COLLEGE STATION - For almost a year, Texas A&M volleyball head coach Jamie Morrison has been honest about how following up last season's national championship was going to be difficult, especially after losing nine seniors from that team.
"This can't be the expectation every single year," Morrison said on TexAgs Live after winning the 2025 title. "I know it's what everybody wants … All of the care and love that goes into our athletes, getting them a degree, all of these things. This is a byproduct (that) will happen every once in a while if we are doing it right."
While the Aggies did bring in a talented group of transfers out of the portal, it's been somewhat of a rebuilding season. The Aggies are 10-7 and 3-2 in the SEC, both conference losses coming on the road to unranked foes Oklahoma and Arkansas in the last two matches.
"I think it's exhausting, to be honest with you," Morrison said. "It's not really an edge. Everyone's going to give us their best shot. Everyone comes out on fire looking for the graphic of defeating the defending national champions."
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Morrison pointed out that Oklahoma upset Texas that same week. Those losses are just a natural part of playing in an SEC that has eight teams in the top 35 of RPI. Another test looms Friday against a top-10 Florida team that has wins over No. 4 Kentucky and No. 9 Tennessee. The Gators suffered their first conference loss Sunday to No. 24 Vanderbilt.
"I'll keep saying this until I'm blue in the face: from top to bottom, (the SEC) is one of the toughest conferences in the country," the fourth-year Aggies coach said. "If you look back at what we did, especially missing four or five starters for a lot of that, I'm pretty proud of the accomplishments that we had and I thought that caught up to us a little bit."
Kyndal Stowers among injured Aggies
The injury bug has been a frequent presence on this A&M squad, with multiple starters - including last season's NCAA Tournament's most outstanding player, outside hitter Kyndal Stowers - missing matches early. Stowers, for her part, has been a valuable presence as one of the few returners from last season's squad after recovering from an early-season injury that limited her in conference play.
Against Mississippi State on Oct. 4, Stowers set a school record for points in a three-set match with 26.5 after recording 21 kills, five aces and a block.
After the match, Stowers said getting to rely on the Aggies' depth has been key for her this season.
"It's amazing to be able to go in and not have to worry so much every single game," Stowers said. "I think a lot of people talk about, like, ‘Is there a lot of pressure after last year?' And I'm like, ‘Not really.' I mean, there's five other girls on the court that are out there with me. So it's great to be able to rely on everybody."
Junior middle blocker Eliza Sharp, a Boise State transfer who was named Mountain West freshman of the year in 2025, led A&M in blocks before suffering an ankle injury during the 3-1 road win at Creighton. Morrison said Sharp is close to returning to action, something he hopes will give A&M's middle block a boost.
"I think she's got a happy edge to her," Morrison said. "I don't know the right way to word it, but she will make a difference in what we're doing. And obviously offensively, you can look at the numbers she was putting up. That will make a difference as well."
Texas A&M eyes top-10 Florida Gators
And while the Aggies have suffered recent setbacks - Morrison led off his weekly presser by expressing how disappointed he was with both losses - he's still confident that his team will compete down the stretch.
"One of my staff members was telling me this when we were in the front of the bus and I literally had to shake myself to realize it's true, but if we win out, we would still win the SEC," Morrison said. "Which is a crazy thing ahead of us that we have a possibility (of) and a road to having control over that. I also told our team I wouldn't be disappointed if I didn't have belief, and I do have belief that this group is good enough to go do great things this year."
Similar to the Aggies, the Gators also reloaded in the portal by adding outside hitter Kamryn Chaney, who excelled at Princeton and Vanderbilt before joining Florida. Chaney, who leads the Gators in kills and points, was the 2024 Ivy League player of the year before helping the Commodores revive their newly reinstated program last year.
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This article originally published at How Texas A&M volleyball is battling through 'exhausting' season after winning NCAA title.