The Frogs were led to an offensive explosion by their outsider hitters Audrey Nalls and Melanie Parra in their 3-1 victory over the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.
TCU got off to a slow start in the first set with 14 kills and a 0.196 hitting percentage, losing a close battle 27-25.
Things got more competitive in the second set as there were 11 tie scores, with one lead change resulting in a TCU 6-0 run to secure the set win 27-25.
“Possibly being down 2-0, we turned into a force to win,” head coach Jason Williams said at the post-game press conference.
TCU continued to showcase their chemistry and talent in the third set by taking the lead early. Nalls led the way by getting one of her nine total kills as the first point of the set.
After the fast start the Frogs were able to coast to a 25-15 victory and go up 2-1 on the Rainbow Warriors.
After a dominant third set, the Frogs carried this momentum into the fourth set.
Parra made incredible plays for TCU Volleyball in her home debut as a Frog.
Parra had an outstanding game on both sides of the ball scoring 31 of TCU’s 77 total points and recording 27 of the team’s 54 kills which was a career high. Parra also had three blocks.
Parra played for the Texas Longhorns from 2020-2022 and transferred to TCU coming into the 2023 season. She was an essential part of Texas’ 2022 National Championship team as she played in 21 of 29 matches during their title run.
Parra had two aces in the fourth set, increasing the lead to 22-14 and closing out the match with the set-winning kill securing the 3-1 victory over Hawaii.
The “energy from the team” and the “support we have” influenced her 27-kill performance, Parra said.
Middle blocker Brianna Green was also a big contributor to win with a double-digit block game and owning 10 of TCU’s 26 blocks.
Reflecting on her performance against Hawaii, Green said she “couldn’t do it without the team.”
“It’s personal,” Green said about playing their first game at home. The Frogs had to “bring everything out” to secure the victory.
Williams said the shift in gameplay after the first set was because the team “started getting kills off of our good first touches.”
The Frogs were able to persevere well after a shaky start and will look to build off their success for the rest of the tournament.
After losing twice to Hawaii in 1997 and again in 2015, the Frogs were able to rewrite the script with an explosive offensive performance winning 3-1 against the Rainbow Warriors.
Hawaii had won the last three matchups against TCU, twice in 1997 and again in 2015. The Frogs were able to flip the script and take their first win of the season.
Next up
TCU Volleyball will face Florida State University on Friday, Sept. 15 at 6 p.m. at Schollmaier Arena and streaming live on ESPN+.
