The TCU women's volleyball team is getting a taste of what life on the road is like. For the second weekend in the row, the team will travel to play various opponents.
The Frogs start the weekend off with a Thursday match against the University of Illinois-Chicago at the Flames Athletic Center in Chicago, Ill. at 5 p.m.
The match between the Frogs and the Flames (1-2 overall) marks the first meeting between the two teams. The Flames recently defeated Elon and fell to Navy and UNC Wilmington in the Kristen Dickmann Invitational at the U.S. Naval Academy last weekend.
Junior middle blocker Sara Sternard was named to the all-tournament team and led UIC with 38 kills. Over the weekend, senior setter MaryKate Imrie guided the offense with 133 assists for 11.08 assists per set.
The team will then travel to Milwaukee, Wisc. to take on No. 3 USC and Marquette on Friday and Saturday, respectively, in the Al McGuire Center.
USC is currently ranked No. 3 in the nation after winning the Mortar Board Premier Tournament at Purdue. Over the weekend, USC beat Purdue in four sets and swept Western Kentucky and Alabama A&M.
Sophomore outside hitter Samantha Bricio was named tournament MVP and freshman outside hitter Ebony Nwanebu and senior libero Natalie Hagguland were named to the all-tourmanet team. Nwanebu was recently name Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.
The match is slated to start Friday at 1 p.m. The Frogs battled USC last fall and were swept in a hard-fought battle (24-26, 22-25, 25-27).
Saturday's 7 p.m. matchup against Marquette is not an unfamiliar one, yet it is the first time the teams have met in nine years. Marquette leads 4-1 in the series and the Golden Eagles swept TCU (24-30, 20-30, 22-30) on Oct. 23, 2004.
The Golden Eagles are 1-1 after defeating Bowling Green and dropping a five-set match to No. 13 BYU last weekend at the Hampton Inn Invitational.
Autumn Bailey and Elizabeth Koberstein led Marquette in the tournament, as both players were named to the all-tournament team. Bailey recorded match-high kills of 19 and 26 in the two matches and was also honored as Big East Freshman of the Week
TCU comes into the weekend with a winning record after the Georgia Bulldog Invitational in Athens, Ga. The team swept Furman and defeated Lipscomb 3-1, but couldn't top Georgia, falling 3-0.
Freshman outside hitter Ashley Smith and senior middle blocker Yvonne Igodan were named to the all-tournament team after recording 27 and 23 kills, respectively. Smith leads the team in overall points and in hitting percentage with .243.
Sophomore setter Alexia Heist has recorded 56 assists in the regular season and redshirt freshman setter Trisha Langley has 40. Sophomore libero Sutton Sunstrum and freshman libero Shane Peters each have 29 digs for the season thus far.
The Frogs also possess a strong middle blocker in freshman Regan McGuire, who recently earned Muscle Milk Athlete of the Week. McGuire tied the school record of 12 blocks in the 3-1 win over Lipscomb in the Georgia Bulldog Invitational.
Audio for the matches is available through FrogVision at gofrogs.com.
