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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Texas A&M Aggies overwhelmed the Kentucky Wildcats in the final two sets of a 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-18) victory to claim the school’s first-ever NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship Sunday evening inside the T-Mobile Center.

Entering the tournament as the No. 3 seed in the Lincoln Regional, Texas A&M (29-4) completed a postseason sweep of three of the tournament’s No. 1 seeds, beating Nebraska (3-2) and Pitt (3-0) before dispatching of Kentucky (30-3). The last three teams the Maroon & White beat were a combined 93-6 before their respective seasons were ended.

The Aggies became the ninth team in the 45-year history of the NCAA Championship to sweep both of their Final Four matches.

The Maroon & White never trailed in the last two sets. The opportunistic Aggies took advantage of the Wildcats’ nine service errors and 16 attack errors.

Kyndal Stowers was named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player. She capped off the tournament with a .304 attack percentage, 10 kills, six digs, two service aces and one block in the triumph over Kentucky. Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, Logan Lednicky and Ava Underwood joined Stowers on the All-Tournament Team.

Texas A&M claimed the first set despite not leading until 25-24. The Wildcats pounced on the Aggies in the first set for a 9-3 advantage. Kentucky led by six on eight more occasions, before the Maroon & White clawed back into the contest. An 8-2 run, featuring two kills each by Cos-Okpalla and Lednicky, tied the contest at 20-20. With the set seesawing, the Wildcats had its first set point at 24-23, but Stowers sandwiched two kills around a block assist by Cos-Okpalla and Maddie Waak for the smash and grab.

The second set was tied twice early before the Aggies broke away. Back-to-back kills by Lednicky and a service ace by Cos-Okpalla allowed Texas A&M to open a 5-2 lead. The Maroon & White suffocated the Wildcats with a 13-3 run to open its biggest lead of the set at 19-8. Kentucky would draw no closer than seven the remainder of the set.

After Kentucky opened the third set with a service error, Cos-Okpalla put aways two kills to start a 6-1 surge out of the gate. The Wildcats cut the deficit to 10-8, but 9-3 charge by Texas A&M widened the lead to 19-11. Big Blue was closed the gap to four at 24-20, but it was too little, too late as Cos-Okpalla uncorked a booming kill for the final point.

STAT LEADERS

Kills – Logan Lednicky – 11

Hitting Percentage (Min. 10 kills) – Kyndal Stowers – .304

Assists – Maddie Waak – 29

Aces – Ifenna Cos-Okpalla; Maddie Waak – 2 

Digs – Ava Underwood – 10

Blocks – Ifenna Cos-Okpalla – 4

GAME NOTES

• Logan Lednicky recorded her 23nd-consecutive game with 10 or more kills.
• Ifenna Cos-Okpalla set the Texas A&M career record for blocks, wrapping up with 566. She also inflated her single-season school record to 199.
• Jamie Morrison joined John Dunning (first year) and Michael Sealy (second year) as one of three coaches two win an NCAA Division I Volleyball tournament in their first three years as a head coach.
• The Aggies beat all four of the No. 1 seeds of the NCAA Championship, beating Texas (3-2) in the regular season and Nebraska (3-2), Pitt (3-0) and Kentucky (3-0).

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.

Aviana, also known as Avi, is no stranger to success on the track. Before turning 18, Avi had already won three state championships and earned multiple bronze medals, along with a silver, while competing for her high school track team — and even added a school record in the process. Her winning nature carried over to Syracuse where she balanced being a student and an athlete, studying Communication and Rhetorical Studies at VPA and Sports Revenue Management & Operations at Falk College. This balance paid off as she earned top-six finishes at the 2019 ACC Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the high jump. She continued to add to her long list of track achievements during her graduate transfer year when she competed for The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) where she previously held the indoor program record for 60m hurdles and the outdoor record for the 100m hurdles and heptathlon. Although she no longer competes on the track, she has found a new way to stay involved with the sport she loves.

It was always Aviana’s dream to earn a trip to TrackTown USA in Eugene, Oregon. For those who may not know, TrackTown is a world-class track and field facility organizing events such as the 2015, 2022, 2023 USATF Outdoor Championships and the 2016, 2020, and 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Aviana’s dream to make it to TrackTown USA, also known as Hayward Field, came true when she was selected as one of four photographers to cover the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials as park of the Black Women Photographers and TrackTown USA creative team.

“It was surreal,” Aviana said. “My goal in life, in track and field specifically, was always to make it to Hayward Field. It was supposed to be as an athlete, but I guess God had different plans for me. I ended up there with a whole new lens, literally and figuratively.”

Aviana spent over a week at TrackTown shooting world-class athletes like Olympic champion and eight-time World Champion, Noah Lyles, Olympic long jump champion, Tara Davis-Woodhall, and even Olympian and World Record breaker, Sydney McLaughlin.

The unique part about the entire situation is that Aviana was just a newbie in the sports photography world at this point. She had started sports photography just two years prior to shooting on this world-class stage and had only shot one outdoor track meet before. Despite the lack of experience, Polly Irungu, founder of Black Women Photographers, loved her photos and style.

The opportunity to shoot the Olympic Trials allowed Aviana to grow tremendously as a person but also as a photographer. While covering the Olympic Trials, she noticed that not many women of color were working as creatives although the sport is predominately black. There were only five other creatives that were black women that she saw capturing the events at TrackTown. This realization inspired Avi to be a role model and a representation for young black women and women of color who want to step into the creative world. As a freelance photographer based in NYC, she continues to refine her craft, working with athletes, brands, and events to create high-impact imagery that resonates.

“Being a photographer allows me to go out there and still feel like an athlete. I can feel the emotion. I’m capturing everything to remember the moment and to show the love and passion for the sport that I think is the hardest sport in the world, Aviana said.

 

Stay connected with Aviana on Linkedin: Aviana Goode | LinkedIn & Instagram: @goode.flicks

The Kentucky Wildcats volleyball team needed one more win to bring home a national championship, but the Texas A&M Aggies were the better team on Sunday afternoon, and it’s they who took home the trophy after winning the match 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-20).

It looked like the Wildcats were going to take control early. They jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set, and led big as play progressed. However, some good Texas A&M serves, and some bad Kentucky passing led to an Aggies comeback.

After that first set, it seemed as if the life drained out of the Wildcats. The Aggies dominated the second set. They blocked nearly every Kentucky kill attempt, and dug out the rest. The Cats had no answers, and they fell behind 2-0.

Kentucky Volleyball’s championship run came to a heartbreaking end Sunday afternoon, as the No. 1 overall seed fell to No. 3 Texas A&M in straight sets in the NCAA national championship match at T-Mobile Center.

The Aggies claimed the title with a 3–0 sweep, winning a tightly contested first set 26–24, pulling away in the second set 25–15, and closing out the third set 25-20. It marked the first all-SEC championship match in NCAA Tournament history and denied Kentucky a second national title in five seasons.

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Kentucky appeared poised early, racing out to a 6–1 lead in the opening set and later holding a 23–20 advantage. However, Texas A&M responded with composure and physicality, erasing a six-point deficit behind strong net play and timely kills from Kyndal Stowers. The Aggies seized control late, winning the set and flipping the momentum entirely.

Set two was dominated by Texas A&M from the opening serve. Kentucky struggled offensively, hitting just -.021 in the frame, while the Aggies capitalized on Wildcat errors and controlled the tempo with blocks and service pressure to take a commanding 2–0 lead.

Despite the loss, this Kentucky team’s season was defined by resilience and connection. Sophomore outside hitter Asia Thigpen described the group’s bond as special, noting how quickly chemistry formed from January onward. That unity carried the Wildcats through another deep postseason run, even as junior outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye played the entire season through a torn meniscus.

Kentucky’s lone national championship came in 2020. While a second title will have to wait, the Wildcats once again proved they belong among the sport’s elite.

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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.

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