Horned Frogs fall to Colorado State in 5 sets

By Robbie Vaglio

Published Sep 2, 2017

Colorado State edges Frogs with late comeback

Despite leading 2-0 in the match, TCU suffered its first loss of the season Friday morning as Colorado State stormed back to win in five sets (23-25, 27-29, 25-22, 25-17, 15-7) in the opening match of the Home2Suites Tallahassee Seminole Invitational on the campus of Florida State University.

“This was the first five-set match we have played this year and I think our team learned a lot in the process,” head coach Jill Kramer said. “It was also our first road trip for us and I am really proud of the way we came out. It is something we have been working on and we came out really poised and aggressive.”

The Frogs converted 18 kills to win the first set before falling behind 15-8 in the second set. The duo of junior middle blocker Anna Walsh and junior outside hitter Ashleigh Martin helped the Frogs chip away at the deficit and seal the comeback to secure a 29-27 win in the second set and lead 2-0 in the match.

Martin led the team in kills with 14 for the first time this season. Junior outside hitter Lexi MacLean added 13 kills and Walsh contributed with 12 kills, totaling double-digit kills for the first time this season. Freshman libero Dani Dennison scored 22 digs in the match, marking her second consecutive game with 20+ digs and a new season-high and freshman middle blocker Sarah Swanson led the team with 5.0 blocks and three aces. Lamprini Konstantinidou recorded 31 assists, and was close to reaching a double-double with nine digs.

Late runs by Colorado State in the final three sets proved fatal for the Frogs, as the Rams finished off the comeback to shock TCU. The Rams had the statistical advantage over the Frogs, totaling 62 kills to TCU’s 55, posting 65 digs and 19.0 blocks.

“Today was more about just sticking with that for a longer period of time and dealing with some adversity,” coach Kramer said. “We know things that we need to get better at and we talked about that. I am looking forward to get back on the court tomorrow.”

The Frogs will continue their action in the Home2Suites Tallahassee Seminole Invitational when they take on UNC Asheville Saturday at noon. TCU concludes the tournament with a highly anticipated match-up with Florida State Sunday at noon.