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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4

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LIFE & ARTS The Big Event staff members spend fall semester building culture, community, symbolic wooden house A3

NEWS Two-time best-selling author, North Korea defector Yeonmi Park, speaks to students about fighting socialism A7

3-seed A&M opens NCAA Tournament against Campbell Aggies look to advance to next round at Reed Arena By Ava Loth Sports Writer

Cooper Daniels — THE BATTALION

Sarthak Dalal — THE BATTALION

Cooper Daniels — THE BATTALION

Clockwise from top: Freshman setter Kirra Musgrove (14) and freshman outside hitter Megan Fitch (20) join the fans for the “Aggie War Hymn” after Texas A&M volleyball’s game against Texas at Reed Arena on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. Senior outside hitter Emily Hellmuth (4) celebrates a point during Texas A&M volleyball’s game against Vanderbilt at Reed Arena on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. Freshman defensive specialist Addi Applegate (2) digs a ball during Texas A&M volleyball’s game against Oklahoma at Reed Arena on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025.

Inside SEC Tournament’s revival First SEC Volleyball Tournament since 2005 engages community, hopes to prepare teams for NCAA Tournament

sored team sports, women’s volleyball’s postseason is divided. Of the 31 conferences that sponsor Division I women’s volleyball, 27 of them hold some sort of postseason tournament to decide their automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament. Most of these mid-major events are held on campus sites and only invite the By Ian Curtis top teams from the conference. The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten and Big 12 all do Editor-in-Chief not have a conference tournament. Texas A&M volleyball fans Paul and ShawVolleyball, on a power-conference level, na Ricks had a weekend to remember. doesn’t have the neutral-site, big-event feel The first leg of their family trip that men’s and women’s basketball took them from their home in and diamond sport tournaments Colorado Springs, Colorado, to in the postseason. The Every conference in America, if they don’t have deliver College Station for A&M footSEC wants to change that with all ball’s game against Samford at Kyle 16 of its teams. a tournament, is thinking about it now. Field. Then, it was off to Enmar“We want this tournament to ket Arena in Savannah, Georgia, evolve into the premier volleyto watch the Aggies in the Allstate ball event nationally, something Craig Skinner Southeastern Conference Volleyfans look forward to every year,” Kentucky Volleyball Coach ball Tournament. SEC Assistant Commissioner for “We follow the girls on the Competition and Student-Athlete volleyball team,” Shawna said beEngagement Misty Brown said via fore A&M’s semifinal matchup against then- tucky Wildcats taking home the tournament email before the tournament. “ … Over time, 3-seed Texas. “We love them all. We’re so title, the SEC’s revival of its volleyball tour- we envision this growing into a must-see proud of how great they’ve done this season, nament — played for the first time in 20 years postseason showcase that expands our brand, and we just want to celebrate them.” after being axed in 2005 — sparked significant attracts new fans to the sport, and becomes Though A&M fell short in the semifinals, questions. another signature championship in the SEC.” the opportunity to see the Aggies play live Namely, is the tournament good for the was cherished by one member of the Ricks SEC — and is it good for the sport of volleyfamily, especially — 14-year-old Brooklyn, a ball — in the same way it was good for fans high school volleyball player herself. She was like the Ricks family? SCAN HERE TO READ especially excited for the opportunity to see FULL STORY ONLINE A&M senior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky. A divided postseason “It ended up being more than we could ever ask for,” Paul said. “She asked Logan Unlike most non-football NCAA-spon-

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when she stopped by, ‘What would you give [as] advice?’ And Logan took the time to talk to her about what to do, how to stay focused. So as a parent, it was really cool.” Brooklyn wasn’t the only young volleyball player looking up to the stars of the show. Of the fans in attendance, plenty sported shirts supporting local — or non-local — volleyball clubs, and plenty of players from several teams spent time in the crowd taking pictures and signing autographs with fans before and after their matches. But as the dust settled with the 1-seed Ken-

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Texas A&M volleyball will kick off the NCAA Tournament as it hosts the first two rounds of the Big Dance at Reed Arena. The Aggies secured the No. 3 seed on Selection Sunday, setting them up to face the Campbell Fighting Camels in their opening match on Friday, Dec. 5, in Aggieland. The Aggies capped off their regular season with a less-than-ideal 3-1 loss against then-3seed Texas at the Allstate Southeastern Conference Volleyball Tournament on Nov. 24. However, A&M had a standout season as it finished 23-4 with a 14-1 record in SEC play, its sole conference defeat coming from a 3-1 loss against then-No. 3 Kentucky. “I think that we’ve had lots of growth moments,” senior libero Ava Underwood said after Selection Sunday. “Of course losing is not fun, but it’s made us hungry and ready to go for the tournament and ready to go for what’s to come.” Marking their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Fighting Camels hold a 23-6 record with a 13-3 mark in Coastal Athletic Association play. They are riding a two-game winning streak but have yet to set up nets against a ranked opponent. “I’m sure as I watch, they’re going to play good volleyball, because that’s how you win your conference,” coach Jamie Morrison said. “We’re going to have to be on it on that first night.” The Aggies have five ranked wins under their belt. A&M’s biggest triumph came against then-No. 2 Texas, when it sawed Horns off in five sets in front of the 12th Man. A&M features four All-SEC First Team players, representing the most among its conference opponents. The award marked senior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky’s fourth all-conference honor, who leads the Aggies in kills with 359 while also picking up 256 digs and 75 blocks. The duo of senior setter Maddie Waak and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Kyndal Stowers received their first conference distinction this season. Waak has totaled 1,093 assists, sitting at the top of the division with the most assists per set at 11.51. Stowers has posted 293 kills, averaging 3.37 kills per set and recorded a season high against Vanderbilt, with a .538 hitting percentage. She has also racked up 189 digs and 17 aces throughout her campaign. Senior middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla leads the Maroon and White in blocks with 159. The Flower Mound native ranks No. 3 in the country with 1.67 blocks per set and No. 7 with a .438 hitting percentage. The top producers for the Fighting Camels are junior S Lauren Wheeler and senior OH Gwen Wolkow. Wheeler notched a .405 hitting percentage and 186 digs, 17 of which came from her performance against Stony Brook on Nov. 21. Wolkow leads the Fighting Camels in kills with 365, at a rate of 3.35 kills per set. The winner of the Aggies and Fighting Camels’ duel will advance to the second round of the tournament held on Saturday, Dec. 6, against the winner of the TCU and SFA matchup. TCU, not far behind A&M, claimed the No. 6 seed, with a 20-10 record and finished 10-8 in conference play. “At the end of the day, it’s really about going out and playing cleaner volleyball, and competing at a higher level than whoever’s on the other side of the net.” Morrison said. The opening round is set to take place 30 minutes after the conclusion of the TCU-SFA match on Friday, Dec. 5, at Reed Arena. The battle will determine who advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

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