Texas A&M, Kentucky win in volleyball semis, will meet for NCAA title Sunday in KC
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- Texas A&M defeated Pittsburgh 3-0 in the NCAA semifinal to reach the final.
- Kyndal Stowers, Logan Lednicky and Cos-Okpalla led A&M with high kills and blocks.
- Aggies sustained elite hitting (.382 attack, up to 70% sideout) to control the match.
A full house at T-Mobile Center, decked out in a mix of red, blue and maroon, was brimming with energy for Thursday evening’s NCAA women’s volleyball semifinals.
Both matches put the college game’s biggest stars on display.
The first semifinal, between No. 3-seeded Texas A&M and 1-seed Pittsburgh, was a clean sweep with the Aggies taking a 3-0 win to advance to the national championship match.
The second semifinal, between 1-seed Kentucky and 3-seed Wisconsin, was a five-set thriller. The Wildcats pulled away late to clinch Kentucky’s second appearance in a national-title match.
Sunday’s national championship contest, an all-Southeastern Conference affair, will begin at 2:30 p.m. at T-Mobile Center.
The Aggies had the biggest fan attendance of the four semifinalists, taking up almost an entire section in the arena’s lower bowl. Some of the cheering Texas A&M faithful held life-size cutouts of various Aggies players’ faces.
Two of the A&M yell leaders, the five overalls-wearing male students who hype up the crowd as a part of the school’s historic tradition, led the section of maroon-clad fans in cheers.
Pittsburgh-backers and fans of No. 1-seeded Kentucky wore similar shades of blue, but Pitt’s yellow differentiated them. Third-seeded Wisconsin’s fans showed up early, but their red could easily be confused with fans of powerhouse Nebraska, a number of whom made the trip down to KC even after the Huskers were ousted by Texas A&M in the regional final.
Local players, coaches and fans were out in force, too, as the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s annual national convention is taking place in Kansas City in conjunction with volleyball’s Final Four.
Aggies dominate Pitt in semifinal No. 1
All-Americans Kyndal Stowers and Logan Lednicky led the Aggies with double-digit kills in Texas A&M’s straight-sets victory over Pitt. And Ifenna Cos-Okpalla was tremendous over the middle.
It’s the Aggies’ first win in an NCAA semifinal. And Pitt is the second consecutive 1-seed the Aggies have defeated (after knocking off the aforementioned Nebraska).
Thursday’s first two sets were back-and-forth affairs in which Texas A&M pulled away late. The first was extended after Pitt challenged A&M’s first set point (the call was reversed to rule Lednicky’s block out of play). That tied the set score at 24, but two kills from Stowers helped the Aggies prevail 29-27.
The second set featured a Pitt run led by reigning AVCA Player of the Year Olivia Babcock. That gave the Panthers their largest lead of the match, 15-11, but the Aggies countered quickly. They won the next four points and — after trailing 16-15 — never relinquished the lead en route to a 25-21 final.
The final set featured the widest margin of victory — 25-20. Cos-Okpalla clinched three of the last five points for Texas A&M with two kills and an assisted block, including a final kill over the middle for match point.
Stowers finished the evening with 16 kills, six digs and two blocks while Lednicky slammed 14 kills and had two blocks. Cos-Okpalla showed why she’s the nation’s leader in blocks, with five more Thursday, while also recording eight kills. And All-American setter Maddie Waak tallied 48 sets.
Babcock was the only Pitt player with double-digit kills — 22, plus six blocks. The Panthers’ next best attacker was Blaire Bayless, who had eight kills, including six in the first set.
Texas A&M took advantage of clean hitting, remaining above a 54% sideout percentage throughout the match. The Aggies were at 62% and 70% in the last set and finished with a .382 attacking percentage.
The Panthers, who were making their fifth straight semifinal appearance, never rose above a 58% sideout percentage but finished with a .344 attacking percentage.
Kentucky tops Wisconsin in a barn-burner
It was a five-set tug of war, but Kentucky won the final two sets to reach its second title match in the past half-decade — UK won the championship in 2021.
Wisconsin dominated the first set 25-12 with the All-American duo of outside hitter Mimi Colyer and middle blocker Cameron Booth garnering seven kills apiece. Booth added two blocks and the Badgers were hitting .682 as a team.
Kentucky’s own All-American duo, of Eva Hudson and Topeka native Brooklyn DeLeye, were limited to five total kills on 21 attempts in that span.
The Wildcats started the second set on a better note, taking early leads and riding an 8-0 run to set point and a 25-22 victory. Hudson led the way with six kills and two assisted blocks.
Booth and Colyer had collected double-digit kills by the middle of the second set, although Booth missed a few points as she rested during the rotation.
After scoring the first point of the third set, Kentucky never regained the lead, trailing by as many as five points. Wisconsin went on to win 25-21, riding Colyer’s hot hand and 12 kills.
Kentucky gained the upper hand in the fourth set, taking a 14-13 lead and sustaining it to force a deciding set even after dropping three points. The Wildcats were able to take advantage of holes in Wisconsin’s back line and make key defensive stops and digs, with Hudson recording nine more kills.
The Wildcats continued their hot streak into the final set, storming to a 9-3 lead before the Badgers responded with a run of their own. The Wildcats then held off the Badgers’ comeback attempt, with Hudson’s final kill bouncing off a Wisconsin block for match point to win the set 15-13.
Hudson, a finalist for the AVCA Player of the Year, finished with 29 kills, seven digs and two blocks. DeLeye smashed 15 kills with 14 digs and five blocks in front of some family and friends in attendance.
DeLeye’s play improved down the stretch, too, and was crucial in the final two sets. Asia Thigpen and Lizzie Carr collected eight kills apiece for Kentucky and AVCA Freshman of the Year Kassie O’Brien totalled 54 assists.
Colyer, also a finalist for player of the year, recorded 30 kills and 12 digs. Booth had six blocks and 21 kills on 30 attempts.
Una Vajagic had 10 kills and 12 digs for the Badgers.
This story was originally published December 18, 2025 at 8:43 PM.
