No. 3-seed Texas A&M made history on Sunday, taking down the No. 1-seed Kentucky Wildcats 3-0 in the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship final to lift the Aggies' first-ever national volleyball trophy.
Down by as many as six points in the first frame, the Aggies had to save a Kentucky set point early before surging to a 26-24 opening win — with Texas A&M then finding their groove, never relinquishing the lead as they took the second set by a dominant 25-15 scoreline before easily closing out the sweep 25-20 in the third.
"I just said, 'It's going to take one or two points, start to get firing, they're going to be there,'" said third-year Texas A&M sideline leader and 2025 AVCA Coach of the Year Jamie Morrison.
Senior opposite Logan Lednicky and sophomore outside hitter Kyndal Stowers again led the Aggies' attack with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while senior middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla shut down the Wildcats at the net with four blocks — before her eighth kill of the night clinched the championship for A&M.
Following a whirlwind tournament that saw Texas A&M end the seasons of one No. 2 seed (Louisville) before ousting three straight No. 1 seeds (Nebraska, Pitt, and Kentucky), Sunday's unlikely victory saw the Aggies' claim just the second-ever NCAA volleyball title for the SEC — and shed their underdog status for good.
"It's a testament to the work we put in in the practice gym and just generally in all of our careers," Lednicky said afterwards. "It's been a long time coming for us, a lot of work put into this moment."
The 2025 NCAA volleyball championship game is officially on lock, as No. 3-seed Texas A&M and No. 1-seed Kentucky survived Thursday's semifinals to punch their tickets to Sunday's season finale.
After snapping overall top-seed Nebraska's undefeated season in last weekend's Elite Eight round, The Aggies kept their history-making hot streak alive, blowing past No. 1 Pitt as the first team to sweep the Panthers all year.
Leading the charge for A&M were sophomore outside hitter Kyndal Stowers and senior opposite Logan Lednicky, who registered 16 and 14 kills, respectively, on the Final Four court in Kansas City.
As for the last No. 1 seed standing, Kentucky survived No. 3 Wisconsin in a five-set thriller on Thursday, following the example of senior outside hitter Eva Hudson, whose 29 kills trailed only the semifinals-leading 32 posted by Badger senior outside hitter — and fellow AVCA Player of the Year finalist — Mimi Colyer.
With Kentucky hoping to add to their 2020 Division I title — the only NCAA volleyball championship in SEC history — the conference already owns the 2025 trophy, as Thursday set up the sport's first-ever all-SEC national final.
Though the 2025 SEC champion Wildcats seemingly have the edge over the conference's runners-up — Kentucky took down Texas A&M 3-1 in October — A&M's current momentum is undeniable, with the Aggies riding into Sunday's clash having ousted two No. 1 seeds and one No. 2 seed en route to a program-first national final.
"We are considered the underdog in a lot of these moments just [because] we haven't been here before. But we know we have all the right pieces," said Lednicky. "So why not us?"
How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship
No. 3 Texas A&M will battle No. 1 Kentucky for the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship at 3:30 PM ET on Sunday, airing live on ABC.