It’s a regular season rematch with a national championship on the line.
No. 3 seed Texas A&M volleyball faces No. 1 Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament finals and it is the first time two SEC teams will meet at the net for the title.
The Aggies have made history in the tournament after upsetting No. 1 seeds (Pitt and Nebraska) and a No. 2 seed (Louisville). The Wildcats narrowly escaped their five set match Thursday against Wisconsin in the semifinal match.
A&M (28-4) lost to Kentucky 3-1 during conference play Oct. 8. (To the Aggies’ credit, they were the first team in SEC play to win a set against Kentucky, in the Wildcats’ fourth conference game.) A&M head coach Jamie Morrison said he was disappointed that the Aggies couldn’t push the eventual SEC champions to five sets, but outside hitter Logan Lednicky said that match showed glimpses of what the Aggies can be.
If Kentucky (30-2) wins, it will be its first national championship since the 2020 season. If A&M wins, it will be the first national title in volleyball for the Aggies.
Follow along for live updates of the national championship match.
Cos-Okpalla comes out of the timeout with a quick kill from the middle. Kentucky’s middle, Carr, shows off her hot hand at the net, but Wildcat momentum stalls after being called in the net. Kentucky mistakes keep A&M close and Texas A&M is struggling to play cleanly with four attack errors.
Kentucky starts the match going on a 3-0 run over the Aggies. The Wildcats are have good transition digs and forcing the Aggies to play out of system. Kentucky serves an error to get the Aggies on the board. Lednicky tries to go line but it misses and Cos-Okpalla has a blocking error that misses the other side of the net. Texas A&M calls an early timeout after Hellmuth gets stuffed.
Where: T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.