Top-ranked Nebraska’s bid for a sixth national championship came to a stunning end Sunday night, as Texas A&M rallied for a 3-2 victory in the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament, stunning a sold-out crowd at the Bob Devaney Center and sending the Aggies to the program’s first Final Four.
The previously undefeated Cornhuskers had cruised through much of the season, but ran into an Aggies team peaking at the right time. Texas A&M, the No. 3 seed in the Lincoln Regional, won the decisive fifth set 15-13 after the teams split the first four sets in dramatic fashion.
“We have a lot of seniors who’ve been through this,” Texas A&M’s Logan Lednicky said via ESPN. “Everyone was ready to grind.”
Lednicky finished with 24 kills and six block assists, while sophomore Kyndal Stowers added 25 kills and 16 digs for the Aggies (27-4). Texas A&M out-blocked Nebraska 30-16, a factor in the upset.
Nebraska forced the fifth set after winning a marathon fourth set 37-35 on its 10th set point, igniting the crowd and swinging momentum briefly back to the Huskers. But Texas A&M locked in and closed out the match, handing Nebraska its first home loss since November 2022.
The loss marked another heartbreaking finish for the Huskers, who last won a national title in 2017. First-year coach Dani Busboom Kelly, a former Nebraska player, praised her team’s resilience.
“I’m proud of how we fought,” she said. “They played their hearts out.”
Texas A&M will face top-seeded Pitt in the national semifinals Thursday in Kansas City.
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