Why not us?
Destiny is often used to describe a team's journey to success. Fate is a predetermined outcome that was set in place by something we can't control. When you consider the heart, grit, resiliency, and togetherness of this volleyball program, a national championship can be seen as fate. It was also destiny of all things that led us along the way through an entire season to this point. A national championship isn't only won on a grand stage with 2 teams standing. A national championship is won years in advance through a culmination of events, long days of work, many wins, many losses, many practices, many workouts, many conversations, but most of all belief and hope.
How did we get here? On December 16th, following the 2022 season that saw the Aggies finish 13-16 and miss the tournament for the third year in a row, Texas A&M announced the hire of Jamie Morrison. Jamie Morrison would lead the Aggies in his first ever head coaching stint at the collegiate level. His prior coaching experience was with the US Men's and Women's National team and the Dutch national team. He was also a volunteer assistant for tu in 2021. Morrison was known as tactical and passionate about growing the game. It would be a question how he could translate from professionals to the college women's game.
He inherited a roster of 9 players as well as 2 incoming freshman from that 13 win squad in 2022. The leading returners were outside hitter Caroline Meuth and a freshman opposite hitter Logan Lednicky. He would bring in 2 transfers: Morgan Perkins from Oklahoma and Brooke Jeffrey from Sacred Heart, as well as earn a commit flip in Margot Manning from Washington. It was a very young and in experienced team that lacked back row production and setting. Lednicky and Meuth led the team offensively but it was the rise of sophomore Ifenna Cos-Okpalla at the middle position who showed promise along with Perkins. Cos-Okpalla sparingly played as a freshman. The team would go on to a 16-13 record, 8-10 in SEC play, and squeak into the tournament. They would be matched up with eventual national champions in tu in the first round and surprisingly took a set from them losing 3-1. The young Aggies team would only lose 2 players to graduation in Meuth and Lauren Hogan along with 2 freshman transferring out. At 10, they'd be sitting with lots of room on the roster. The season showed promise, but we were still ways away from being competitive in the SEC or the tournament. Lednicky would be named all conference and the Aggies did have a 5 set win over number 4 Florida. There would be work needed to do to progress in year 2.
The 2024 off season would be an important and busy one for the A&M staff. They had lots of space on the roster, they had 1 setter, 1 back row player, not a lot of depth at the hitting position. In volleyball you fill your recruiting class 2 years out so we were only able to add one freshman in Amare Hernandez from McAllen, Texas. However, the off-season would be productive thanks to the transfer portal. The Aggies would go on to add 5 players to the roster. They added an outstanding and productive outside hitter Emily Hellmuth from Pepperdine, 2 liberos: one from Northwestern in Ellee Stinson and another from Grand Canyon in Tatum Thomas, an strong armed outside hitter from Rutgers in Taylor Humphrey, and a setter from LSU in Maddie Waak.
With a revamped roster, a returning all conference player in Logan Lednicky, two strong middles in Cos-Okpalla and Perkins, some back row help and outside hitting help from the portal, the Aggies hoped to be a lot more competitive in the SEC in year 2 of the Morrison Era. The Aggies would go 8-1 in non conference play dropping one match to a 7th ranked Wisconsin team. They'd open SEC play with a loss to the defending national champions in tu. They'd pick up some strong wins and drop a couple head scratchers as they would walk into Austin, Texas for a rematch against a dominant tu team. However, the Aggies would go on to shock the volleyball world beating tu in Austin giving them their first win over the rival in 14 years. The Aggies would win 7 of their last 10, including the last 4 to finish conference play 5th in the SEC.
The Aggies would earn a 6 seed and head to the Tempe Regional hosted by Arizona State. They drew a hot Colorado State in round 1, and the Aggies would take it in 4 advancing to the second round to play hosts Arizona State. The Aggies behind Lednicky's 27 kills would upset the 3 seeded Sun Devils. The signs of progress were evident. This was a program on the rise. They'd then head to the Lincoln Regional to take on 2 seeded Wisconsin in the sweet sixteen, a team that swept us comfortably in non conference. Despite being huge underdogs, the inexperienced Aggies would give Wisconsin all they could handle. The Aggies won set 2 and set 4 pushing it to a crucial set 5. the two teams would exchange blows but ultimately Wisconsin finished off the set winning 15-13. The team broke down in tears, they were so close to a huge program defining win, but fell 2 points shy.
The loss stung. It was a rough heartbreaking finish to a season that saw tremendous growth. A trip to the sweet sixteen, a much better showing in conference, 2 all conference selections in Logan Lednicky and Ifenna Cos-Okpalla. Lednicky would also earn 2nd team All American honors. The off-season would be a lot less busy than the year prior, but still moves needed to be made to push this team even further. The Aggies would only lose one player to graduation in Ellee Stinson. They also signed a top five recruiting class highlighted by outside hitter Megan Fitch and setter Kirra Musgrove. They also signed opposite hitter Taryn Morris and libero Addi Applegate. The biggest singing would be from the portal in outside hitter Kyndal Stowers from Baylor. She sat out the entire 2024 season after having her freshman season cut short due to multiple concussions. Baylor would force her into an involuntary medical retirement. After being away from the game, she'd come back two years later looking to play again and found a home in College Station. The Aggies would lose 3 players to the portal: Ital Lopuyo (Georgia Tech), Molly Brown (Western Michigan), and Brooke Jeffrey (High Point). The Aggies would also add an international middle blocker from Serbia in Djurdja Stanojevic.
The Aggies were reloaded and returned nearly all of their core lineup aside from defensive specialist Stinson who played a few rotations. Going into year 3 the Aggies would have a senior heavy roster, multiple all American level players, and so much momentum. Adding Stowers was huge, she was well on her way to freshman of the year in the Big 12 prior to injury, she was a top 20 recruit nationally, the question would be was she back to her former self and would she be or stay healthy.
The Aggies came into the season with the most hype it had ever had in a preseason. They would be ranked 9th to begin the season, its highest ever preseason ranking. The Aggies would be invited to participate in the AVCA First Serve Showcase to kick off the season against Minnesota. The Aggies would get a statement 3-1 win over a historically strong Golden Gopher team. The Aggies started 5-0 with all their wins coming away from Reed. Shortly after a trip to Utah where they took down ranked Utah and Utah State in back to back to days, the Aggies would play at SMU 4 days later.
The Aggies would get demolished in a sweep by SMU. The hot start came to a screeching stop. The 5 straight road games may have played a factor, but SMU handed it to A&M. The Aggies would continue its chaotic road schedule and face a hot TCU team on the road once again the very next day. The Aggies would battle, but lost in 5 sets falling to 5-2. They only fell to 14 in the rankings, but had an easy 3 game home tournament that saw 3 Aggies sweeps. At 8-2, it was now time for conference play.
The Aggies would open up with a strong 3-1 win over a solid Missouri squad. They'd pick up 3 more wins against Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and Alabama. Next up would be a home match against the number 3 Kentucky Wildcats. The Ags would come out swinging and take set 1, before dropping the next 2 sets. The Aggies would control set 4 and seemed all but ready to send it to a 5th set, but at set point, the Wildcats would go on a 3-0 run to leave the Aggies and the 12th Man stunned.
The Aggies would win their next 5, 4 of them being sweeps. This would set up a huge matchup on Halloween Night against the undefeated longhorns. Scarier than all the costumes that night would be our block as the Aggies would best their rival once again in 5 sets. The Aggies would win the next 4 matches finishing conference play 14-1 on a 10 game win streak good for a runner up finish behind 15-0 Kentucky. The Aggies would earn the 2 seed in the inaugural SEC tournament but would fall to tu in the semis.
The Aggies would await their tournament seeding on Selection Sunday. They stood at 23-4. They had Top 25 win over Texas, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Rice, the finished 2nd in the SEC, 3 of their losses were to top ten seeds. Most bracketologists and volleyball enthusiasts had us at 2 seed or at worse a 3. At the time all everyone wanted to do was avoid the Nebraska Regional at all costs. The Aggies wouldn't get a 2 seed and were announced right away as a 3 seed in Nebraska's quadrant lol. The Aggies would host the first two rounds with its first matchup being the Campbell Camels and would await the winner of TCU and SFA in round 2. Most fans were upset at us being a 3 seed, but more upset with the draw that had potential matchups being Louisville than the undefeated Cornhuskers.
The Aggies would sweep Campbell easily with some historic hitting numbers by Hellmuth and Lednicky. The Aggies would then face TCU, a team they lost to in September. The Aggies would struggle early and drop the first set. They would respond and win the next 3, but all were close sets. The Aggies were struggling to pass and to even block. The match left many in the volleyball world losing faith in us, especially with a talented Louisville team up next.
Louisville had one of the best blocks in the NCAA, they had an elite outside hitter in Chloe Chicoine, an all American middle in Cara Cresse, multiple other weapons at the net. The Aggies looked to avenge last years heartbreaking loss in the sweet sixteen. The Ags came out hot and got out to a 17-12 lead in set, but allowed Louisville to roar back and tie it at 17. Then up 20-19, the Aggies would struggle to close out the set and lose 25-23. Against in set 2 the Aggies would build themselves a lead at 22-17. Louisville would finish the set on a 8-0 run. Hope was diminishing, fans were fighting, a wonderful season was on the cusp of falling apart.
However the Aggies would not surrender. With the entire season on the line, the senior laden team refused to back down. The 3rd set would go blow for blow all the way to 20. But this time it was the Aggies who would finally finish the set strong and take it 25-23. Aggies were desperate to keep their season alive and stormed out to a 20-11 lead in the 4th set. But Louisville, the reigning national runner ups, would respond with a huge 7-1 run. A late collapse was close, but the Aggies would answer with 4 straight to win 25-18. Then came set 5. Win or go home. Louisville would get the upper hand first going up 9-7. The Aggie block would help us finish out the set and the Aggies would go on to win it 15-12. The reverse sweep was complete. It was the match of the tournament by far at that point and the Aggie season lived on yet another 2 days.
If the dramatic finish would carry momentum over, it would have to stand face to face with perfection. The media darlings, America's team, the crowd favorite, the superstars, the perceived national champions, the 33-0 Nebraska Cornhuskers. Nobody would give the Aggies a chance. Nebraska was going to dominate everyone like they always did. They went 3 months losing only 1 set. They were the biggest favorites to win it all, it was their year. It would be them and 18,000 fans against the Aggies.
In a pre game presser, a Nebraska media member asked Morrison if it was impossible to find any holes or weaknesses in Nebraska's game like many other coaches had mentioned, Morrison defiantly answered, "no" then later on said "we're not scared of this team, we're a good team." Nebraska fans laughed, but little did they know what was coming.
Nebraska was 33-0, they hadn't lost in their arena in over 3 years. They weren't just beating everyone they played, they were obliterating them. They would get out to a 10-3 start. Just another little bump on the way to their perfect season. Nice try Aggies. After a timeout, the Aggies would regroup and trust their confident leader Coach Morrison. The Aggies would bring it within 3. Then down 15-10, the Aggies would go on a tear, a 10-0 run sparked by Ifenna Cos-Okpalla's serve. The Aggies had the upper hand and would go on to finish the set 25-22. Nebraska was stunned. However, it would take more to defeat them. Next comes set 2 and the Aggies and Cornhuskers would exchange blows before the Aggies block and powerful swings gave them a lead and they never looked back. The Aggies would win the set 25-22 once again. Not only was Nebraska stunned, but the entire volleyball world was stunned. Could it really happen? Could it?
Nebraska, flooded with All Americans, wouldn't give up. Their crowd would back them and they'd use their talent to take set 3 comfortably to force a set 4. A historic set would come. It was the Aggies who had an 18-11 lead. History was right in front of them. The Aggies had never passed the elite 8 in its entirety. Nebraska would go on an 8-1 run to tie it at 19. In this sport you must win the set by 2. Nebraska would go on to have 10 set points, the Aggies would have 3 match points. No one could win the set. Ultimately Nebraska would finish it off 37-35. The chaotic set would eventually end. The Nebraska crowd was going insane, all the momentum was back on the undefeated team's side. To everyone, A&M had put up a great fight, but no one could take down Nebraska. It was their season.
But belief is a strong thing. Jamie Morrison instilled a confidence in this program and onto every single player. 99.9% of teams after losing that 4th set would have folded. They would have bowed down to the big bad Nebraska and quit. Not Texas A&M. They would fight back. A 5th set of this magnitude, it comes down to who wants it more. Bodies are tired, minds are tired, but who wants it more. The two would go back and forth, but the Aggies broke the stalemate first and got up 7-5, then 9-6, then 10-6, then 12-7. Nebraska was panicking. Their fans looked like a nervous wreck, but there was still work to do. Nebraska would strike back, the Aggie lead would fall to 1 at 13-12. With 2 points to go to, you lean on your all American. First Lednicky strikes, then on match point Nebraska's Harper Murray strikes.
Season on the line at 14-13, the Aggies Megan Fitch would receive the serve, Waak then does a back set to the right pin. There awaiting the ball is Logan Lednicky. The 4th generation Aggie who embodies this school and has gave her all to this program for 4 years. With the spirit of the 12th man behind her, Lednicky slammed the ball and boom… down go the giants, undefeated no more. It was the Aggies running into a dog pile to celebrate, Jamie hugging his assistants, the 12th man roaring, Aggies everywhere throwing their fists in the air, and Nebraska along with the volleyball world stunned in silence. Texas A&M has arrived.
The Aggies advanced to the final four for the first time in school history. They would match up with another number one seed in Pitt who was led by the reigning national player of the year Olivia Babcock. While confidence in Aggieland was sky high, everyone still had little faith in us continuing to take down these top teams. Lighting couldn't strike again could it? It could. But these weren't upsets, far from it. It was a dominant Texas A&M team peaking at the right time dismantling teams. Their block was dominant, Maddie Waak was a maestro orchestrating a beautiful offense, Ava Underwood and Addi Applegate were brick walls in the back row, Lednicky, Stowers, Cos-Okpalla, Perkins, and Hellmuth were deflating volleyballs with powerful swings, everything was rolling.
The Aggies came out swinging but Babcock, Brooke Bayless and Brooke Mosher would swing back. The first set would see 17 ties. The Aggies would have 2 set points at 24 but fail to finish the set, Pitt would take a 27-26 advantage. Kyndal Stowers would get the next kill, but Tatum Thomas would follow with an ace, Pitt sends a ball over, and Waak sets Stowers to end the set 29-27. The Aggies got a huge set win and momentum was rolling.
Set 2 would see the Aggies go up 11-7, but then came an 8-0 run. Pitt was looking unstoppable, however the Aggies took Pitt's biggest punch and punched back with a 7-1 run to take an 18-16 lead. Then it was all Aggies. Huge blocks deflated Pitt swings and hopes. The Aggies would finish strong and take the set 25-21. Could they do it once more? Could another one seed fall to the red hot Aggies?
Pitt would come out swinging in set 3 after some lineup adjustments. The Aggies stayed within striking distance. Tied at 18, the Aggie defense wasn't allowing Pitt to score and Waak continued to feed everyone. With a birth to the national championship on the line, the Aggies with all heart and grit finished strong. A great serve from Stowers led to a free ball sent over, Waak would set Cos-Okpalla and she slammed it down with authority. Down goes another giant and the Aggies were celebrating again. Texas A&M was unstoppable. We took apart Pitt and made them look like they didn't even belong there. It was all Texas A&M and now we're headed to the national championship. Next up would be the winner of Kentucky or Wisconsin, but in my mind it didn't matter who lined up on the other side of us. This was ours.
Volleyball is an elite ran sport. The blue bloods are often the last ones fighting. The whole world was shocked to see Texas A&M with a chance at a national title. They saw us knock down Nebraska and no one saw it coming. They saw us knock down Pitt and no one saw it coming. Texas A&M was in the national championship, whether people liked it or not. We fought our way to get there, we busted down the door and earned that spot.
This team was rolling. Heart, grit, determination, fate, they had it all. Kentucky was up next, another 1 seed. A team that had already beaten us, a team rolling as well, a team on a 27 game winning streak. Didn't matter. Nothing was going to stop this Texas A&M Volleyball team, absolutely nothing.
Kentucky would come out swinging. They have the most elite outside hitting combo in the country in Eva Hudson and Brooklyn DeLeye. They got out to a blazing start. First it was 6-1, then 10-4, then 18-12. The start to set 1 was all Kentucky. They were picking apart our defense, our block was nonexistent, but then Jamie calls a timeout. A 6-1 run ignites the Aggie team and the 12th Man was heard. Tied at 21, Kentucky gets a big kill by Lizzie Carr, then a service ace by Molly Tuozzo. The comeback hope seemed deflated. Hellmuth's power tip would find the ground, and with her strong serve Kentucky would commit an error and it was tied again at 23, Kentucky goes up 1, then tied again at 24. The Aggies would block Kentucky's next attack after a great serve from Tatum Thomas, then another great serve gets Kentucky out of system, which allows the Aggies to pick up the attack, then Lednicky sets Stowers who strikes the ball to take the set. Boom! A set where Kentucky controlled early and most of it, saw the Aggies end it on a 3-0 run. Exactly how Kentucky ended that 4th set in Reed in October.
However, Kentucky is a gritty team as well. They fell early to Wisconsin and won, they fell down 2-0 to tu and won. They wouldn't go down without a fight. However, they were fighting an unstoppable force that refused to lose. Set 2 was a beat down, a showcase of what this Aggie team is all about. It's block was terminating, it's swings were terminating, and our servers were making Kentucky run all over the place frantically. The Aggies got out to a 20-11 lead and would finish the set 25-15. A 10 point set win in a national championship game. We weren't even favored despite how we had been playing. Yet we were dominating Kentucky. Eva Hudson known for playing with emotion and yelling (even at opposing teams) fell silent.
Aggie fans everywhere were 25 points away from celebrating, the team was 25 points away from confetti falling. Would Kentucky respond? Could they respond? No. Set 3 was all Texas A&M. We were going to win the national championship. Louisville, Nebraska, Pitt, Kentucky, put anyone in the country in front of us, no one was winning that trophy over us. The girls knew it. Our defense would hold strong, Waak and her hitters were tearing apart Kentucky. We'd get out to a huge lead and never look back.
Despite a late charge from the Wildcats, we sat at 24-20 setting up National Championship Point. Hudson served over a tough ball, we set Lednicky and she swung hard but Kentucky picked it back up, although not so well. Kentucky would send a free ball over. Hellmuth would dig the ball up to Waak, who then finds Cos-Okpalla, then with one powerful swing… boom. The ball hits the floor, the 12th Man erupts, the team tackles one another, the confetti falls, history was made, Texas A&M University had just won the 2025 NCAA National Volleyball Championship. Yes, we did it, us, the fightin' Texas Aggies. In a sport that has only seen a select number of teams win it all, a sport that we had never came close to sniffing anything of the sort, we did it. We won it all.
Jamie Morrison, in only his 3rd year leading the Aggies, just led his team to a national championship. It took an amazing coaching staff, an amazing support staff, an amazing fan base, but more importantly 17 amazing young women. What this program has become wasn't done overnight. It took a journey, it took a village, it took everything, but it paid off.
We are national champions. Whether the volleyball world likes it or not. We are here. Why not us, this is us. We busted through that door and let the volleyball world know who Texas A&M is. This coach, this staff, this university are something special. They don't know what's coming. This was and is only the beginning. We're here and we're here to stay. Buckle up volleyball world. I'm begging you 12th Man, embrace this program, support, invest, cherish, love, they deserve it all.
Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, Addi Applegate, Tatum Thomas, Emily Hellmuth, Lexi Guinn, Taryn Morris, Djurdja Stanojevic, Amare Hernadez, Logan Lednicky, Margot Manning, Taylor Humphrey, Ava Underwood, Kirra Musgrove, Maddie Waak, Megan Fitch, Morgan Perkins, Kyndal Stowers, Jamie Morrison, Lindsey Gray-Walton, Jen Woods, Jeff Fiorenza, Joe Skinner, Kaitlyn Corbett, Tom Bjugstad, Taylor Tedesky, Scott Battely, you are all National Champions. You, yes you, the 12th Man reading this, you are a national champion. Volleyball immortality is ours. This Texas A&M team is national champions today, national champions tomorrow, national champions forever, and national champions always. Whether it be fate, whether it be destiny, it's ours. Gig'em!!!!!!!!!!!!
Destiny is often used to describe a team's journey to success. Fate is a predetermined outcome that was set in place by something we can't control. When you consider the heart, grit, resiliency, and togetherness of this volleyball program, a national championship can be seen as fate. It was also destiny of all things that led us along the way through an entire season to this point. A national championship isn't only won on a grand stage with 2 teams standing. A national championship is won years in advance through a culmination of events, long days of work, many wins, many losses, many practices, many workouts, many conversations, but most of all belief and hope.
How did we get here? On December 16th, following the 2022 season that saw the Aggies finish 13-16 and miss the tournament for the third year in a row, Texas A&M announced the hire of Jamie Morrison. Jamie Morrison would lead the Aggies in his first ever head coaching stint at the collegiate level. His prior coaching experience was with the US Men's and Women's National team and the Dutch national team. He was also a volunteer assistant for tu in 2021. Morrison was known as tactical and passionate about growing the game. It would be a question how he could translate from professionals to the college women's game.
He inherited a roster of 9 players as well as 2 incoming freshman from that 13 win squad in 2022. The leading returners were outside hitter Caroline Meuth and a freshman opposite hitter Logan Lednicky. He would bring in 2 transfers: Morgan Perkins from Oklahoma and Brooke Jeffrey from Sacred Heart, as well as earn a commit flip in Margot Manning from Washington. It was a very young and in experienced team that lacked back row production and setting. Lednicky and Meuth led the team offensively but it was the rise of sophomore Ifenna Cos-Okpalla at the middle position who showed promise along with Perkins. Cos-Okpalla sparingly played as a freshman. The team would go on to a 16-13 record, 8-10 in SEC play, and squeak into the tournament. They would be matched up with eventual national champions in tu in the first round and surprisingly took a set from them losing 3-1. The young Aggies team would only lose 2 players to graduation in Meuth and Lauren Hogan along with 2 freshman transferring out. At 10, they'd be sitting with lots of room on the roster. The season showed promise, but we were still ways away from being competitive in the SEC or the tournament. Lednicky would be named all conference and the Aggies did have a 5 set win over number 4 Florida. There would be work needed to do to progress in year 2.
The 2024 off season would be an important and busy one for the A&M staff. They had lots of space on the roster, they had 1 setter, 1 back row player, not a lot of depth at the hitting position. In volleyball you fill your recruiting class 2 years out so we were only able to add one freshman in Amare Hernandez from McAllen, Texas. However, the off-season would be productive thanks to the transfer portal. The Aggies would go on to add 5 players to the roster. They added an outstanding and productive outside hitter Emily Hellmuth from Pepperdine, 2 liberos: one from Northwestern in Ellee Stinson and another from Grand Canyon in Tatum Thomas, an strong armed outside hitter from Rutgers in Taylor Humphrey, and a setter from LSU in Maddie Waak.
With a revamped roster, a returning all conference player in Logan Lednicky, two strong middles in Cos-Okpalla and Perkins, some back row help and outside hitting help from the portal, the Aggies hoped to be a lot more competitive in the SEC in year 2 of the Morrison Era. The Aggies would go 8-1 in non conference play dropping one match to a 7th ranked Wisconsin team. They'd open SEC play with a loss to the defending national champions in tu. They'd pick up some strong wins and drop a couple head scratchers as they would walk into Austin, Texas for a rematch against a dominant tu team. However, the Aggies would go on to shock the volleyball world beating tu in Austin giving them their first win over the rival in 14 years. The Aggies would win 7 of their last 10, including the last 4 to finish conference play 5th in the SEC.
The Aggies would earn a 6 seed and head to the Tempe Regional hosted by Arizona State. They drew a hot Colorado State in round 1, and the Aggies would take it in 4 advancing to the second round to play hosts Arizona State. The Aggies behind Lednicky's 27 kills would upset the 3 seeded Sun Devils. The signs of progress were evident. This was a program on the rise. They'd then head to the Lincoln Regional to take on 2 seeded Wisconsin in the sweet sixteen, a team that swept us comfortably in non conference. Despite being huge underdogs, the inexperienced Aggies would give Wisconsin all they could handle. The Aggies won set 2 and set 4 pushing it to a crucial set 5. the two teams would exchange blows but ultimately Wisconsin finished off the set winning 15-13. The team broke down in tears, they were so close to a huge program defining win, but fell 2 points shy.
The loss stung. It was a rough heartbreaking finish to a season that saw tremendous growth. A trip to the sweet sixteen, a much better showing in conference, 2 all conference selections in Logan Lednicky and Ifenna Cos-Okpalla. Lednicky would also earn 2nd team All American honors. The off-season would be a lot less busy than the year prior, but still moves needed to be made to push this team even further. The Aggies would only lose one player to graduation in Ellee Stinson. They also signed a top five recruiting class highlighted by outside hitter Megan Fitch and setter Kirra Musgrove. They also signed opposite hitter Taryn Morris and libero Addi Applegate. The biggest singing would be from the portal in outside hitter Kyndal Stowers from Baylor. She sat out the entire 2024 season after having her freshman season cut short due to multiple concussions. Baylor would force her into an involuntary medical retirement. After being away from the game, she'd come back two years later looking to play again and found a home in College Station. The Aggies would lose 3 players to the portal: Ital Lopuyo (Georgia Tech), Molly Brown (Western Michigan), and Brooke Jeffrey (High Point). The Aggies would also add an international middle blocker from Serbia in Djurdja Stanojevic.
The Aggies were reloaded and returned nearly all of their core lineup aside from defensive specialist Stinson who played a few rotations. Going into year 3 the Aggies would have a senior heavy roster, multiple all American level players, and so much momentum. Adding Stowers was huge, she was well on her way to freshman of the year in the Big 12 prior to injury, she was a top 20 recruit nationally, the question would be was she back to her former self and would she be or stay healthy.
The Aggies came into the season with the most hype it had ever had in a preseason. They would be ranked 9th to begin the season, its highest ever preseason ranking. The Aggies would be invited to participate in the AVCA First Serve Showcase to kick off the season against Minnesota. The Aggies would get a statement 3-1 win over a historically strong Golden Gopher team. The Aggies started 5-0 with all their wins coming away from Reed. Shortly after a trip to Utah where they took down ranked Utah and Utah State in back to back to days, the Aggies would play at SMU 4 days later.
The Aggies would get demolished in a sweep by SMU. The hot start came to a screeching stop. The 5 straight road games may have played a factor, but SMU handed it to A&M. The Aggies would continue its chaotic road schedule and face a hot TCU team on the road once again the very next day. The Aggies would battle, but lost in 5 sets falling to 5-2. They only fell to 14 in the rankings, but had an easy 3 game home tournament that saw 3 Aggies sweeps. At 8-2, it was now time for conference play.
The Aggies would open up with a strong 3-1 win over a solid Missouri squad. They'd pick up 3 more wins against Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and Alabama. Next up would be a home match against the number 3 Kentucky Wildcats. The Ags would come out swinging and take set 1, before dropping the next 2 sets. The Aggies would control set 4 and seemed all but ready to send it to a 5th set, but at set point, the Wildcats would go on a 3-0 run to leave the Aggies and the 12th Man stunned.
The Aggies would win their next 5, 4 of them being sweeps. This would set up a huge matchup on Halloween Night against the undefeated longhorns. Scarier than all the costumes that night would be our block as the Aggies would best their rival once again in 5 sets. The Aggies would win the next 4 matches finishing conference play 14-1 on a 10 game win streak good for a runner up finish behind 15-0 Kentucky. The Aggies would earn the 2 seed in the inaugural SEC tournament but would fall to tu in the semis.
The Aggies would await their tournament seeding on Selection Sunday. They stood at 23-4. They had Top 25 win over Texas, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Rice, the finished 2nd in the SEC, 3 of their losses were to top ten seeds. Most bracketologists and volleyball enthusiasts had us at 2 seed or at worse a 3. At the time all everyone wanted to do was avoid the Nebraska Regional at all costs. The Aggies wouldn't get a 2 seed and were announced right away as a 3 seed in Nebraska's quadrant lol. The Aggies would host the first two rounds with its first matchup being the Campbell Camels and would await the winner of TCU and SFA in round 2. Most fans were upset at us being a 3 seed, but more upset with the draw that had potential matchups being Louisville than the undefeated Cornhuskers.
The Aggies would sweep Campbell easily with some historic hitting numbers by Hellmuth and Lednicky. The Aggies would then face TCU, a team they lost to in September. The Aggies would struggle early and drop the first set. They would respond and win the next 3, but all were close sets. The Aggies were struggling to pass and to even block. The match left many in the volleyball world losing faith in us, especially with a talented Louisville team up next.
Louisville had one of the best blocks in the NCAA, they had an elite outside hitter in Chloe Chicoine, an all American middle in Cara Cresse, multiple other weapons at the net. The Aggies looked to avenge last years heartbreaking loss in the sweet sixteen. The Ags came out hot and got out to a 17-12 lead in set, but allowed Louisville to roar back and tie it at 17. Then up 20-19, the Aggies would struggle to close out the set and lose 25-23. Against in set 2 the Aggies would build themselves a lead at 22-17. Louisville would finish the set on a 8-0 run. Hope was diminishing, fans were fighting, a wonderful season was on the cusp of falling apart.
However the Aggies would not surrender. With the entire season on the line, the senior laden team refused to back down. The 3rd set would go blow for blow all the way to 20. But this time it was the Aggies who would finally finish the set strong and take it 25-23. Aggies were desperate to keep their season alive and stormed out to a 20-11 lead in the 4th set. But Louisville, the reigning national runner ups, would respond with a huge 7-1 run. A late collapse was close, but the Aggies would answer with 4 straight to win 25-18. Then came set 5. Win or go home. Louisville would get the upper hand first going up 9-7. The Aggie block would help us finish out the set and the Aggies would go on to win it 15-12. The reverse sweep was complete. It was the match of the tournament by far at that point and the Aggie season lived on yet another 2 days.
If the dramatic finish would carry momentum over, it would have to stand face to face with perfection. The media darlings, America's team, the crowd favorite, the superstars, the perceived national champions, the 33-0 Nebraska Cornhuskers. Nobody would give the Aggies a chance. Nebraska was going to dominate everyone like they always did. They went 3 months losing only 1 set. They were the biggest favorites to win it all, it was their year. It would be them and 18,000 fans against the Aggies.
In a pre game presser, a Nebraska media member asked Morrison if it was impossible to find any holes or weaknesses in Nebraska's game like many other coaches had mentioned, Morrison defiantly answered, "no" then later on said "we're not scared of this team, we're a good team." Nebraska fans laughed, but little did they know what was coming.
Nebraska was 33-0, they hadn't lost in their arena in over 3 years. They weren't just beating everyone they played, they were obliterating them. They would get out to a 10-3 start. Just another little bump on the way to their perfect season. Nice try Aggies. After a timeout, the Aggies would regroup and trust their confident leader Coach Morrison. The Aggies would bring it within 3. Then down 15-10, the Aggies would go on a tear, a 10-0 run sparked by Ifenna Cos-Okpalla's serve. The Aggies had the upper hand and would go on to finish the set 25-22. Nebraska was stunned. However, it would take more to defeat them. Next comes set 2 and the Aggies and Cornhuskers would exchange blows before the Aggies block and powerful swings gave them a lead and they never looked back. The Aggies would win the set 25-22 once again. Not only was Nebraska stunned, but the entire volleyball world was stunned. Could it really happen? Could it?
Nebraska, flooded with All Americans, wouldn't give up. Their crowd would back them and they'd use their talent to take set 3 comfortably to force a set 4. A historic set would come. It was the Aggies who had an 18-11 lead. History was right in front of them. The Aggies had never passed the elite 8 in its entirety. Nebraska would go on an 8-1 run to tie it at 19. In this sport you must win the set by 2. Nebraska would go on to have 10 set points, the Aggies would have 3 match points. No one could win the set. Ultimately Nebraska would finish it off 37-35. The chaotic set would eventually end. The Nebraska crowd was going insane, all the momentum was back on the undefeated team's side. To everyone, A&M had put up a great fight, but no one could take down Nebraska. It was their season.
But belief is a strong thing. Jamie Morrison instilled a confidence in this program and onto every single player. 99.9% of teams after losing that 4th set would have folded. They would have bowed down to the big bad Nebraska and quit. Not Texas A&M. They would fight back. A 5th set of this magnitude, it comes down to who wants it more. Bodies are tired, minds are tired, but who wants it more. The two would go back and forth, but the Aggies broke the stalemate first and got up 7-5, then 9-6, then 10-6, then 12-7. Nebraska was panicking. Their fans looked like a nervous wreck, but there was still work to do. Nebraska would strike back, the Aggie lead would fall to 1 at 13-12. With 2 points to go to, you lean on your all American. First Lednicky strikes, then on match point Nebraska's Harper Murray strikes.
Season on the line at 14-13, the Aggies Megan Fitch would receive the serve, Waak then does a back set to the right pin. There awaiting the ball is Logan Lednicky. The 4th generation Aggie who embodies this school and has gave her all to this program for 4 years. With the spirit of the 12th man behind her, Lednicky slammed the ball and boom… down go the giants, undefeated no more. It was the Aggies running into a dog pile to celebrate, Jamie hugging his assistants, the 12th man roaring, Aggies everywhere throwing their fists in the air, and Nebraska along with the volleyball world stunned in silence. Texas A&M has arrived.
The Aggies advanced to the final four for the first time in school history. They would match up with another number one seed in Pitt who was led by the reigning national player of the year Olivia Babcock. While confidence in Aggieland was sky high, everyone still had little faith in us continuing to take down these top teams. Lighting couldn't strike again could it? It could. But these weren't upsets, far from it. It was a dominant Texas A&M team peaking at the right time dismantling teams. Their block was dominant, Maddie Waak was a maestro orchestrating a beautiful offense, Ava Underwood and Addi Applegate were brick walls in the back row, Lednicky, Stowers, Cos-Okpalla, Perkins, and Hellmuth were deflating volleyballs with powerful swings, everything was rolling.
The Aggies came out swinging but Babcock, Brooke Bayless and Brooke Mosher would swing back. The first set would see 17 ties. The Aggies would have 2 set points at 24 but fail to finish the set, Pitt would take a 27-26 advantage. Kyndal Stowers would get the next kill, but Tatum Thomas would follow with an ace, Pitt sends a ball over, and Waak sets Stowers to end the set 29-27. The Aggies got a huge set win and momentum was rolling.
Set 2 would see the Aggies go up 11-7, but then came an 8-0 run. Pitt was looking unstoppable, however the Aggies took Pitt's biggest punch and punched back with a 7-1 run to take an 18-16 lead. Then it was all Aggies. Huge blocks deflated Pitt swings and hopes. The Aggies would finish strong and take the set 25-21. Could they do it once more? Could another one seed fall to the red hot Aggies?
Pitt would come out swinging in set 3 after some lineup adjustments. The Aggies stayed within striking distance. Tied at 18, the Aggie defense wasn't allowing Pitt to score and Waak continued to feed everyone. With a birth to the national championship on the line, the Aggies with all heart and grit finished strong. A great serve from Stowers led to a free ball sent over, Waak would set Cos-Okpalla and she slammed it down with authority. Down goes another giant and the Aggies were celebrating again. Texas A&M was unstoppable. We took apart Pitt and made them look like they didn't even belong there. It was all Texas A&M and now we're headed to the national championship. Next up would be the winner of Kentucky or Wisconsin, but in my mind it didn't matter who lined up on the other side of us. This was ours.
Volleyball is an elite ran sport. The blue bloods are often the last ones fighting. The whole world was shocked to see Texas A&M with a chance at a national title. They saw us knock down Nebraska and no one saw it coming. They saw us knock down Pitt and no one saw it coming. Texas A&M was in the national championship, whether people liked it or not. We fought our way to get there, we busted down the door and earned that spot.
This team was rolling. Heart, grit, determination, fate, they had it all. Kentucky was up next, another 1 seed. A team that had already beaten us, a team rolling as well, a team on a 27 game winning streak. Didn't matter. Nothing was going to stop this Texas A&M Volleyball team, absolutely nothing.
Kentucky would come out swinging. They have the most elite outside hitting combo in the country in Eva Hudson and Brooklyn DeLeye. They got out to a blazing start. First it was 6-1, then 10-4, then 18-12. The start to set 1 was all Kentucky. They were picking apart our defense, our block was nonexistent, but then Jamie calls a timeout. A 6-1 run ignites the Aggie team and the 12th Man was heard. Tied at 21, Kentucky gets a big kill by Lizzie Carr, then a service ace by Molly Tuozzo. The comeback hope seemed deflated. Hellmuth's power tip would find the ground, and with her strong serve Kentucky would commit an error and it was tied again at 23, Kentucky goes up 1, then tied again at 24. The Aggies would block Kentucky's next attack after a great serve from Tatum Thomas, then another great serve gets Kentucky out of system, which allows the Aggies to pick up the attack, then Lednicky sets Stowers who strikes the ball to take the set. Boom! A set where Kentucky controlled early and most of it, saw the Aggies end it on a 3-0 run. Exactly how Kentucky ended that 4th set in Reed in October.
However, Kentucky is a gritty team as well. They fell early to Wisconsin and won, they fell down 2-0 to tu and won. They wouldn't go down without a fight. However, they were fighting an unstoppable force that refused to lose. Set 2 was a beat down, a showcase of what this Aggie team is all about. It's block was terminating, it's swings were terminating, and our servers were making Kentucky run all over the place frantically. The Aggies got out to a 20-11 lead and would finish the set 25-15. A 10 point set win in a national championship game. We weren't even favored despite how we had been playing. Yet we were dominating Kentucky. Eva Hudson known for playing with emotion and yelling (even at opposing teams) fell silent.
Aggie fans everywhere were 25 points away from celebrating, the team was 25 points away from confetti falling. Would Kentucky respond? Could they respond? No. Set 3 was all Texas A&M. We were going to win the national championship. Louisville, Nebraska, Pitt, Kentucky, put anyone in the country in front of us, no one was winning that trophy over us. The girls knew it. Our defense would hold strong, Waak and her hitters were tearing apart Kentucky. We'd get out to a huge lead and never look back.
Despite a late charge from the Wildcats, we sat at 24-20 setting up National Championship Point. Hudson served over a tough ball, we set Lednicky and she swung hard but Kentucky picked it back up, although not so well. Kentucky would send a free ball over. Hellmuth would dig the ball up to Waak, who then finds Cos-Okpalla, then with one powerful swing… boom. The ball hits the floor, the 12th Man erupts, the team tackles one another, the confetti falls, history was made, Texas A&M University had just won the 2025 NCAA National Volleyball Championship. Yes, we did it, us, the fightin' Texas Aggies. In a sport that has only seen a select number of teams win it all, a sport that we had never came close to sniffing anything of the sort, we did it. We won it all.
Jamie Morrison, in only his 3rd year leading the Aggies, just led his team to a national championship. It took an amazing coaching staff, an amazing support staff, an amazing fan base, but more importantly 17 amazing young women. What this program has become wasn't done overnight. It took a journey, it took a village, it took everything, but it paid off.
We are national champions. Whether the volleyball world likes it or not. We are here. Why not us, this is us. We busted through that door and let the volleyball world know who Texas A&M is. This coach, this staff, this university are something special. They don't know what's coming. This was and is only the beginning. We're here and we're here to stay. Buckle up volleyball world. I'm begging you 12th Man, embrace this program, support, invest, cherish, love, they deserve it all.
Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, Addi Applegate, Tatum Thomas, Emily Hellmuth, Lexi Guinn, Taryn Morris, Djurdja Stanojevic, Amare Hernadez, Logan Lednicky, Margot Manning, Taylor Humphrey, Ava Underwood, Kirra Musgrove, Maddie Waak, Megan Fitch, Morgan Perkins, Kyndal Stowers, Jamie Morrison, Lindsey Gray-Walton, Jen Woods, Jeff Fiorenza, Joe Skinner, Kaitlyn Corbett, Tom Bjugstad, Taylor Tedesky, Scott Battely, you are all National Champions. You, yes you, the 12th Man reading this, you are a national champion. Volleyball immortality is ours. This Texas A&M team is national champions today, national champions tomorrow, national champions forever, and national champions always. Whether it be fate, whether it be destiny, it's ours. Gig'em!!!!!!!!!!!!
enjoy! 
