Inside the T Mobile Center belief finally became reality. When the final ball hit the floor Sunday, the Texas A&M Aggies stood as national champions for the first time in program history.
Silence lingered just long enough. Pride appeared. Disbelief followed. Joy came roaring in as Texas A&M took hold of a trophy the program had chased for five decades.
Head coach Jamie Morrison admitted he was still trying to process what his team had accomplished.
“I’m still speechless,” Morrison said. “The number one thing, and I know I’ve said this the entire NCAA tournament, I’m just proud.”
That pride was tested early. Kentucky stormed to an 18-12 lead in the opening set, pushing Texas A&M into unfamiliar territory on the biggest stage. Morrison smiled when reminded of the deficit.
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“Wow,” he said. “I probably should’ve called timeout earlier. That’s what I’m learning right now.”
Instead of panic, Morrison leaned into trust and memory.
“We’ve been here before,” he told his team. “We talked about Louisville. We talked about Nebraska. I said it’s going to take one or two points, and they’re going to be there.”
They were. Texas A&M clawed back, flipped momentum, and never surrendered control again.
“As soon as we started to claw back,” Morrison said, “I knew something special was about to happen. This team is not going to back down. That’s part of our identity.”
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That identity, built on joy and grit, echoed through every player who stepped to the microphone.
Senior libero Kyndal Stowers, the sister of Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers, described a team that never lost itself even under championship pressure.
“The first day of fall camp we were goofing off at 6 a.m. In the training room,” Stowers said. “That’s who our team has been through the thick and thin, through the highs and lows. And now, on the highest mountaintop, that’s still coming through.”
For Stowers, the moment carried deeper meaning. She recently revealed she returned to volleyball after four concussions, injuries that forced her to medically retire during her freshman year at Baylor. For more than a year, the sport she loved felt gone before she transferred to College Station and slowly found her way back.
“A year ago today I sat on my couch and watched this game,” Stowers said. “Now to be living it is genuinely surreal.”
She credited Morrison for believing in her after she had not played in more than a year and a half and her teammates for trusting her immediately.
“I had bad days for sure,” she said. “But they were with me every single day. The joy I’m feeling right now is just a testament to everybody around me.”
For Logan Lednicky, the emotions arrived early. This was her final match in maroon and white.
“I was emotional all day,” Lednicky said. “Knowing no matter the outcome, it was my last time representing A&M. To end like this, I don’t even have words. It means the world to me.”
She also shared the phrase that defined the run.
“Why not us,” Lednicky said. “That turned into it is us.”
The final point belonged to Ifenna Cos Okpalla, who waited patiently before putting the ball away.
“I figured if I got the ball I’d put it away,” Cos Okpalla said. “I wanted to be someone my team could lean on. At the end, I could finally get fired up.”
Morrison closed the night thinking about permanence rather than rankings or labels.
“For the rest of their lives,” he said, smiling, “they get to call themselves national champions.”
For the first time ever, Texas A&M volleyball can say exactly that.
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