While most of the TCU student body is already at the Thanksgiving break, Horned Frog volleyball continued to compete.
On Frogs-giving day, TCU volleyball team was victorious over High Point in a match that was dominated by outside hitter Melanie Parra, who tallied 14 kills and 10 digs for her 11th double-double of the season.
The Panthers struck first, taking an early advantage on a kill by Jayde Shelton, but the TCU defense was led by Brianna Green’s six blocks.
The Horned Frogs defense permitted only seven kills on the first set, leaving the panthers with a .107 % hitting percentage.
Head coach Jason Williams’ team outscored the visitors 26-16 on the first set with 13 kills.
The Frogs were able to get at least one ace per set while the Panthers did not record any throughout the game. The set ended with a kill by Sarah Sylvester, who finished the game with four.
Mel's got five kills already in the first set 😮💨 @_parra_04
S1 | TCU 23-15#GoFrogs | #OneWay pic.twitter.com/0OIujQYZju
— TCU Volleyball (@TCUvolleyball) November 21, 2023
The Horned Frogs did not step off the gas, they rapidly went over in the scoreboard on the second set and never allowed the Panthers to climb back.
They had an 8-point scoring streak that rapidly set the tone for the rest of the set.
TCU managed to get and an advantage of 16-4 with an ace scored by Melanie Parra. It was the only Frog ace scored on the set. The Frogs went on to win the second set with an 11 point difference 25-14, earning a 2-set advantage.
Watch out for this duo 😤 @_parra_04 @_yvngbri_
S2 | TCU 9-3#GoFrogs | #OneWay pic.twitter.com/UbNYa1M8j3
— TCU Volleyball (@TCUvolleyball) November 21, 2023
The best was yet to come in this game, the Frogs scored first again, but the Panthers managed to tied the scoreboard and there was a continuous exchange of points between the teams, until TCU scored consecutively to get a 9-6 lead before the first timeout of the last set.
The Frogs were back on track after 15 points of the Panthers attempting to come back to the game, but TCU’s performance was outstanding against the leaders of the Big South Conference, who remain undefeated in their conference play.
The High Point effort to climb back was evident on the stats, their hitting percentage went to .275, they had 15 kills, which is more than what they in the previous two sets combined.
The Horned Frogs against never gave the lead, remaining in control the rest of the set, even when the score was getting closer.
At the end of the game with 22-24 before the match point, a final kill by Audrey Nalls finished the job for the Horned Frogs who are just one victory away from tying their best Big 12 record, obtained last season.
TCU remains undefeated against High Point (4-0) throughout program history and has never lost a set to the Panthers, making it 12-0 against HPU in all sets played.
Up Next
TCU (16-13, 8-9 Big 12) hosts No. 16 BYU (22-6, 11-5 Big 12) in the final regular season match on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 1 p.m. in Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. The match will be televised on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
