Guests of the Minecraft Experience collected items from different biomes taken directly from the game. (Andrew Lindsey)

From pixels to reality: Minecraft experience opens in Dallas-Fort Worth area

By Andrew Lindsey, Staff Writer
Published Nov 18, 2024

Armed with interactive orbs and guided through eight distinct biomes, visitors can now mine for diamonds, battle creepers, and rescue villagers in a 20,000-square-foot recreation of gaming's most iconic virtual world.

TCU Volleyball remains undefeated at home following the Fight in the Fort tournament

The Frogs had a record-breaking performance this past weekend and will move into Big 12 play on a 5-0 win streak.

By Sarah Smith, Staff Writer

Published Sep 20, 2023

Sarah Smith

Melanie Parra going for a dig in Schollmaier Arena. (Sarah Smith/Staff Photographer)

TCU Volleyball made history with their home debut, going 3-0 at the ‘Fight in the Fort’ tournament over the weekend.

The TCU Volleyball team lining up before the match against Hawaii on Sept. 14 in the Schollmaier Arena. (Sarah Smith)

Outside hitter Melanie Parra played her first game at the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. It didn’t take her long to set new personal bests and TCU records with her explosive offensive performance.

In Thursday night’s match against Hawaii, Parra had 27 kills, one of her new personal best. The following night, she re-set her personal best with 34 kills against the Florida State Seminoles.

Parra’s 34-kill performance set the TCU school record for the most kills in a four-set match. She now also has the second-most kills in program history across all matches.

What a night @_parra_04 after 27 Kills yesterday ❕

1 shy of the All-Time Big 12 Record#Big12VB? | @TCUvolleyball https://t.co/VEZZTnkaqU

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) September 16, 2023

Parra earned AVCA National Player of the Week for her impressive performance.

The Frogs defeated the University of Hawaii and Florida State for the first time in program history and swept Western Carolina on the final day of the tournament. The offensive performance by TCU led the Frogs to their success.

On the opening night of the ‘Fight in the Fort’ tournament against Hawaii, Parra led the offense by tallying 27 kills and hitting .453 for for the match. Defensively, the Frogs had their third consecutive game with 16+ blocks, with 10 of them belonging to middle blocker Brianna Green.

TCU defeated the Rainbow Warriors 3-1, claiming their first win at home of the season.

The Frogs brought the momentum from the huge win over Hawaii into their match against Florida State on Friday, Sept. 15 and day two of the Fight in the Fort tournament.

Alongside Parra’s offensive achievements, Green secured her 500th career block in set two against the Seminoles.

5⃣0⃣0⃣

Congratulations to Bri Green on her 500th career block!!#GoFrogs | #OneWay pic.twitter.com/PfV1NGSb4L

— TCU Volleyball (@TCUvolleyball) September 15, 2023

Libero Cecily Bramschreiber’s defense helped the team dominate on both sides of the set with a career-best 17 digs.

TCU also had their match-best hitting percentage of .500 in set two, and, over the course of the match, tallied 65 kills and a hitting percentage of .322 which are new season-bests for the Frogs.

Florida State fell to the Frogs 3-1, and TCU Volleyball extended their win-streak to four games.

TCU Volleyball closed out the tournament with a 3-0 sweep against Western Carolina on the final day of the tournament Saturday, Sept. 16.

Against the Catamounts, the Frogs continued to go above and beyond, achieving new season-bests of 44 kills, 56 digs and 41 assists in a three-set match.

Up Next

TCU Volleyball is moving into Big 12 play this Thursday, Sept. 21 on a 5-0 run. The team will travel to Kansas State University and face the Wildcats at 6 p.m. The game will be available for streaming on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.