Volleyball: TCU wins two matches at Coastal Carolina Tournament

The TCU volleyball team traveled east for the Coastal Carolina Tournament over the weekend, finishing 2-1 over three matches with victories against Georgia and North Florida while suffering a loss against Coastal Carolina. Despite conceding a 3-1 defeat to the Chanticleers on Thursday, TCU bounced back with a clean 3-0 sweep over the Bulldogs on Friday and a 3-1 win over the Ospreys on Saturday. The Horned Frogs (2-3) will be on the road once again next weekend, when TCU will travel to College Station for the Texas A&M Invitational, where the Horned Frogs will face Northern Iowa, Utah State and Texas A&M.

Thursday: Coastal Carolina 3, TCU 1

Jalyn Gibson and Melanie Parra each recorded double-doubles to lead the Horned Frogs against the Chanticleers, with Gibson totaling 20 kills and 11 digs while the former Texas hitter Parra added 19 kills and 10 digs. Riley Buckley turned in another excellent outing from the setter position, compiling a season-best 47 assists which was five off of her career-high (52) during her freshman season at Missouri. All-Big 12 Preseason honoree Audrey Nalls also made her return from an injury after not playing during the Big Ten vs. Big 12 Challenge in Minneapolis, finishing with 12 kills to help lead the TCU offense against Coastal Carolina.

Despite some strong individual performances, TCU struggles with errors during the match, recording 19 service errors and only four service aces in the loss. The Horned Frogs also committed 22 hitting errors and eight receive errors in a four-set defeat with set scores of 28-30, 22-25, 25-22, 17-25. Cecily Bramschreiber finished with a team-high 12 digs and Buckley added eight digs for the Horned Frogs, while Sarah Sylvester had two blocks. The loss dropped TCU to 0-3 on the season before wins over Georgia and North Florida.

Friday: TCU 3, Georgia 0

The Horned Frogs responded from their Thursday loss with a much cleaner outing against Georgia, committing 10 fewer hitting errors along with six fewer service errors and two fewer receive errors. TCU once again ran its offense through Melanie Parra, who totaled a team-leading 16 kills with seven digs on defense. The Horned Frogs fended the Bulldogs off in three consecutive sets to take the match with set scores of 25-19, 26-24, 25-22. The first set went back and forth until TCU strung together a 5-1 run to take a 14-9 lead. The Horned Frogs stretched their lead to as many as seven points to clinch the first-set win.

Denver transfer Bri Green had two blocks to lead the front line on defense, while Riley Buckley dished out 28 assists to command the TCU offense. Cecily Bramschreiber stepped up in the back row for the Horned Frogs, recording 30 receives, eight digs and four assists with only one receive error. Jalyn Gibson compiled 10 kills and six digs for the Horned Frogs, who started the second set on a 7-4 run that allowed TCU to maintain a steady lead over Georgia for the remainder of the set. A very competitive third set saw the Horned Frogs and Bulldogs tied at 22-22 before TCU rallied off three straight points to seal the win.

Saturday: TCU 3, North Florida 1

The Horned Frogs struggled to find their offensive rhythm in the opening set, with the Ospreys stringing together a 9-2 mid-set run that included multiple hitting errors from TCU, who had 23 hitting errors for the match. The Horned Frogs dominated the remainder of the match on the defensive end, however, with TCU racking up 70 digs and two blocks with only one ball handling error and one receive error on Saturday. Four Horned Frogs had double-digit digs including setter Riley Buckley, who finished with a 34-assist, 11-dig double-double. Cecily Bramschreiber led TCU with 18 digs and Taylor Raiola followed with 14 digs.

TCU took the match with set scores of 14-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-11. Jalyn Gibson led the attack with 19 kills while adding nine digs on defense. Melanie Parra recorded eight kills and Bri Green added six kills for the Horned Frogs, who held early-set leads over each of the final three sets to seal their second win of the season. TCU opened the second set on a 6-1 run and closed the set with a 5-1 run. The Horned Frogs rallied off six consecutive points in the third set to command a 6-2 advantage early. The fourth set included a stretch of eight straight points in what currently stands as TCU’s most lopsided set win of the season.