There aren’t exactly words fit to describe what just happened in Lincoln, Nebraska. There are sights, like a sea of red filling up the Bob Devaney Sports Center. And there are sounds, like Texas A&M volleyball senior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky yelling “Let’s go!” as Nebraska’s starters were introduced. Don’t forget emotions, like happy laughter in a postgame press conference from one side and tears on the other. But for one moment, there was silence. The Devaney Center went quiet as the Aggies took a 3-2 win over the overall 1-seed and previously undefeated Cornhuskers in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals, sending 3-seed A&M to its first NCAA Tournament Semifinals in school history. But words? Lednicky the regional MVP doesn’t think those quite fit. “Quite literally, no words to describe this feeling,” Lednicky said. “We’ve talked about it time and time again, the amount of work that has gone into this, and we knew coming into this match, why not us? . Who cares about the logo across the net from us? Why not us? Like, why can’t it be us to get to the Final Four?” Why not the Aggies? Take a look at the phonebook full of the Huskers’ streaks that the Maroon and White just broke. Nebraska had not dropped a set at home since Sept. 12 and hadn’t lost a match all year. It had not lost its last 63 matches at the Devaney Center. And it had not lost the last 29 NCAA Tournament matches it had hosted. And it took what can only be described as an all-time classic, to change that. “I’m looking forward to going back and watching that match, because I think it might have been one of the most entertaining matches in the history of the sport,” coach Jamie Morrison said. “But I’m just beyond proud. And I had a moment afterwards, too. I think I was so lost in the moment that about six minutes afterwards, I had a realization that we’re going to play in the Final Four.” The margins were as thin as ice: Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Kyndal Stowers led the Aggies with 25 kills, followed closely by Lednicky with 24. Nebraska junior OH Harper Murrary also had 25 kills, leading the hosts. The Aggies hit . 275 for the match, while the Huskers hit . 270. Don’t forget the bad luck the Huskers had. In the last five minutes of warm ups, senior OPP Allie Sczech stepped on a ball and was unable to play after a freak injury, according to Nebraska coach Dani Busboom Kelly. That was on top of several other injuries and illnesses on the team. At first, things looked fine and dandy for the heavily favored Cornhuskers. But a 10-0 scoring run by the Aggies through the middle of Set 1 gave them a 20-15 lead, as the hosts called a pair of timeouts during the run. The Aggies weren’t going down without a fight. They held on to take Set 1, 25-22. Through much of Set 2, it was a closer battle. After A&M jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, things stayed fairly even before the Aggies moved their advantage to 14-11 and forced a Husker timeout. That only helped the hosts so much, though, as A&M pulled out to a 17-13 lead. And for the second time, the Aggies fended off a Husker rally to take a Set 2 victory, 25-22. Then came the Huskers. They nearly led wire to wire as the Devaney Center crowd of 8, 650 lived up to its reputation and powered the hosts back with a 25-20 win in Set 3. Then came one of the greatest sets in the history of college volleyball. Let’s start with how it ended: 37-35, Nebraska. That’s not a typo. After the Aggies led by as much as 18-11, the Huskers fought with everything they had left to keep their undefeated season alive. They cut the gap to one point by the time A&M hit the red zone, 20-19. Nebraska had its first set point up 24-23. It would go on to have another 10. A&M had its own chances to close things out in four sets. The Maroon and White had match points up 32-31, 33-32 and 34-33. But the marathon continued, powered by the deafening roar of Nebraska fans. But that’s the environment the Aggies have longed to play in, especially after losing in the Round of 16 to Wisconsin last season in Lincoln and before. “At one point, I felt like I could barely hear myself think with how loud it was ringing in my ears when we went 30,” Lednicky said. “And so, embracing the moment and taking it all in. I mean, since we were kids, this has been a dream to be able to take this program far.” It was on the Aggies to regroup after losing a marathon of a fourth set. “It felt like we had just emptied the tank,” Lednicky said. “And that said, I think we were all honestly exhausted after that, especially, like, emotionally, right? You feel like you’re giving everything to try to take the game and come up a little short. That’s so tough emotionally. But I think we all honestly took a lot of deep breaths right before we went out there, and we were just like, ‘We have more to give.’” The Aggies did have more to give, as they led the majority of the fifth set and fended off a late Husker rally to sit at match point, 14-13. And finally after years of work from the players, decades of trying from the Aggies who came before and a five-set marathon Lednicky secured the win, the Lincoln Regional title and A&M’s first-ever spot in the NCAA Tournament Semifinals with her 24th kill. “When I was being recruited, I literally said that I wanted to go to a school that wasn’t already, like, well developed,” senior middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla said. “I wanted to be somewhere that could be developed into one of the top programs in the country. So to be sitting here after beating Nebraska, it’s insane. Like, I don’t know what to say.” When Morrison was hired to lead A&M, his goals were simple if ambitious: return the program to the heights it has reached historically, then, take it even further and make Aggieland love this team and love volleyball. And as Aggies everywhere tuned into the match on ABC and the congratulations poured in from every corner of Aggieland, Morrison along with the dozens of other individuals involved in the program in some form or fashion, which Morrison would immediately deflect credit to had done it. And they showed that to the world. “One of the things I said, ‘If that didn’t have the highest ratings in the history of college volleyball, I don’t know what will,’” Morrison said. “ . That was a blast, and I really did enjoy every second of it.” And as A&M faces 1-seed Pittsburgh in the Semifinals in Kansas City, Missouri, on Thursday, Dec. 18, there’s nowhere else to go but up.
https://thebatt.com/sports/why-not-us-am-shocks-1-seed-nebraska-to-advance-to-first-ever-ncaa-tournament-semifinals/
‘Why not us?’: A&M shocks 1-seed Nebraska to advance to first-ever NCAA Tournament Semifinals
