TCU
Kansas State
Horned Frogs Battle to Victory
10/5/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 5, 2017
FORT WORTH, Texas - Double-digit team blocks along with four players notching double-digit kills led the TCU volleyball team to a 3-1 (28-30, 25-17, 31-29, 25-21) victory over Kansas State in a tough battle on Wednesday night inside The Rickel at the University Recreation Center.
The Horned Frogs (9-6, 1-3 Big 12) and the Wildcats (8-9, 1-3 Big 12) went at it from the start as Kansas State held the early six-point advantage. TCU slowly began to chip away at the lead before a kill and then block from Anna Walsh put the Frogs up 22-21. The teams continued to trade points until a costly service error by TCU gave Kansas State the final advantage it needed to take the opener 30-28.
TCU learned from its late mistake and went on to hit .414 in the second set to cruise to a 25-17 win behind a balanced attack. The Frogs took the momentum into the third frame to go up 7-0, but the Wildcats did not back down as they would come back to tie the set on nine different occasions. It would take extra points, but back-to-back kills from Walsh gave TCU the 2-1 advantage in the match with a 31-29 win. The Frogs never looked back as they hit .302 in the fourth set on their way to coming back and taking the match in four.
Walsh led the team for the third straight match with a season-high 18 kills, while Abigail Buckingham tied her season-high with 15 kills. Allye Beth Deaton scored a double-double of 14 kills and a career-high 19 digs, while Ashleigh Martin was good for 12 digs. TCU scored 12.0 blocks as a team with Sarah Swanson leading the defensive effort at the net with 7.0 blocks. Dani Dennison recorded her fifth 20+ dig match to lead the back row with 22 digs.
Stat of the Match
12.0 - TCU recorded 12.0 blocks in the match against Kansas State which is the most recorded by the team this season. It also marks only the second time this season the Frogs have recorded double-digit blocks.
Quotes of the Match
TCU Director of Volleyball Jill Kramer
Opening Statement
"Our team fought really hard to defend their home court tonight. That was really great to see. For us to go so deep into the first set and give that set up and still come back and get better as the match progressed I thought was great. It was maybe the first time I have seen them do that this season to where they just kept getting better as they went and they were ok being uncomfortable and they were ok going back-and-forth with siding out. It didn't faze them at all. I also thought it was one of our better defensive performances. Kansas State mixed up their shots really well and cracked the ball pretty good. We made some great digs and some feisty little plays. We kept the ball in play and the effort was great and I really enjoyed seeing that tonight."
Notes
-TCU improves to 9-6 on the season and 1-3 in conference action with the win over Kansas State on Wednesday
-The Frogs pick up their fourth win all-time in the series, but the Wildcats still lead at 7-4
-TCU improves to 4-2 on the year in four-set matches
-Wednesday's match marks the third time this season TCU has come back from dropping the opening set to win the match
-TCU had four players reach double-digit kills for the third time this season
-Anna Walsh led the team in kills for the sixth time this season and third match in a row with a season-high 18 kills
-Walsh notched a .359 hitting clip which is the 10 th time she has hit above .300 in a match this season and fourth match in a row
-Abigail Buckingham tied her season-high with 15 kills in the match to go along with three digs and three blocks
-Allye Beth Deaton recorded the first double-double of her career with 14 kills and a career-high 19 digs
-Ashleigh Martin rounded out the offensive leaders with 12 kills in the match and was just shy of a double-double with nine digs
-Sarah Swanson led the defensive efforts at the net with a career-high 7.0 blocks
-Dani Dennison picked up 20+ digs for the fifth time this season with a game-high 22 in the match
Up Next
TCU will continue action at home as they welcome No. 5 Texas on Sunday, Oct. 8 at 2 p.m., with the match set to air live on ESPN2.
