Gibson’s Career Night Helps No. 18 TCU Top Iowa State, 3-2

Friday, November 1

Fort Worth, Texas

6:30 PM

TCU

16-5,8-3Big 12

Iowa State

9-12,3-7Big 12

Iowa St.

TCU

Gibson’s Career Night Helps No. 18 TCU Top Iowa State, 3-2

11/1/2024 11:15:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Williams records 50th career victory in five-set thriller

FORT WORTH – A career night by Jalyn Gibson highlighted the 50^th win of the Jason Williams Era as No. 18 TCU weathered the storm, holding off a late Iowa State comeback bid, for a 3-2 win on Friday inside Schollmaier Arena.

Gibson went off for a career-high 26 kills, besting her mark set last season at UCF. The junior right-side willed her team to victory on a rare night where the Horned Frogs (16-5, 8-3 Big 12) were held otherwise quietly offensively. What made Gibson's performance even more impressive was that she did so on a .490 clip, as over half of her swings went for kills. It marked the third 20-plus kill match of the season for the San Antonio native and the fourth of her career.

With the win, Williams picked up his 50^th career victory as a head coach at TCU. He is the quickest to achieve the milestone in program history, needing only 81 matches to accomplish the feat.

One of the other bright spots on the evening was the play from the freshmen. Libero Alice Volpe racked up a team-high 18 digs, and in her first collegiate start, Evan Hendrix recorded a double-double, finishing with 13 kills and 12 digs.

TCU jumped out to an early lead in the opening set as Gibson wasted no time getting going. She sparked a 6-1 run, burning both of Iowa State timeouts in the process to give the Frogs a 15-9 lead. In control, TCU continued to cruise to a 25-20 win while feeding the hot hand in Gibson, who finished the set with nine kills and seven digs.

Both teams traded 4-0 runs to begin an evenly-matched second set. Tied at 13, two 3-0 runs gave the Frogs the separation they needed at 19-14. Iowa State chipped away at the lead, cutting the deficit to one at 21-20 before four unanswered points helped TCU hang on for another 25-20 set win as the Frogs took advantage of 16 Cyclone errors to go up two sets to none.

Needing one more victory to close out the match, TCU looked for the knockout punch. However, Iowa State didn't go away quietly as a 4-0 run gave the Cyclones a 14-9 advantage. The Frogs answered back with a 6-1 burst to tie the set back at 15 before a back-and-forth battle ensued. TCU and Iowa State remained close until three straight points gave ISU set point. An attack error helped the Frogs fend off one, but the very next point handed the Cyclones a 25-22 win and extended the match.

With the momentum shifting, Iowa State managed to once again pull away late. Tied at 18 apiece, a 7-1 run in favor of the Cyclones forced a fifth set.

After letting a 2-0 lead slip, TCU locked in for the sprint to 15. The Frogs came out strong, leaning on Gibson as she eclipsed 20 kills on the night. Scoring in small bursts, TCU found itself up 8-3 at the halfway point. Iowa State tried to cut the lead, but Williams won a key challenge to keep the momentum with the Frogs at 10-8. From there, they continued to feed Gibson, who called game, finishing the match off with her 26^th kill to spoil the Cyclones' upset bid.

No. 18 TCU closes out its three-match homestand on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 6:30 p.m. CT.

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