Playing in front of a season-high crowd of 1,821, TCU Volleyball dropped three-straight close sets to lose to Florida State.
The loss was their third of three games over the weekend.
“We’re going to learn from the weekend,” head coach Jill Kramer said. “I think we have a young group who is just kind of learning what it’s like to come back and compete really hard every single day and every single point.”
The sellout was a record-setting sixth-straight for TCU. Kramer described the crowd as “really great support.”
Outside hitter Audrey Nalls totaled 18 kills and 10 digs, the second double-double of her young career. Nalls won the MVP of the Cowtown Classic Tournament last week.
TCU looked lost to start the match, falling behind by as much as 11 (20-9) at one point. However, two-straight kills from Nalls spurred a 5-0 run by the Frogs, putting them back within reach.
“We just didn’t look like ourselves,” Kramer said. “I really don’t know why.”
The Seminoles would end up winning the set 25-20, but the late push by the Horned Frogs seemed to represent they had woken up offensively.
“When we are struggling, you’ve got to find that one player who can try to switch it on and get back in it,” Nalls said. “I really tried to do that.”
TCU would strike first in the second set, scoring the first two points to take their first lead of the day. Though the Frogs would hold a 15-12 lead midway through, a 5-0 run by the Seminoles gave them life, and they wouldn’t look back.
Poor serving plagued TCU near the end of the set. Florida State won 25-20 again to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Horned Frogs committed 13 service errors in the match.
The third set would look similar, with TCU keeping the set close but never being able to take a convincing lead. Soon after the Frogs tied the set at 12-12, Florida State took control, winning 13 of the last 19 points to win the set 25-18 and the match 3-0.
Setter Irem Ucar finished with 20 assists, making the contest her fourth-straight with 20-plus assists.
Middle blocker Afedo Manyang was not active in the match, as she is dealing with an ankle injury. Manyang is currently day-to-day.
“Smiley [Manyang] has a nice presence on the court, both physical and emotional,” Kramer said. “You can’t ever replace anyone like that.”
TCU will play their third and final preseason tournament next weekend as they host the Add-Ran Cup. Their first match will be on Friday, Sept. 13 against Miami. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m.
“We have a lot of things that we need to continue to learn, and improve, and get better at,” Kramer said. “All of those things are very solvable.”
