KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 3 seed Texas A&M volleyball team squares off with No. 1 seed Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament National Championship Sunday afternoon at the T-Mobile Center with first serve set for 2:30 p.m.
 

The Aggies kept their historic campaign alive after downing their second-straight No. 1 seed in the Pitt Panthers to book their spot in the program’s first national final. The Maroon & White battled into extras to take the opener (29-27), then followed on with a dominant showing in sets two (25-21) and three (25-20) to secure their 17th sweep of the year.
 

Texas A&M’s offense fired on all cylinders thanks to the direction of Maddie Waak. The setter dished 48 assists in the contest which was a postseason program record in a three-set match during the rally-scoring era. Waak’s pins delivered the blows as Kyndal Stowers and Logan Lednicky accounted for 30 kills with 16 and 14, respectively. The team’s efficiency stood out on the box score, as the group hit at .382 which marked the 13th time over .300 this season.
 
On the defensive end the nation’s premier middle blocker, Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, continued to be a force at the net, recording five blocks in the contest which marked her fifth-straight game with five or more and 19th this season.
 
The Matchup

Sunday’s contest between Texas A&M and Kentucky will be the first the 28th all-time meeting between the teams. The Wildcats hold a 17-10 advantage in the series, however the Maroon & White are 2-0 when the team’s meet on a neutral court.
 
Kentucky has claimed the last four battles between the teams, including a four-set affair in Reed Arena this season which was the Aggies’ only conference loss on the year.
 

Looking at the stat sheet, the Maroon & White lead Kentucky in four of the seven team statistical categories including hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, aces per set and blocks per set, while the Wildcats have the advantage in kills per set, assists per set and digs per set.
 
Tracks and Trends
Logan Lednicky has recorded double-digit kills in her last 22 matches and passed Hollann Hans for the rally-scoring kills record and ranks third overall in career kills at Texas A&M.
 
Ifenna Cos-Okpalla has logged five or more blocks in her last six games and is one blocks away from tying the program record for career blocks of 562. She is also five blocks from reaching 200 on the year.
 

Texas A&M became just the third No. 3 seed in NCAA Tournament history to dispatch two No. 1 seeds, joining UCLA in 2011 and Nebraska in 2021.
 
Streaming & Stats
Fans can watch the match on the ABC and follow stats on 12thman.com.
 
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.

It’s been a crazy three days for the Wisconsin Badgers. On Thursday, they had a heartbreaking loss to the Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA National Semifinal. On Friday, they lost five players to the transfer portal.

Well, on Saturday, amid all the portal craziness, Wisconsin landed a commitment from Florida Gators transfer middle blocker Jaela Auguste, she announced.

Auguste, a sophomore this past season, had a great season, earning the following accolades after the season: AVCA Third Team All-American, AVCA Southeast Region First Team, All-SEC First Team, and SEC Preseason All-SEC Team.

She averaged 2.69 kills and 0.98 blocks per set for the Gators in 2025.

Wisconsin was likely to make an addition at middle blocker, as they’re losing starters Carter Booth and Alicia Andrew to eligibility, creating a hole in the middle. Additionally, redshirt freshman Tosia Serafinowska is entering the transfer portal, taking away some depth at the position.

With a loaded freshman class, it’s unclear how busy the Badgers will be in the transfer portal after a strong class last year, as they have Grace Lopez returning from injury. But, they quickly moved to get a big commitment from Auguste.

A pair of Nebraska volleyball players received top positional awards on Friday. Bergen Reilly and Andi Jackson received the honors at the AVCA Awards Banquet in Kansas City. Reilly was named the Setter of the Year and Jackson was named Middle Blocker of the Year. The AVCA positional awards are new this season.

Reilly averaged 10.47 assists per set and 2.70 digs per set. She also totaled 73 kills, 67 blocks and 19 aces. The setter was named Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Setter of the Year and a first-team AVCA All-American. She was also a finalist for AVCA Player of the Year.

Jackson averaged 2.74 kills per set on .467 hitting with 1.12 blocks per set and 16 aces. Her .467 hitting percentage led the nation. The middle blocker was an AVCA All-American and All-Big for the second straight season. She was also an AVCA Player of the Year Semifinalist.

Kentucky, under the leadership of head coach Craig Skinner, has become an elite program in college volleyball. On Sunday, the team will have the chance to reach the highest of heights when they play for the National Championship versus Texas A&M.

“We are at the pinnacle of our sport, and it’s a great opportunity for Kentucky volleyball and our fans to be in this moment,” Skinner said.

After Kentucky escaped in a thrilling game against Wisconsin on Thursday night, the Cats and Aggies will be part of a historic title game. It’ll be the first time two SEC teams will be facing each other in the national championship.

“Couldn’t be more proud of our team and how we pulled that match out against Wisconsin,” Skinner said. “All the respect to Texas A&M. Congrats to the SEC for being an elite in volleyball.”

Creating an Environment Bigger than Themselves

When Kentucky lost the first set to Wisconsin in the Final Four matchup on Thursday night, the team was anything but smiles. However, as the team started to come back, the confidence was regained. Kentucky volleyball started to look happy.

Being happy on the court isn’t unique for a team like Kentucky. The team has a fun tradition of drawing smiley faces on their hands before each game.

“The beginning of the season, we gave them a picture of them playing volleyball as little girls,” Skinner said. “Those little girls played it because they love it. It creates an environment where you are playing for something bigger than yourself.”

That tradition has powered Kentucky to historic heights in 2025. Now, they’ll have an opportunity for a perfect ending.

“It becomes way bigger than that,” Skinner said. “It’s a great reminder because we play the sport because it’s fun.”

So much of Kentucky’s focus has been joy. Skinner said that his staff gave his players pictures of themselves playing volleyball at an early point in their career.

“It’s a collective effort to understand why we play the game,” Skinner said. “Why did that little athlete play volleyball? They loved it; they had fun.”

The NCAA Volleyball National Championship game will take place on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ABC from T-Mobile Arena in Kansas City.

The University of Minnesota Duluth men’s basketball team improved to a 5-2 record in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) competition before the holiday break after securing an 80-65 win over the University of Mary inside Romano Gymnasium.

Leading the charge for the Bulldogs was Noah Paulson with his second 20-point game of the season. He led the way, shooting 10-14 (71.4%) from the field, collecting seven rebounds (two offensive), one assist, one block, and one steal. Following close behind was Jackson Fowlkes with 18 points and shooting 54.5% (6-11) from the field with a 50% (2-4) in three-pointers. He also collected the team’s season high in individual assists with five.

Entering the first half, Mattie Thompson, Paulson, and Nick Katona led an 11-2 scoring effort for the team’s first lead of the game in under three minutes. The Marauders then flipped the effort in the next four minutes on a 10-2 run to set the Bulldog lead to 13-12. Right after a three-pointer by Jackson Ware overcame a set of free throws from Katona to tie the game up at 15-15 with 12:22 to go.

By the seven-minute mark, UMD had lifted a colossal 20-9 scoring effort with eight points by Daniel Molhoek and seven from Fowlkes to jump out ahead 35-24. For the remainder of the half, the Bulldogs held firm to hold a 44-32 lead into the halftime break.

The Bulldogs kept the pace up as the first ten minutes of the second half saw Caleb Siwek, Fowlkes, and Paulson combine for a 21-16 scoring run to push a 65-48 lead. The Marauders narrowly outscored the Bulldogs in the following five minutes with 10 points to cut the lead by one to 74-58. UMD held on to the lead in the final minutes to seal an 80-65 win.

Overall, the team shot 51.7% (31-60) from the field, 37.5% (6-16) beyond the arc, and 70.6% (12-17) from the free throw line. The team outscored the Marauders in points in the paint, 46 to 16, while out-rebounding them 41 to 33. Leading the rebounding effort for UMD was Katona with eight total rebounds (one offensive).

The Bulldogs return after the holidays with their first matchup of 2026 on January 3rd on the road against Bemidji State University. Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. inside BSU Gymnasium.