A 41-game win-streak on home turf isn’t enough for the TCU beach volleyball team, which plans to extend it at the Horned Frog Challenge this weekend.
In a two-day tournament, March 8-9, TCU beach volleyball prepares to compete against Stephen F. Austin, Tulane, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and once again, UC Davis.
These are matchups that the Frogs are well-accustomed to. In their last meetings over the past four seasons, TCU holds one match win against Stephen F. Austin, seven over Tulane, three over UC Davis and 10 over UAB. With a stellar record like that, the team hopes to continue their success here in Fort Worth for the upcoming tournament.
This weekend is the first home play for the Spring 2024 season and the standards are high for TCU as they hold a 41-game win-streak on home turf.
“We haven’t lost at home in a while,” said head coach Hector Gutierrez. Gutierrez said that he expects to add to that number through the weekend.
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— TCU Beach Volleyball (@TCUBeachVB) March 8, 2024
But as they look ahead to the Horned Frog Challenge, Gutierrez stresses the match-up against UC Davis, a team they saw just a week ago at the Battle of the Bay in Stanford, Calif. Even though the team clinched a 5-0 win against UC Davis, the Frogs expect a bigger fight.
“They have nothing to lose,” said Gutierrez. “It’s going to be a noisy game.”
The team expects a whole lot of noise this weekend given their No. 5 AVCA ranking.
“They’re all going to put up some good games,” said Gutierrez. “We are the higher ranked team and they’re all coming here to beat us.”
With that in mind, the players and coaches emphasize the importance of watching film to stay consistent and accurate without sacrificing aggressiveness.
Graduate student and newly transferred teammate Alex Parkhurst said that the preparation always looks the same, but each weekend looks different.
“Keep an open mind,” said Parkhurst. “If something doesn’t work, change it and be willing to adapt.”
The first match-up is this Friday, March 8 against Stephen F. Austin at 11:30 a.m. with the next match against Tulane to follow closely in suit beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Day 2 starts at 1:30 p.m. with a rematch against UC Davis on Saturday, March 9 and UAB to round the weekend off just a few hours later at 3:30 p.m.
