COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Texas A&M volleyball coach Jamie Morrison said he is proud of the growth his team has shown throughout the non-conference schedule and believes the program is well-positioned heading into conference play.
"Overall just happy with the progress of our team, and I think just the way that we've grown across the non-conference slate and it's not over yet has been really, really impressive, and I think it's something I'm proud of that the 12th man should be proud of that our administration should be proud of," Morrison said.
The Aggies will face Rice on Monday in their final non-conference match before SEC play begins. Morrison said Rice was picked to win their league and presents a different challenge.
"They're on a fast offense. They're gonna stress us in some different ways there. They pass at a pretty high level, and they're a good volleyball team," Morrison said.
The team is also dealing with an injury to Eliza Sharp, who rolled her ankle after an opponent's player came under the center line during Sunday's match. Morrison, who serves on the rules committee and said the center line rule was recently discussed and adjusted, noted the play was exactly the type of situation the committee had tried to prevent.
"It's an ankle, so it's nothing, I don't know, career ending at this point, but it's obviously disappointing," Morrison said.
Sharp is not expected to play in Monday's match against Rice. Morrison said her return will depend on her recovery progress day by day.
"She started the season off with an injury and handled it as well as anybody could possibly handle an injury and put every ounce of effort into getting back," Morrison said.
With Sharp out on Sunday, freshman Lolufe Adedeji came off the bench and delivered a strong performance in the final sets. Morrison said her readiness in that moment was not a surprise.
"She's been doing that, especially offensively, man. She is like, I don't know, hitting for a really high number in our practices," Morrison said.
"I think it took her, I don't know, 5 or 6 points to kind of settle into that, but when she got in there, like you saw her as a competitor too, like you saw her get killed and turn around and celebrate as if she was a veteran. So it was a really cool moment for her," Morrison said.
Texas A&M opened the non-conference schedule with 4 consecutive losses to ranked opponents before picking up 2 wins against ranked teams by the end of the slate. Morrison said the difficult schedule forced growth that a softer schedule could not have produced.
"In order for people to grow to their full potential, they have to be put in tough situations where they're forced to grow towards the edges of what they need to go do," Morrison said.
He said he does not believe any team in the country improved at the same rate as the Aggies during the non-conference stretch.
"Overall in terms of prepping for conference, I think we're further ahead than I probably even thought this team was capable of growing," Morrison said.
When asked about the single moment he wants the team to carry into conference play, Morrison pointed to a stretch during the Creighton match when the team faced adversity and responded.
"A lot of teams might have unraveled, I thought we got tighter and I thought we played better and I think that's the resolve that we need at the end of sets," Morrison said.
He also reflected on the losses the team absorbed during the non-conference schedule, describing them as lessons learned through hardship.
"Make sure that those lessons stay not just for the season but for life," Morrison said.
