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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