TCU
Utah
TCU Upends Utah; Tallies Eighth Straight
11/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 7, 2009
FORT WORTH, Texas -- The TCU volleyball team extended its winning streak to eight match with a 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-20, 25-7) victory over Utah Saturday afternoon. The win moves the Frogs to 23-5 on the season and ties the single-season record for wins. Kourtney Edwards and Kristen Hester led the high-powered Frog offense with 17 and 11 kills, respectively.The Frogs hit at a .313 clip with 62 kills, led by a career-high 51 assists from Megan Munce. Irene Hester and Lauren Otto each tallied 10 kills to round out the hitting leaders. Munce added six kills and 12 digs for her 12th double-double of the season. Irene Hester picked up her fourth double-double as she pitched in with 10 digs.
Katelyn Blackwood tallied 18 digs as did Meghan Horio, who established a new career high. TCU served up seven aces in the match, led by two each from Blackwood, Horio and Kristen Hester.
Otto broke a 4-4 tie in the first set with a cross-court blast and the Frogs never looked back as they went on to take the first set by a 25-21 score. TCU kept the pressure on as it pushed its lead to three, 12-9 on a kill from Irene Hester.
After taking a four-point lead at 17-13, the Utes put together a mini-rally to pull back within one, but a service error pushed the Frog lead to two, 18-16. The Frogs used the momentum to open up a five point lead, 22-17, on a blast from Kristen Hester. Otto gave the Frogs set point with her third kill of the match and Edwards finished off the victory.
The teams battled through 14 ties and three lead changes in the second set and eventually Utah came out the victors with a 26-24 win to even the match at a set apiece. Utah had built a five-point lead at 20-15 before the Frogs went on a 9-4 run to tie the set at 24. Edwards dropped in three kills in the run, but a Chelsey Sandberg kill gave the Utes their second set point and Cinthia Silva finished off the victory.
Similar to the first set the Frogs broke an early tie and never looked back as they took the 2-1 match lead with a 25-20 set three victory. Utah crept within one at 11-10, but a service error and a blast from Christy Hudson pushed the lead back to three.
The combination of Otto and Blackwood serving helped the Frogs build a 21-15 advantage as they got help on kills from Edwards, Irene Hester and two from Munce. A Kristen Hester blast gave the Frogs set point and Otto and Edwards teamed on the second block of the set to lock in the victory.
In the decisive fourth set it was all Horned Frogs as they cruised to the 25-7 victory. Edwards broke a 6-5 tie with a kill and the Frog blocking game came alive. TCU tallied five blocks in the set and slammed down 14 kills in the route.
With a 14-7 lead, Blackwood stepped behind the service line and served out the match. The Frogs tallied four of the five blocks in that stretch, including an impressive solo block from Irene Hester and two from Kristen Hester. The duo also knocked down three kills, including the game-winner from Kristen Hester.
TCU improves to 23-5 on the season and 12-2 in league play. The Frogs have two remaining conference matches, the first of which comes at UNLV on Saturday, Nov. 14. Match time in Las Vegas is set for 3 p.m.
