A strong overall performance led the Frogs to a 3-1 victory (28-30, 25-17, 31-29, 25-21) over the Kansas State Wildcats Wednesday evening.
“Our team fought really hard to defend their home court tonight,” head coach Jill Kramer said. “That was really great to see.”
The first set proved to be a challenge for the Frogs as Kansas State built an early six-point lead. The Frogs began to slowly chip away at the lead and were eventually leading the set 22-21. Points were traded by each club until the Wildcats were able to pull away in the set 30-28.
“For us to go so deep into the first set, give that set up and still come back and get better as the match progressed I thought was great,” Kramer said. “It was maybe the first time I have seen them do that this season to where they just kept getting better as they went, and they were ok being uncomfortable, and they were ok going back-and-forth with siding out. It didn’t faze them at all.”
The Frogs found a way to sweep the remaining sets to earn the victory. In the second set, TCU hit .414 to win 25-17 and carried their momentum into the third, when they began the set with a 7-0 advantage. Kansas State tied the set nine times. The third set required extra points to determine a winner, but the Frogs came out on top 31-29. The Frogs hit .309 in the fourth set to claim the victory.
Junior middle blocker Anna Walsh led the team for the third straight match with a season high 18 kills. Redshirt first year student and outside hitter Abigail Buckingham tied her season high with 15 kills. Walsh also notched a .359 hitting clip, marking the tenth time this season and fourth match in a row she hit above .300. Freshman outside hitter Allye Beth Deaton earned a double-double on the night– the first double-double of her career– and tallied 14 kills and a career-best 19 digs. Junior outside hitter Ashleigh Martin recorded 12 digs. Freshman middle blocker Sarah Swanson led the team’s defensive efforts with seven of the team’s 12 blocks on the match.
The team’s 12 blocks are the most recorded by the team this season and the second time all year the Frogs have tallied double-digit blocks. Freshman libero Dani Dennison recorded her fifth match with more than 20 digs, connecting on 22 balls.
“I thought it was one of our better defensive performances,” Kramer said. “Kansas State mixed up their shots really well and cracked the ball pretty good. We made some great digs and some feisty little plays. We kept the ball in play and the effort was great and I really enjoyed seeing that tonight.”
With the win, the Frogs will move to 9-6 on the season and 1-3 in conference action. This match marked the third time this season the Frogs have come back to win the match after dropping the first set.
The Frogs will continue their home-stand as they welcome the No. 5 ranked Texas Longhorns to the Rickel at the University Recreation Center Sunday, Oct. 8 at 2 p.m.
