TCU
San Diego State*
Volleyball drops 3-1 decision at San Diego State
10/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 29, 2006
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The TCU volleyball team could not overcome a 0-2 start to the match as it dropped a 3-1 (26-30, 28-30, 30-23, 25-30) decision to San Diego State. In the loss, sophomore setter Nirelle Hampton moved into third place all-time on the career assists chart. She surpassed Annie Gant's total of 2,289 career assists in the second game. She now has 2,327 assists in her career. Six Frogs finished with double-digit kills.San Diego State took the early lead in game one, but the Frogs battled back behind the serving of Lauren Otto. Trailing 9-6, Otto reeled off three straight points to tie the game at nine thanks to two Aztec errors and a kill by Anna Vaughn. A back-and-forth battle ensued until the Aztecs went on a 9-4 run to open up an 18-13 advantage.
The Frogs fought back and got within one at 22-23 on kills by Emily Allen, LeMeita Smith and Edwards, but the Aztecs had an answer in Melanie Greene as she pounded home a kill to make it 26-23 San Diego State. Kills by Otto and Hampton again shrunk the lead to one, 25-26, but the Aztecs closed on the game on a 4-1 run to earn the 30-26 game one victory.
A more spirited game greeted the teams in game two. Again the Frogs found themselves trailing early, but climbed back in the match behind the serving of Katelyn Blackwood. TCU scored four points off her serve to gain a 14-11 advantage. Mixed in that sequence were a kill by Smith and a block by Hampton and Vaughn.
The Aztecs proved they had some resiliency in them as they fought back to tie the game at 18 on a kill by Lindsey Mahan. A back-and-forth battle ensued as neither team got more than a one-point lead. Back-to-back kills by the Aztecs' Audra Dent gave SDSU a lead they would never relinquish. A kill by Stephanie Darnell put the Frogs in a 0-2 hole with a 30-28 win.
Out of the intermission, the Frogs took control of game three and built an early 9-5 lead. Smith was huge with three kills and an assisted block with Edwards in helping build the lead. TCU kept adding to their lead, pushing the advantage to seven, 19-12, on a solo block by Otto.
The Frogs withstood a late rally by the Aztecs to earn the game three win. Hampton contributed two kills to keep the Frogs lead at eight and Edwards made it game point with her ninth kill of the match. Otto ended things with a loud kill down the middle to secure the 30-23 victory.
TCU had a hill to climb in game four as they found themselves down 7-3 early. They crept back into the match on kills from Gabi McHugh and Otto. A Smith solo denial made it a three-point deficit at 10-13.
A 5-1 run by the Aztecs opened up a seven point cushion forcing a TCU timeout. The momentum for the Aztecs kept rolling and withstood a late rally by the Frogs to hang on for the 30-25 victory in game four.
The Frogs fall to 17-9 on the season and 5-7 in conference play. They return to the court on Tuesday night for the first of three straight matches against Top-25 competition when they head north to Norman, Okla. to face the No. 20th ranked Oklahoma Sooners. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
