Photos by Dominic Ceraldi
TCU volleyball (2-2) claimed its second sweep of the day by taking down UTRGV 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-17) on Thursday night at Schollmaier Arena. Junior middle blocker MyKayla Myers delivered a career-best nine blocks along with 11 kills on a career-best .846 hitting percentage to guide the Horned Frogs to their second win of the season.
“It’s really tough to play two matches in a day,” head coach Jill Kramer said. “Hats off to our team for coming in and being focused two times in a row, getting up for matches two times in one day. We haven’t done that in a while but we did a really good job of prepping and scouting and executed the game plan pretty well, for the most part. I thought MyKayla [Myers] did a great job all day long and especially this last match here. I’m really proud of them. Really proud of this team to come in here and start our first day in Schollmaier Arena in 2021 off right.”
TCU NOTABLES:
- The Horned Frogs tallied 13.0 blocks as a team once again (4.33 blocks/set) after not having averaged more than four blocks/set in a match since the 2015 season.
- Myers led the defensive effort with nine blocks, a new career high. She finishes the day with 16 blocks in six sets of work (2.67 blocks/set) – entered the match with 0.8 blocks/set over her career.
- She set a new career best on the offensive end as well, collecting 11 kills on 13 swings without committing an error (.846 hitting %) – her highest hitting percentage in a collegiate match and the highest hitting percentage by any Horned Frog with at least 10 kills in a single match since 2019.
- TCU held UTRGV to .068 hitting as a team after keeping Nicholls to just .023 hitting, marking the first time TCU has held opponents to under .100 hitting in consecutive matches since September, 2017.
- Junior Julia Adams led TCU with 12 kills for the second match in a row.
- She has now posted back-to-back matches with double-digit kills and a hitting percentage over .300 for the second time in her career and the first time since her freshman season.
- Sophomore Taylor Raiola delivered her first double-digit kill performance of the new season – 11 kills. It was her fifth career 10+ kill match.
- Junior setter McKenzie Nichols had another very strong match, finishing with 32 assists, eight digs (tied for the most on the team with Cecily Bramschreiber) and four blocks.
- Nichols finishes the day with 10.33 assists/set, 3.00 digs/set and 1.67 blocks/set across the two TCU sweeps.
- TCU set a new season high with six aces tonight, led by two from senior DS/L Dani Dennison.
- As a team, TCU hit .388 tonight, after hitting .424 in the earlier match against Nicholls State, marking the first time TCU has hit over .375 in consecutive matches August of 2018 (vs. Green Bay and SIUE).
- The Horned Frogs have swept consecutive matches for the first time since the NIVC Tournament run in 2019. It is the first time they have two matches in the same day since 2018.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Set 1 (TCU, 25-17): UTRGV had the advantage in the early going, jumping in front 3-5, but a kill and block from MyKayla Myers fueled a 5-1 TCU run to put the Frogs in front, 8-6. A really strong setting performance from Nichols helped TCU grow the lead to 15-10 before a 5-0 UTRGV run tied things up once more, 15-15. With the momentum slipping away, TCU turned to Myers once again to collect a kill down the middle on the way to a 8-1 run and a comfortable 23-16 lead. Myers posted three kills and a block in that run before punctuating the set with yet another block to give TCU a one set advantage. Myers finished the set with five kills on six swings (.833 hitting) along with four blocks. Bramschreiber was excellent on the back row, posting seven digs. Bramschreiber’s serving played a key factor in the set as well, it was her serve that TCU rode on the 8-1 run to regain the lead at the end of the frame.
Set 2 (TCU, 25-17): The Horned Frogs used an early 7-1 run to turn a 3-3 score into a 10-4 advantage thanks to three blocks in a row from Myers, including a pair of block assists from Raiola. UTRGV fought back to get within one point, 14-13, but another 8-1 Horned Frog scoring run put the Frogs in front for good. This time, TCU spread around the offense, collecting kills from Adams, Raiola and Afedo Manyang along with a block from Manyang and Madilyn Cole. An ace from Bella Swafford and a pair of kills from Myers carried TCU to the finish line for another eight-point set victory. Myers and Adams paced the offensive attack with five kills each along with four from Raiola. Nichols finished with 12 assists while leading the team in digs (three). Myers led the blocking effort with her three blocks in the early scoring run.
Set 3 (TCU, 25-17): TCU jumped in front in the third set, 6-1 thanks to three kills from Adams and once from Raiola. The Horned Frogs wouldn’t relinquish the lead for the remainder of play thanks to five service aces, led by two from Dennison on back-to-back points, putting TCU in front, 12-7. An ace from Bramschreiber put the Frogs in front, 21-14 before a pair of kills from Adams and one from Raiola guided TCU to another sweep. Adams and Raiola led TCU with five kills each in the final set. Senior DS/L Ashley Wehrstein led the back row with four digs while Myers, Cole, Nichols and Manyang each delivered two blocks.
Courtesy TCU Volleyball
