M Invitational, where they face UNH with first serve set for 5 p.m.
FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter by following @AggieVolleyball.
Balance was the key to the Maroon & White's (5-0) fifth win to start the 2024 campaign, as they recorded 37 kills on the night to pair with 10 total blocks as a team to sweep Temple (3-5). This marks A&M's third-consecutive sweep and fourth on the year, while only dropping a single frame through the first-five fixtures.
The Aggies dominated the opening set from the start, racing out to an early 10-3 lead. A&M didn't take its foot of the gas with another 10-7 run, leaving them five-points away from taking the first frame. The Maroon & White closed out the first set with a kill from Taylor Humphrey (25-10), marking their 16th in the frame on a staggering .577 hitting percentage.
Both teams came out trading blows to start the second frame; however it was the Maroon & White who snatched a one-point advantage at the media timeout, 15-14. Following the break, the Aggies began to light up the stat sheet, ripping off three-consecutive points behind an ace from Ellee Stinson, a kill from Ifenna Cos-Okpalla and a Temple service error, prompting an Owl timeout. The onslaught continued with a 7-4 run to conclude the frame, doubling A&M's advantage (25-18), 2-0.
Temple flipped the momentum with an early push to open the third, 6-3. The Maroon & White regained their footing with a 4-1 run, but that was countered with another streak from the Owls as they led by five late (22-17). In need of a rally, the Aggies did just that as they went on to tie the match at 22 and eventually push on to secure the win in extras (28-26) sealing their third-straight sweep.
COACH'S QUOTES
Head coach Jamie Morrison on finding different ways to win …
"We're going to play some great competition out there, and we need to find different ways to win. There are going to be some teams that can shut us down, we need to shut them down back. There's going to be some teams that hit for a really high efficiency, and we need to go hit for a high efficiency back. I'm glad we figured out a way to win, that needs to be how we go forward in every single match."
PLAYER'S QUOTES
Junior L/DS Ava Underwood on tonight's match …
"I think we all have the mentality of taking it one game at a time and it's good to be pushed like that in the last set. It's good for us to have that challenge. We could've separated our lead a little bit more in the third, but I'm proud of how we finished."
Junior MB Ifenna Cos-Okpalla on teams' resilience in the final set …
"We like to be pushed, that's what makes teams stronger. In those moments, we just come together. Jamie [Morrison] likes to say we squeeze. We focus on doing things together and knowing that you can lean on a teammate next to you."
STAT LEADERS
Kills – Morgan Perkins – 10
Hitting Percentage (Min. 10 kills) – Morgan Perkins – .692
Assists – Maddie Waak – 29
Aces – Tatum Thomas, Ellee Stinson – 2
Digs – Ava Underwood – 15
Blocks – Ifenna Cos-Okpalla – 8
UP NEXT
The Maroon & White return to Reed Arena tomorrow for the second day of the Texas A&M Invitational, where they face UNH with first serve set for 5 p.m.
FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter by following @AggieVolleyball.
Team Stats
Temple
AM
Kills
25
37
Errors
23
17
Attempts
96
93
Hitting %
.021
.215
Points
36.0
54.0
Assists
24
36
Aces
4
7
Blocks
7
10
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
8
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
S
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