TCU
Virginia Tech @ Clemson Tournament
Volleyball Drops Two at Clemson
9/21/2002 12:00:00 AM
Sept. 21, 2002
CLEMSON, S.C. - TCU Volleyball (6-8) ended up on the short ends of two tough matches on Saturday at the Clemson Invitational against Virginia Tech and Clemson. Sophomore outside hitter Dominika Szabo earned all-tournament honors for the fourth time this season.
In their first match of the day against Virginia Tech (7-6), the Frogs had to come from behind in game one to take the victory. The Hokies led by as many as five before TCU rallied back to tie the game at 8-8. The Frogs then raced out to a 19-13 lead, but Virginia Tech refused to go quietly and the teams were tied again at 24 all. The Frogs ground out the 30-27 win in game one.
The teams battled throughout game two, and the score was tied 12 times. The Frogs' last lead came at 23-22 on a kill from Szabo. However, Virginia Tech evened the match at 1-1 as they took the second game, 30-26.
TCU was unable to rally in game three after the Hokies broke the 10-10 tie in that game. Virginia Tech controlled the pace en route to their 30-22 win in the third.
Game four was Virginia Tech's despite the Frogs' point for point effort midway though and their late game surge. TCU fought back from 12 points down to fall 30-22 in the fourth stanza.
"We need to believe in each other," said head coach Prentice Lewis. "When teams apply pressure, we're backing down. Once we decide we're sick of backing down, we're six to 11 points in the hole. We have to believe that we're good enough to battle with these teams. We continue to make inexperience errors."
Szabo led the Frogs with 25 kills and 53 attacks. Junior Tori Barlow had 47 assists, while junior Courtney Barlow posted four aces in the afternoon match. Senior Stephanie Watson led the team in digs and blocks with 13 and 5, respectively.
In game one of the nightcap, the Frogs stayed with Clemson (8-6), whose lead only extended beyond three points after the score reached 25-21. Szabo hit .500 on seven kills, zero errors and 14 attempts in the first round, but the Frogs couldn't get over the hump as the Tigers took game one, 30-21.
TCU hit better in the second game (.269 vs. .209) and kept things close throughout. However, the Tigers won round two by a 30-23 score, and went into intermission with a 2-0 lead.
The Frogs came back from the break ready to play. The third game was tied 12 different times, with the last coming at 16 all. Clemson crept into the lead after that, but the Frogs stayed in the hunt until the very end, falling 30-26.
"The scores from the Clemson match don't show the heart we displayed," said Lewis. "That three-game match lasted nearly one hour and 45 minutes. If we come out and play like that against every opponent, we give ourselves the opportunity to battle anybody."
Szabo had 15 kills on 39 attempts to again lead the Frogs. Barlow posted 39 assists, while junior Courtney Beach led the team in digs with 13 en route to her first double-double (10 kills, 13 digs). Freshman Carissa Mills had two blocks, and three Frogs each had one ace.
Next on the itinerary for the Frogs is a trip to South Texas for tilts against UT-Pan American and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sept. 27 and 28, respectively. The next honestand for the squad will be Oct. 4 and 5 when they open Conference USA play versus Southern Miss and Tulane.
