KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KBTX) – When the Texas A&M volleyball team fell behind 0-2 to Louisville in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, the boyfriends of outside hitter Logan Lednicky and libero Ava Underwood felt like they needed to do something to change the vibe of the match.

At a concession stand in the concourse of Nebraska’s Bob Devaney Sports Center, the duo came up with what would become the Aggie volleyball team’s rally cry, “Why not us?”

Underwood and defensive specialist Addi Applegate wrote the mantra on their shoes. In nearly every media availability through the final four rounds of the NCAA Tournament Lednicky posed the question.

Sunday, the question became a statement – “It is us.”

With a 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-20) sweep of No. 1 seed Kentucky at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, the A&M volleyball team claimed the first NCAA Tournament championship in program history.

“It’s true. It’s just the testament to the hard work this program has put in all year long – staff, players,” Lednicky said. “And that’s such a great statement. ‘Why not us’ has turned into ‘It is us.’ I think with that dog mentality, all season long, all tournament long, we knew it was going to be us.”

The Aggies (29-4) climbed to the pinnacle of the sport in year three under head coach Jamie Morrison, who took over the program after a 13-16 season. A&M put together back-to-back 20 win seasons with a trip to the Sweet 16 and a championship.

When Morrison took the job, he had a five year plan to compete for titles. As the program developed, he realized that dream could become a reality much sooner than he expected.

“No, I didn’t call it in three years, but I was pretty confident. And I will say this, I’ve got to give some props to my staff. We sat down about a year and a half ago and just looked at what was happening in other sports and said, ‘Why can’t we do this quicker?’ At first we had talked about five years. I sat them down and I said, ‘We’re at the tipping point right now.’ From a recruiting standpoint, from a development standpoint, I said, ‘We can do this sooner.’ And we kind of sat down and really put the pedal to the metal.”

Early in the match, it looked like that dream might have to wait another year.

Kentucky, who beat the Aggies 3-1 at home in October, jumped out to an 17-11 lead, with the Aggies hitting below -.200. However, much like A&M’s performances in their previous three games, they caught a rally. A&M strung together a 9-3 run through the middle of the set to pull back even with the Wildcats and closed out the set on a 5-0 streak. Outside hitter Kyndal Stowers hammered home the set-winning point, as a part of her total 10 in the match.

Stowers said joy has energized the program throughout the season and it was catching that happiness again midway through the set that fueled the comeback.

“That’s just who our team has been, through thick and thin, through the highs and lows and, obviously now, on the highest mountaintop,” Stowers said.

After the first set, A&M never trailed for the remainder of the match. Kentucky (30-3) tied the second set up twice within the first four points of the game. After that, it was all Aggies as they cruised to the title.

On the final point of the game, Kentucky managed to get a fist on an Aggie attack to the back of the court, delaying the inevitable for only a few moments. The Wildcats were forced to send a free ball back over the net, which quickly found the swing of middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla and then the floor.

The traditionally stoic Cos-Okpalla let out a guttural yell as her teammates rushed onto the floor to celebrate the moment.

“We knew [the set] would be on the money and I think all three [attackers] were ready to get the ball, no matter who got the set and it just happened to be me,” she said. “So, I just knew, if I got the ball, I wanted to put it away and just celebrate with my team as soon as possible for, honestly, the great season that we’ve had, the grit that we’ve shown and just the hard work and perseverance that this group has specifically put in to be where we are now.”

A&M ended Kentucky’s 27-game win streak and became the ninth program in the history of the NCAA Championship to sweep both of their final two matches. The Aggies also eliminated three No. 1 seeds in route to their title, including No. 1 overall seed Nebraska.

Lednicky, a senior third-generation Aggie, led the team with 11 kills, added to seven digs and two blocks.

“I was pretty emotional all day today, just knowing that no matter the outcome of this game, it’d be my last getting to represent A&M on my chest,” Lednicky said. “And so, being able to do this with these girls… and like this, I just can’t even believe it. It means the world to me. I’m just so happy I get to carry this with me through the rest of my life and remember all the memories with these girls.”

As A&M continued its run through the NCAA Tournament, it’s team motto caught on. At moments throughout Sunday’s title match, the swarm of Aggie fans that descended on T-Mobile Center started chants of the phrase. Lednicky and her teammates saw fans rolling into Kansas City with shirts that featured, ‘Why not us?’ on the front.

By the time the match was over, the entire team donned shirts that had the program’s new moniker on the front – “National Champions.”

“As I said in the locker room, for the rest of their lives, they get to call themselves national champions,” Morrison said. “And again, I smile every time I say it, because I’m still in a little bit of disbelief.”

KBTX reporter Dylan Chryst Watkiss contributed to this report from Kansas City, Mo.

Copyright 2025 KBTX. All rights reserved.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WKYT) – In its second ever NCAA championship match, the Kentucky Volleyball team fell to Texas A&M, ending its season as the national runner-up.

The loss also ends Kentucky’s 27-match winning streak.

Kentucky came out flat against Wisconsin and made sure the opposite happened in this game. The Wildcats (30-3) jumped out to a 10-4 lead highlighted by three early blocks with two coming from Asia Thigpin.

The Aggies (29-4) would eventually settle in and go on 6-1 run heading into the final phase of the set, forcing Kentucky to call a timeout after A&M pulled within two. The set would end up being tied at 24 after an A&M kill.

Texas A&M would end up scoring the next two points to take set one 26-24.

A&M’s momentum carried over to start the second set. The Aggies defense was leading the way, preventing a lot of Kentucky attacks from reaching the floor and built a wall at the net that led to multiple blocks.

The Wildcats couldn’t muster any offense, going down 10-5 before calling at timeout. At that point, UK was hitting .000% with only three kills on 20 attempts.

The A&M front line was causing problems all set, which threw the Cats off. Kentucky took its final timeout of the set after going down 15-7.

Kentucky would end up dropping set two 25-15 into the five minute break. The Cats would have to pull out a reverse sweep to win.

The pressure from the Aggies continued in the third set. A&M took an early 8-3 advantage. UK would climb back in it within two, down 10-8. The Aggies would go into the tv break up 15-10.

A&M would go on another small 4-1 run, only six points away from the title, when Kentucky took its final timeout of the match down 19-11.

Texas A&M would go on to close out the match 25-20 claiming the first national championship in program history and ending Kentucky’s 27-match winning streak and season.

Copyright 2025 WKYT. All rights reserved.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Texas A&M Aggies swept top-seeded Kentucky 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-20) on Sunday to win the 2025 NCAA Volleyball Championship. The win for Texas A&M marks its first NCAA national championship in program history and the Aggies become the second school all-time to win the title out of the Southeastern Conference.

Kentucky had a set point in set one at 24-23, but the Aggies closed the set on a 3-0 run with a UK hitting error and a TAMU stuff to close the set, 26-24 and TAMU never trailed again the entire rest of the match. The Wildcats finish their historic season 30-3 overall with Sunday’s loss snapping a 27-match win streak. UK won the SEC regular season with a perfect league record and defeated Texas in five sets to win the SEC Tournament Championship back in November.

Sunday marked the final match in the Blue and White for Eva Hudson, who as the lone senior on the team, closes her career. Hudson was the 2025 SEC Player of the Year, an AVCA First Team All-American and finalist for AVCA National Player of the Year. She finished Sunday’s match with 13 kills on 45 swings and four digs. Hudson was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team with Texas A&M’s Ifenna Cos-Okpalla named the MOP of the tournament.

This was Kentucky’s second time in the NCAA National Championship match in program history, with the first coming back in 2020 in Omaha, when the Wildcats beat Texas 3-1 to secure the program and the conference’s first-ever NCAA title. This was also UK’s second appearance in the NCAA Final Four with 2020 being the first in program history.

For Texas A&M, the Aggies were led by Logan Lednicky who registered 11 kills on 32 swings with Kyndal Stowers having 10 to put two TAMU players into double figures Sunday afternoon. TAMU as a team sided out at 70 percent or better in all three sets, something no opponent Kentucky played all season did in a single set, much less three in one set. Texas A&M finishes its season with a 29-4 record and was 14-1 in the SEC.

Set 1

Kentucky was in front for a majority of the opening set with its lead as large as six points as late as 18-12, but the Aggies came back to take the set in a deuce frame, 26-24 as UK’s passing fell apart down the stretch of the set. Kentucky scored the first three points of the frame and took a 6-1 lead through seven points that pushed the Aggies into an early timeout down by five. A&M could not close the gap for the large spread of the set with a kill from Kennedy Washington on a slide making things 18-12 as TAMU called its second and final timeout. Out of the stoppage, an Aggie sideout led to a 5-0 Aggie run and Texas A&M pulled even with the Wildcats at 20-20. UK got a kill from Eva Hudson at 23-23 to hand the Wildcats a set point, but that attempt was thwarted by the Aggies and TAMU proceeded to close the set on a 3-0 run to take the opening set, 26-24. Kentucky hit .171 in the set with Texas A&M hitting .205. Hudson, Brooklyn DeLeye and Lizzie Carr led the way for UK with four kills each as Kennedy Washington also had a pair for UK. Kassie O’Brien logged 15 assists on 16 of UK’s kills with Hudson’s four digs leading the way for the Wildcat defense.

Set 2

Texas A&M dominated the second set from start to finish, taking the 2-0 lead with a 25-15 second set win. Kentucky hit negative in a set for the first time all season as the Wildcats had just 10 kills to 11 errors in the frame to hit -.021. TAMU’s lead was as many as 10 at 20-10 and the teams exchanged points to the finish line as the Wildcats only scored back-to-back points in the set one time. The loss in the set marked just the second time this season that UK was held to 15 points or fewer with the other being in Thursday night’s semifinal match vs. Wisconsin when the Badgers beat UK 25-12 in the opening set. With the 2-0 lead, it marked the fourth time this season that UK had lost the first two sets in a match with UK’s matches vs. Pitt, Texas and Oklahoma being the other three and UK holding a 2-1 record in those matches.

Set 3

Texas A&M won five of the first six points and ran away from the Wildcats in the third set. The Aggies sided out at 70 percent in the third set and won the match on their second Championship Point to close things out, 25-20.

For the latest on UK Volleyball, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @KentuckyVB.

Updated Dec. 21, 2025, 3:18 p.m. PT

SAYLOR HALVORSEN, Thousand Oaks:
In just her second year of high school volleyball, the 6-foot-2 sophomore outside hitter was simply a dominant force on the court this fall. Nicknamed “Gamechanger” by head coach James Park, Halvorsen racked up 373 kills, 61 aces, 147 digs and 44 total blocks, including an incredible 41 solo stuffs, and led her team in kills, aces and blocks. She had the best hitting percentage amongst the best hitting corps in the area. Halvorsen received first-team all-Marmonte League honors. 

DOMINIC MASSIMINO/THE STAR

The buzz from a thrilling NCAA volleyball tournament final four in Kansas City and a Texas A&M national championship hasn’t dimmed, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t too early to start thinking about next season. With the transfer portal already open, most of the country’s players and coaches already have.

Nebraska’s dominance this season looked like a forgone conclusion. Then one afternoon in Lincoln, Texas A&M shocked the world and turned the run to the national championship into a wide-open affair.

That’s what 2026 should be from the outset. So many great players like Pitt’s Olivia Babcock, Nebraska’s Harper Murray and Kentucky’s Brooklyn DeLeye are back and will be on teams with a chance at a title.

The transfer portal has yet to take hold in full. Many rosters could get a shake up in the coming weeks. This top 10 is based on what we know now and is a little peek into how the run to next season’s final four in San Antonio could shake out.

1. Texas Longhorns

The freshman class, led by Cari Spears and Abby Vander Wal, was instrumental in getting the Longhorns back to a No. 1 NCAA tournament seed. The Longhorns’ recruiting class for 2026 looks just as good with top-rated outside hitter, Henley Anderson, and top setter, Genevieve Harris. They will all still be led by Torrey Stafford, the 12th-best point producer in the country and one of the best all-around players.

2. Stanford Cardinal

Stanford tied for the ACC championship and did it with 14 freshmen and sophomores on the roster. Top hitter Elia Rubin will be tough to say goodbye to, but the Cardinal will have the depth and talent to win their first national title since 2019.

3. Nebraska Cornhuskers

The invincibility of 2025 Nebraska won’t be there with the losses of Rebekah Allick and Taylor Landfair. But Bergen Reilly, Murray and Andi Jackson form a core capable of the national championship that eluded the Huskers following their stunning loss to Texas A&M in the regional finals.

4. Wisconsin Badgers

The offseason might be nearly as long for Wisconsin as it is for Nebraska, as the Badgers ponder how it let the national semifinal match against Kentucky slip away. Coach Kelly Sheffield will also have to worry about replacing the likes of Mimi Colyer and Carter Booth, but a talented group of underclassmen led by All-American setter Charlie Fuerbringer will make Wisconsin a final four contender again.

5. Pittsburgh Panthers

The good news is that Pittsburgh has reached five straight final fours and still has Babcock for one more season. The bad news — the Panthers again failed to advance to a national championship game and will lose all-ACC setter Brooke Mosher.

6. Kentucky Wildcats

With the graduation of Eva Hudson, who was so vital to the Wildcats’ run to the final four, and the jump that Texas is expected to take, Kentucky’s streak of nine straight SEC titles could be in jeopardy. But top hitter DeLeye is back for her senior year and she’ll be joined by Lizzie Carr, Asia Thigpen and Kennedy Washington, Kentucky’s third-, fourth- and fifth-best scorers from this season.

7. Louisville Cardinals

With the ACC Freshman of the Year in Kalyssa Blackshear, the conference leader in blocks in Cara Cresse, the ACC’s second-leading setter in Nayelis Cabello and their top two hitters — Payton Petersen and Chloe Chicoine — all back, the Cardinals will be in position to shake off the disappointment of a fourth-place ACC finish and a loss in the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament, their earliest exit since 2020.

8. SMU Mustangs

While setter Averi Carlson and top hitter Malaya Jones have used up their eligibility, the sophomore trio of Jadyn Livings, Favor Anyanwu and Natalia Newsome are expected back. Full, healthy seasons from Livings and Newsome would be a big boost. So will the addition of Big 12 Freshman of the Year Suli Davis, who has already announced her transfer to SMU from BYU.

9. Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue, the surprise team of the season, was picked seventh in the Big Ten in the preseason yet reached the Elite Eight. Ravaged by transfers (Hudson and Carr were Boilermakers in 2024) and graduation and with a roster with just two seniors, Purdue leaned into its underdog role. That won’t be the case in 2026 if Purdue can keep a well-balanced team led by Kenna Wollard and Grace Heaney intact.

10. Texas A&M Aggies

The losses of program mainstay Logan Lednicky and setter Maddie Waak make repeating this season’s magic seem unlikely. However, the star power of Kyndal Stowers is obvious, which might be good enough to make the SEC a three-team race.

Also considered: USC, Minnesota, Creighton