Beach Volleyball: TCU stays perfect at Fight in the Fort

The unbeaten streak for the top beach volleyball team in the country continued this past weekend as the Frogs hosted a slew of ranked teams in the Fight at the Fort invitational. TCU welcomed #9 California, #15 Florida International, #6 Grand Canyon University, and first-year program Texas. In Day 1 of the event, TCU dismantled California and Florida International before facing off with a tough GCU squad and wrapping up their sweep with a dominant win over Texas on the second day of the tournament.

Day 1

TCU started off the weekend against top-ten California, where they only dropped one point in the faceoff with the Golden Bears. All four points for the Frogs came in straight-set matches, and dominant duo of Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno sealed the victory for TCU in this one, improving their record together to 13-1 and their sixth ranked win as a pairing. TCU has never lost a matchup against Cal, and extends their win streak to 4 against the school.

The second matchup in Day 1 had TCU facing Florida International for the second time in a week, and the Frogs did not drop a point in this matchup—after a tougher battle in Florida where TCU came away with a 3-2 advantage in the match. This time, the Frogs did not need a third set in any of their matchups, Alvarez and Moreno again clinched the match, and by the end of the session, TCU extended their record of ranked match sweeps, earning their fourth of the season. All in all, TCU once again flexed their juggernaut capabilities by winning 18 or 20 sets played all day.

Day 2

As TCU sought another perfect weekend, there was a formidable (if not kitschy knockoff of our colors and letter logo) opponent in the path: the #6 ranked GCU Antelopes. Many matches were close and although the Frogs dropped two points to GCU, Alvarez and Moreno came through in the clutch again to lock up the victory as they won in straight sets (21-12, 21-19). Rochelle Scott and Hailey Brockett also had a stellar game limiting their opponent to 7 points scored—the lowest point total of the weekend. This weekend accounted for only the second ever win over GCU, but was the team’s ninth ranked win of the season.

To wrap up the Fight at the Fort, TCU was up against in-conference school rival, Texas. This season is the inaugural jaunt for the Longhorns Beach Volleyball program, so one might expect that the program will need time to develop into a competitive opponent. TCU swept UT and each match was won in straight sets by the Frogs. TCU has yet to drop a matchup against another Texas school, and this domination over the Horns earned TCU their 14^th straight sweep match of the season.

One last bump from the weekend: Danelia Alvarez and Tania Moreno capped off a dominant weekend by being named the pairing of the week once again, their third such accolade in four weeks.

The Frogs head back to Florida this weekend to take on Pepperdine, North Florida, Stetson, and Florida Gulf Coast in Jacksonville. We’ll be back to recap next week and see if the Frogs can reach 24-0.