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BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Aggie volleyball team (1-0) opened the 2022 Texas A&M Invitational with a 3-2 win over Hawai’i (0-1) Friday afternoon. The victory marked the fourth time in five seasons that the Aggies have opened their season with a win.
The newcomers led the way, as Caroline Meuth (23 kills, 15 digs) and Elena Karakasi (42 assists, 11 digs) each recorded double-doubles in their A&M debuts. Starting libero Lauren Hogan scooped a team-leading 21 digs, while rookie Logan Lednicky turned in a 20-kill performance.
With the match tied at two sets apiece, the fifth set saw seven kills in a row, giving the Maroon & White a 4-3 lead. With the set knotted at six-all, Texas A&M rattled off six-straight points to force Hawai’i to call a timeout. Two Lednicky kills pushed the Aggies to match point, before Meuth’s team-leading 23rd kill gifted A&M the season-opening victory.
The Rainbow Wahine’s momentum to start the match helped them grab the opening frame, 25-18, before the Aggies responded with a pair of second- and third-set victories. Hawai’i grabbed the fourth set, 25-17, to force a deciding set.
UP NEXT
The Aggies continue the Texas A&M Invitational against No. 25 San Diego at 1 p.m. Saturday. The match airs nationally on SEC Network with Tyler Denning and Shelby Coppedge on the call.
BIRD BITS
Texas A&M Head Coach, Laura “Bird” Kuhn
Overall thoughts on the match…
“We knew this was going to be a great tournament for us and challenge us in different ways. Hawai’i is a great opponent. We knew they were going to be gritty and going to defend. We really settled in after that first set. So, I’m proud of them. I’m proud of them because they locked in for what each of their jobs were and we executed at the end.”
On performances by Logan Lednicky and Caroline Meuth…
“[Logan Lednicky] and Caroline both have big arms, and they know. They’ve been playing like that for us the last two weeks, but we also still need the balance, and they know it’s a team effort.”
Graduate transfer Caroline Meuth
On the culture of the program…
“I was the first transfer to commit, so I was a little nervous for a while, but then we had all these other transfers and all these other freshmen come. The returners made sure to set the culture and they set the expectation, but then they allowed the new people to come in and showcase what they could bring to the table, because especially a lot of us transfers had experience in our past programs. The returners were very open to hearing what we had to say and did a really good job at bringing us all together.”
Full press conference available below.
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