No. 3 Texas A&M Volleyball Advances To Sweet 16 After Defeating No. 6 TCU

After an incredible regular season, Texas A&M volleyball hosted the first round of the NCAA tournament, where it defeated TCU to advance to the round of 16. This is the second straight season that the Aggies will head to the Sweet 16, in just the third season of having Jamie Morrison as the head coach.

After a hard fought Set 1, TCU was able to take the opening set 25-23, forcing the Aggies to play from behind if they wanted to keep their season alive. With a very back and forth set, TCU ended up taking the victory after it was able to block the Aggies' offense five times, compared to no blocks for Texas A&M.

Set 2 was all Aggies as they never let TCU tie or take the lead, yet instead they showed dominance throughout the entire set. The Aggies were able to out-kill the Horned Frogs as they had 20 kills compared to TCU's 13.

How The 3rd & 4th Set Secured The Aggies A Sweet Sixteen Spot

The third and fourth set were both very gritty sets for both teams, as they both hoped to move on to the Sweet 16. In the third set, there were 11 ties and eight lead changes, showing just how badly both teams were competing for this victory.

The Aggies were led by Logan Lednicky, who had seven of her 21 kills coming in the third set when the Aggies needed them the most. With the set tied at 22-22, the Aggies needed just three more points to be one set away from their second consecutive Sweet 16 trip.

They were able to do just that as a kill from Lednicky, a monster block, and a kill from Emily Hellmuth secured the third set for the Maroon and White.

Set 4 was even more intense than set 3, as the Aggies were able to fight off six set points to avoid the match from going to a fifth set. The Horned Frogs were able to go on a seven point run that forced the Aggies to play from behind, yet back-to-back kills from Lednicky got the Aggies right back on track.

A big name for the Aggies in the fourth set was Kyndal Stowers, who had three kills in a row to give the Aggies the lead. Within striking distance, TCU's Evan Hendrix went on a heater as she recorded five kills in a row, forcing Morrison to call a timeout.

After fighting off six set points, the Aggies secured their trip to the Sweet 16 with an ace by Ifenna Cos-Okpalla. With the victory, the Aggies post their best record since 2012 as they continue to fight for a national championship.