COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Texas A&M volleyball head coach Jamie Morrison says his program is in a different place than it used to be, and the proof is in how his players respond to losses.
Coming off a split weekend that included a win over Stanford and a hard-fought loss to Wisconsin in front of 9,300 fans at Reed Arena, Morrison said the disappointment his team felt after the Wisconsin match speaks volumes about where the program stands.
"We went through last week and we took care of business in Orlando against Stanford and then turned around and had a whole match in front of 9,300 people," Morrison said. "And we lost a hard fought battle against Wisconsin and we were disappointed. And I think if you rewind in this program and talk about that, I don't know, statement you'd think you were crazy of we're out there and we're competing against the best teams in the country."
Morrison said the team's internal expectations have risen, and that the ability to recover from adversity is improving. He pointed to consistency and serving as two areas the Aggies are focused on sharpening as the season progresses.
"If you look early in the season we weren't missing enough like we're being too passive," Morrison said. "We were putting pressure on them for six straight rotations from the service line and I thought that was one of the reasons like we made a really good passing team not look good."
Morrison uses a term he calls an "agrafe" — a blend of aggressive and safe — to describe the standard he holds his team to on serve. He said not all service errors are created equal, and the goal is to eliminate unforced mistakes while continuing to apply pressure.
"If we're gonna play it safe, keep it in, but if we're aggressive error that's going right on the top of the tape and it's a ball that kind of is about to trickle over but goes onto our side, like I'm perfectly good with that," Morrison said. "We don't wanna give up more than five unforced errors a game, and that's including service errors, attacking errors, and the things that come along with it, but we wanna make people earn points."
On the roster front, Morrison gave an update on Margot, who has been sidelined recently, saying she is working her way back and could return soon, though he does not expect her to play Tuesday. He also praised middle blocker Eliza Sharp, calling her one of the best in the country at her position and saying she still has significant room to develop.
"She's an explosive athlete," Morrison said. "That body piece she's developed into one of the best athletes in the country, and she's developed into one of the best middle blockers right now in my opinion in the country and going back to what I said about our entire team, the thing that excites me the most is the fact that there's still a lot of room for her to grow."
Morrison also addressed the growing trend of college volleyball being played in unique venues, including AT&T Stadium, Wrigley Field, and the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. He said he is actively exploring similar ideas for Texas A&M, including the possibility of hosting a match at the Hall of Champions on campus, while also pushing for more marquee home matches at Reed Arena.
"I think it's really awesome that people are invested in our sport enough to go put it in unique venues right now," Morrison said. "But at the same time, you just saw 9,300 people here and I haven't been able to capitalize on the fact that we won a national championship because I'm not allowed to play a home match this year."
Morrison said the energy inside Reed Arena during the Wisconsin match was something he will not forget, describing a moment during the fourth set when he looked up mid-timeout and realized the arena was full.
"I had a giant smile on my face," Morrison said. "The most memorable moment of the match was before it started. I was watching the best rendition of the national anthem I've ever heard live in my entire life, and I'm sitting there looking at the student section full and looking at what's happening at Reed Arena, and there was just a prideful moment of what we built."
Morrison said he feels a responsibility to the fans and to the players who came before to keep the program competing at the highest level.
"Everything I do from now on is gonna be fueled from having to live up to what they built," Morrison said.
