Volleyball: TCU wins back-to-back matches over Texas Tech

The TCU volleyball team held its first two home matches of the Big 12 Conference schedule on Thursday and Friday, with the Horned Frogs taking both contests against Texas Tech to reach 3-1 in the conference over four matches. TCU (10-5 overall) cruised over the Red Raiders in straight sets on Thursday before returning for a five-set battle on Friday evening, with the Horned Frogs emerging victorious once again. TCU will remain at home for a pair of conference matches against the Cincinnati Bearcats this coming Friday and Saturday.

Thursday: TCU 3, Texas Tech 0

The Horned Frogs dominated the Red Raiders with their defense, holding Texas Tech to an .061 hitting percentage as TCU cruised for a 25-16, 25-12, 25-22 win on Thursday evening. Three players reached double figures in kills including Melanie Parra, who had a team-high 17 while Jalyn Gibson followed with 12 and Audrey Nalls added 10 to lead the TCU offense. Nalls added 12 digs to finish with a double-double and Cecily Bramschreiber anchored the Horned Frog back row with 13 digs. Riley Buckley dished out 34 assists and Sarah Sylvester controlled the front line for the Horned Frogs, leading the TCU defense with eight blocks.

Friday: TCU 3, Texas Tech 2

Audrey Nalls achieved a career milestone during Friday evening’s match, finishing with 12 kills to eclipse 1,000 kills in her time with the Horned Frogs. Melanie Parra was a one-women wrecking crew for the TCU offense, notching 34 kills to tie her season and career high from earlier this season while recording a .358 hitting percentage. Nalls and Parra each added 14 digs on defense to earn double-doubles in the victory. Cecily Bramschreiber shined with a team-leading 23 digs as well as 14 assists, both of which were season-bests. Jalyn Gibson joined the double-double party with 13 kills and 13 digs in the match.

TCU took the first two sets before Texas Tech battled back to claim the third and fourth sets to extend the match into a tiebreaker. With the Red Raiders seemingly holding all of the momentum, TCU persevered and controlled the fifth set to win the match 25-14, 25-20, 19-25, 23-25, 15-9. Lily Nicholson and Riley Buckley ran the offense for the Horned Frogs, with the freshman Nicholson totaling 22 assists while Buckley added 21 assists in the victory.