TCU Beach Volleyball 2023 Season Recap

TCU Beach Volleyball turned in an incredible regular season, accumulated a pile of awards, and continued to be one of the elite programs in the sport. The Horned Frogs won the CCSA Tournament for the first time in program history ahead of a run in the NCAA Tournament to the Final Four to close the season as the No. 3 team in the final rankings. Head Coach Hector Gutierrez was named the AVCA National Coach of the Year in addition to earning a second-straight CCSA conference Coach of the Year. The super Spaniards Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno were awarded the AVCA National Pair of the Year in addition to earning a second-straight CCSA conference Pair of the Year.

TCU completed a tremendous regular season, dominating competition on the way to a 31-1 record and remaining undefeated in Fort Worth for the third consecutive season. The Frogs’ had climbed to the top of the rankings before its 29-match win streak was broken during the Center of Effort Challenge in San Luis Obispo, CA. falling 3-2 to the UCLA Bruins - the lone regular season loss of the campaign. The Horned Frogs earned 23 regular season sweeps, including seven sweeps of ranked opponents.

TCU entered the CCSA Tournament as the top seed but would find itself in an unfamiliar position in its first round matchup with Grand Canyon: the Frogs took their first conference loss of the season, dropping the contest 0-3. Needing to emerge from the losers’ bracket, TCU would require four consecutive wins to leave Huntsville with the hardware. TCU swept Missouri State then took down No. 4 Florida State and No. 6 LSU to earn a re-match with GCU. The Frogs would avenge the earlier loss, sweeping past the Lopes 3-0 to win the conference crown

Despite the near-perfect regular season and the conference championship, TCU entered the 16-team NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 overall seed. The Horned Frogs swept through its first two rounds, knocking off Stetson and Stanford to earn the program’s first Final Four and a battle with 3-seed USC in the Semifinal. The heavyweight bout lived up to the billing: TCU earned points from the Alvarez/Moreno pair and the Kate Privett & Anhelina Khmil combo, but with losses on Courts 3 & 4, the match hinged on the Court 5 pair of Rochelle Scott & Hailey Brockett, who took the opening set 23-21, but dropped the second set 16-21 forcing a decisive third set to advance to the National Championship. That final set was taken by the Trojans 15-12, ending the Horned Frogs’ remarkable season.

The 2024 season may look different for TCU Beach Volleyball, as the program will transition out of the CCSA and into Conference USA. Regardless of conference affiliation, one would expect Coach Gutierrez and the Horned Frogs to again play an extremely difficult regular season schedule against the best teams from across the country. While the super pair of Alvarez & Moreno may sit out the 2024 season to represent Spain in qualification for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the Horned Frogs are expected to return major talent throughout its roster including 2023 CCSA Freshman of the Year Anhelina Khmil and 2022 Freshman of the Year Ana Vergara.