KANSAS CITY, Mo. — No. 3 seed Texas A&M showed the “grit” it has displayed throughout the NCAA Division I women’s volleyball tournament in Sunday’s final, beating No. 1 seed Kentucky 3-0 to capture the program’s first national championship.

In the first all-SEC title-game showdown, the Aggies trailed by as many as six points in the first set and were down a set point. A kill by redshirt sophomore Kyndal Stowers tied the game at 24-24. A block by Ifenna Cos-Okpalla gave the Aggies a set point. And a Stowers kill sealed it.

The Aggies never trailed the rest of the way.

“As soon as we got within two, I was like, ‘Oh no’ for them,” Texas A&M coach Jamie Morrison said. “They should know better on this team. This team is not going to back down.”

The Aggies had a string of upsets just to make it to the title game, starting with a regional semifinal reverse sweep of No. 2 seed Louisville, followed by a regional final upset against previously undefeated No.1 Nebraska. Texas A&M continued its upset streak by sweeping No. 1 Pitt 3-0 in the semifinals before claiming the national title against Kentucky.

“I just said [to my team], ‘We’ve been here before. We’ve been there twice. I brought up the Louisville match,” Morrison said of his team’s first-set deficit. “We talked about Louisville being down 0-2. We talked about Nebraska. We said, ‘Hey, we’ve been here.’ … I just said, ‘It’s going to take one or two points, start to get firing, they’re going to be there.'”

In the second set, the Aggies held a consistent lead over the Wildcats, finishing 25-15 after an attack error by Kentucky. Texas A&M held onto its lead in the third set and clinched the title when senior middle blocker Cos-Okpalla’s kill brought the score to 25-20.

After leading her team with 11 kills, Texas A&M senior Logan Lednicky fought back tears as she looked back at her four-year career in College Station. The 6-foot-3 opposite hitter credited the nine seniors on her team for helping build this program.

“I was pretty emotional all day today just knowing that no matter the outcome of this game, it would be my last getting to represent A&M on my chest,” Lednicky said. “Being able to do this with these girls, end with [the trophy], end like this, I just can’t even believe it.”

Stowers, who had 10 kills in the title match, claimed the Most Outstanding Player award. The transfer from Baylor medically retired because of concussions before transferring to Texas A&M. Stowers had 17 kills against Louisville, 25 against Nebraska and 16 against Pitt.

“A year ago today, I sat on my couch and watched some good friends of mine actually win this game,” Stowers said of Penn State’s victory over Louisville. “Now, to be living that is genuinely surreal. It was a journey to get here. Good days; bad days. It took this guy sitting next to me [Morrison] believing in me after not playing volleyball for over a year and a half, to take me on his roster and coach me every single day.”

Throughout the NCAA tournament, Texas A&M credited its “grit.” The Aggies were two points away from elimination in the regional semifinals against Louisville. Since that upset, the Aggies outscored their opponents 317-276.

“It’s a testament to the work we put in in the practice gym and just generally in all of our careers,” Lednicky said after the semifinals. “It’s been a long time coming for us, a lot of work put into this moment.”

Kentucky had won four matches in a row against Texas A&M, including a four-set victory Oct. 8. Wildcats coach Craig Skinner pointed to A&M’s passing as the difference.

“They handled our serve really well early,” Skinner said. “Our serving pressure didn’t allow them to get in sync when we were down at College Station [in October]. Today, they were in sync.

“Credit their first contact with their passers of [Ava] Underwood, [Addi] Applegate, [Emily] Hellmuth and Stowers of really doing a good job of providing [Maddie] Waak opportunities to set their whole offense. It was a difficult thing to try and score points on defense.”

Bayern Munich‘s Michael Olise is wanted by a host of other top European clubs, while Manchester United will be made to wait for Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Carlos Baleba. Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.

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TOP STORIES

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TRENDING RUMORS

– Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Liverpool are interested in Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise, according to Christian Falk. The three clubs are reported to be among several teams keen on the 24-year-old, with the Reds potentially looking to him as a future successor for Mohamed Salah. A move to secure Olise from the Bundesliga champions is expected to be difficult, as the France international has a contract at the Allianz Arena until the summer of 2029. Olise has scored nine goals and provided 11 assists in 23 matches so far this season.

– Brighton & Hove Albion will dismiss all offers for Manchester United target Carlos Baleba until 2027, according to The Times. While the Seagulls are open to moving on from the 21-year-old midfielder in the future, they are set to stand firm next summer amid interest from Old Trafford. United are still expected to make multiple signings in midfield, and they could pivot to either Crystal Palace‘s Adam Wharton, 21, or 23-year-old Nottingham Forest star Elliot Anderson.

– An enquiry has been sent to Barcelona by Aston Villa regarding goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, Mundo Deportivo reports. The Premier League club are concerned about recent back problems that No. 1 Emiliano Martínez has suffered, and Villa believe the 33-year-old Germany international could be a strong replacement. Ter Stegen is keen to play regular first-team football to bolster his chances of being the No. 1 for Germany at the FIFA World Cup, with Girona and clubs in the Saudi Pro League also looking at him. Argentina goalkeeper Martínez was prepared to leave Villa for Manchester United last summer, but a concrete bid never materialised.

– Real Madrid are “actively considering” letting attacking midfielder Franco Mastantuono leave on loan in January, Calciomercato reports. The 18-year-old wants to play more regularly ahead of the World Cup amid hopes of being selected by Argentina, but he has struggled so far to garner frequent minutes for manager Xabi Alonso. It is said that Los Blancos would have no interest in agreeing to a permanent deal away from the Bernabéu, while no clubs in the Serie A have made an approach for him despite reports.

– Multiple clubs are keeping tabs on the situation of Manchester United attacking midfielder Jadon Sancho, according to TEAMtalk. Borussia Dortmund are interested in bringing the 25-year-old back for a third spell at the club, while Monaco and Como have also held talks with his representatives. Sancho is on loan at Aston Villa this season, and the Old Trafford hierarchy don’t plan to bring him back, but Villa intend to keep him for the remainder of his loan rather than open up the possibility of a switch in January. He has made 13 appearances across all competitions this season.

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OTHER RUMORS

– Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo is prioritising a move to Liverpool over Manchester City. (Guardian)

– Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund are interested in FC Midtjylland forward Franculino Dju. (Christian Falk)

– Borussia Dortmund defender Niklas Sule is on the radar of AC Milan. He is set to become a free agent in the summer. (Nicolo Schira)

– Bayern Munich are weighing up a move for Hoffenheim striker Fisnik Asllani, and there is a release clause in the 23-year-old’s contract that allows him to be signed for a fee of €30m. (Christian Falk)

– Colorado Rapids are closing in on a move to sign Lens midfielder Hamzat Ojediran. (Foot Mercato)

– FC Dallas are close to reaching an agreement with Mjallby AIF for winger Herman Johansson. (Florian Plettenberg)

– Everton, Sunderland, and West Ham have been offered the chance to sign Roma striker Artem Dovbyk. (Nicolo Schira)

– Inter Milan are the latest team looking at Krasnodar midfielder Eduard Spertsyan. He has previously been linked with Manchester City. (Tuttosport)

– An approach for Eintracht Frankfurt striker Elye Wahi is being weighed up by OGC Nice. (Foot Mercato)

– Sassuolo are among the teams interested in Genoa attacking midfielder Valentin Carboni, who is on loan from Intern Milan. (Corriere dello Sport)

– On-loan Roma left-back Kostas Tsimikas could return to Liverpool in January. (Nicolo Schira)

– Clubs in Saudi Arabia and China are looking at former Liverpool defender Tiago Ilori, who is currently a free agent. (Rudy Galetti)